Painted Claw’s eyes widened. “Bones? Don’t be malicious, grandfather. Our warriors will protect you if anything comes near. If you must step over, that is your decision. But we need to break camp and move at dawn, or else the Talon will outrun us. "
Aurak shrugged.
Evan didn’t bother to correct Painted Claw, to remind him that the Talon was already here. He asked, “Has there been any word or sign of Mari and the Silver River Pack? ”
Painted Claw looked away, scanning the dark horizon. “None yet. I am sure they are well. We cannot risk sending warriors out to follow their trail. ”
Evan hung his head. “I know. It’s just—” Evan looked up at Painted Claw. “Well, I know you’re doing your best. Thanks. ” He hesitated for a moment and spoke again. “If she comes back, tell her where we’ve gone. ”
Painted Claw nodded, frowning again, as if he suspected their jaunt was more than Aurak was letting on. He clearly didn't remember Evan’s explanation about the Talon.
Aurak waved his hand at Painted Claw impatiently and began to walk away, leaning on his staff. Evan joined him and the two walked away from the light of the campfire.
“Hold on to me, ” Aurak said. “It is time. "
Evan grasped Aurak’s sleeve and, before he could blink, his next step landed in the Umbra, in the spiritual landscape of untrodden snow. Aurak was a powerful Theurge; his ability to part the Gauntlet outstripped even Mari’s.
The green mist covered everything now, hovering in all directions around the campsite. Evan nocked an arrow.
“It's all around us, ” he said. “It’s as high as knee level. I can barely see through it. ”
Aurak looked around and shook his head. "I see nothing but snow. And yet... I sense a wrongness here. ”
Evan scanned the ground, trying to see through the drifting waves of green fog. “In my vision, I saw something moving between the feet of the cursed Garou. It must have been the heart. ”
“Be careful, ” Aurak said. “The Talon has proven itself to be subtle. It might—’’ Aurak howled in pain and clutched his leg.
Evan saw a red, fleshy thing skitter away from Aurak, hidden beneath the mist layer. He drew his bow and shot at the thing before it could disappear. His arrow barely missed it, digging into the ground with a thunk. The mist recoiled from the arrow, leaving a blank, swirling window around it. Then the arrow faded away, as if pulled from the spirit world. Evan frowned.
Aurak groaned and fell over. Evan dropped his bow and caught him before he hit the ground. He eased the old Theurge down. Aurak’s eyes were tightly shut and his hand clenched the staff tightly, muscles taught from pain.
“It bit me, ” he said through gritted teeth. “On the leg. ”
Evan examined the wound. It was a nasty tear, obviously made by a jaw with sharp teeth. The purple wound festered with poison. Evan groaned and pulled out his knife, cutting into the wound. He bent over and sucked at it, drawing the venom into his mouth and spitting it away. It burned his tongue.
Aurak's breathing grew labored. His closed eyes twitched, wracked by a fever. Evan opened Aurak's pouch and pulled out a compress. He placed it on the man’s forehead and prayed to the healing spirit bound within it. The spirit awakened and spread its vigor into Aurak.
Aurak’s eyes fluttered open briefly and then closed. His breathing grew steadier, but he fell unconscious.
Evan looked around. He wanted to take Aurak back to the material world, where the Talon couldn’t bite him again, hut he was afraid to leave. Bringing a wounded Aurak back might make Painted Claw try to prevent Evan from returning to the Umbra.
He fished in Aurak’s bag. The old shaman must have a fetish that could protect him. He pulled out a stag's horn and looked carefully at the pictograms painted on it. He had made an effort to learn the pictograms that Garou used when writing down their oral lore. Luckily, these were pretty standard. The bound spirit’s name was listed; that was enough information for a half-moon like Evan to use.
He summoned his power and called to the spirit, asking it to fulfill its duty. The mist around Aurak parted as a shape appeared. Four hooves dug into the snow and a snort of icy breath heralded the arrival of the stag spirit.
Evan smiled. “Watch over him. Keep the ground around him clear. ”
The spirit snorted again and bent its head to rub its antlers in a circle around Aurak’s body. Again, the mist parted, not recoiling as before, but moving aside slowly, more annoyed than repelled. It left a blank, open area where Aurak's body lay. The stag circled the space, tramping its hoofs hard into the snow, demarking its territory.
Evan grabbed his bow and stood up, nocking a new arrow. He set out, moving through the mist, circling the area in search of the fleshy heart. When he neared the center of where the camp would be in the material world, he saw a flash of movement. He loosed an arrow instantly. It thumped into the snow and the recoiling mist revealed a quickly vanishing creature.
It looked like a throbbing red heart, tom from the body of a large animal, its ventricles trailing behind it. Along its center Evan caught a glimpse of yellowish spikes—rows of teeth. It seemed to move along the ground through sheer force of will, tumbling across the snow without leaving a trail. Its path was erratic, as if it were limping. As if it had been wounded.
Evan pulled another arrow from his quiver and noticed that the last arrow had disappeared, gone like the first one. He tried to figure out what that meant. The sudden sound of a Garou howl startled him from thought.
Hint Knife stood a few paces away from Evan, gesticulating wildly in his battle form, teeth gnashing and head spinning, his nose sniffing the air. Evan could tell by the way he moved that he wasn’t in control—he was berserk, consumed by rage. One of Evan’s arrows jutted from his shoulder.
Flint Knife caught Evan’s scent. He howled and charged forward. Evan broke and ran, running in a spiraling circle, trying to evade the onrushing warrior. Flint Knife halted, sniffing again, trying to relocate his quarry.
The Garou warrior’s rage blinded his reasoning. Evan could evade him by slipping around and doubling back on his own steps. Flint Knife's senses seemed sharp, but he was clearly confused by Evan’s maneuvers. Evan crept away, low and silent. Hint Knife howled and ran off across the tundra, away from the campsite.
As he watched him go, Evan caught the heart’s movement again. He let fly another arrow. This one glanced off the heart, bringing forth a tiny spurt of blood before embedding in the ground. As the mist recoiled, the arrow disappeared.
Evan waited, fearing what might come next. Another howl broke out nearby. One of the Boar Spear’s Fianna stumbled around, howling and growling, clutching Evan’s arrow in his thigh. He, too, was lost to rage, hunting for any scent or sound of his attacker.
Evan crept away and kept as far from the Fianna’s senses as he could. Every time he shot an arrow through the mist toward the Heartsplinter, he realized, it somehow struck a Garou in the material world. The wound drove them over the edge, igniting their rage and bringing them instinctually to the spirit world, seeking their foe. How could he strike the Talon’s heart without first hitting every Garou in camp?
More howls broke out and five Wendigo Garou appeared, stepping across the Gauntlet. Evan frowned. He hadn’t shot any more arrows. These Garou weren’t wounded but they were frenzied, lost to rage like the others. Evan frowned. What’s going on here. '
The Garou spread out, sniffing for prey. Evan backed away, moving farther from the center of the mist. He saw a movement beneath the newcomers’ feet—the heart hid among the throng. He took careful aim and shot another arrow. At the last minute, one of the Garou moved, stepping in front of the arrow. It penetrated his torso, sparking a howl of anger. The Garou vaulted toward Evan, tracing the trajectory of the arrow’s flight even in his maddened state.
Evan ran to his right but slipped in the snow. The sound of his fall—M^ven muffled by snow—alerted the enraged Garou’s ears. The Wendigo landed on Eva
n’s back, claws tearing at him.
Evan struggled to throw the Garou off him, his backpack and quiver protecting him from the brunt of the claw damage at the cost of some of his arrows, which snapped under the powerful blows. He cried out, summoning his spirit gifts. A sudden wind slammed into the maddened Wendigo warrior, knocking him over and making him howl in pain. Evan leaped up and ran, out across the tundra, away from the mist.
The other enraged Garou heard him and horned in, charging directly at him.
He fumbled in his quiver for an intact arrow and nocked it as he ran. He twisted around and let it fly at the lead Garou, who took the arrow in his neck. The Garou tumbled over, thrashing, and yanked the arrow out. It wouldn’t stop him for long. Most of Evan’s arrows were normal, not designed to damage werewolves.
Evan doubled back around, trying to figure out where to go, and barely ducked away from a slashing claw. Flint Knife was back, mere inches from Evan. He must have heard Evan’s footfalls.
Evan shifted to dire wolf form and barreled into him, knocking the Garou over. Without losing stride, he kept running. He needed his four legs to outpace the others, who had dropped to all fours in their less agile battle forms.
A shape darted up ahead, moving at an angle to intercept him. The Fianna.
Evan veered away, running perpendicular to the camp. Whatever he did, he had to make sure that none of the Garou came anywhere near Aurak. The stag spirit could only hold off enraged Garou for a short time. Some of the Garou kept running in a straight line, having failed to hear his course change, but two seemed to sense it and veered toward him.
A new Garou appeared before him, stepping over the Gauntlet, howling in frenzy. He sensed Evan’s rushing presence instantly and launched into him, knocking him over.
Evan rolled and leaped on top of the Garou before it could get its superior weight on him. Jaws gnashed and claws swiped at him, tearing open wounds in his rear legs. Evan’s jaw clamped on the Garou's throat and shook, spilling blood across the snow. He realized that he was chewing into Broadshanks, one of the Get of Fenris.
The fight seemed to go out of the boy and Evan released him, jumping away to avoid the rush of other Garou, who had heard the growling and teeth snapping. He felt awful when two of the Wendigo tore into Broadshanks, mistaking him for Evan in their rage-addled state, but he couldn’t do anything to prevent it.
He ran.
Flint Knife appeared beside him, also in dire wolf form. His jaws clamped onto Evan’s right front paw. Evan went down, howling in pain, as Flint Knife released him to move in for a better bite on his neck. Evan writhed, trying to get free, but the Garou was on top of him now, his jaws lowering.
A new howl broke out nearby, deep and angry, carrying across the tundra. Flint Knife paused, confused for a moment even in his frenzied state.
A white wolf plowed into him, knocking him away from Evan. Four more white wolves ran past, colliding with the Wendigo and Fianna. A sixth newcomer, a white-furred Garou bearing a large hammer, moved to block the enraged Garou’s access to Evan.
Evan got to his feet, looking around wonderingly. Three more white-furred Garou moved to surround him, protecting him on all sides.
A new howl broke out, loud and triumphant, chilling even the frenzied Garou, who stood whimpering, unsure where to run.
Evan almost wept in relief as he recognized it. He broke from the Garou who had protectively encircled him, shifting back to human form as he ran. He threw his arms around King Albrecht’s chest.
“Hey, kid, ” Albrecht said, smiling as he wrapped one arm around Evan, hefting his grand klaive with the other. “Didn't I tell you not to go around picking fights with more guys than you can handle? ”
Evan released Albrecht and looked at him, wide-eyed. “How did you find me? "
“Are you kidding? ” Albrecht said. “With all the racket these guys are making? ” Albrecht gestured at the frenzied Garou with his klaive. His Silver Fangs had chased them off to a distance and now stood in a line, ready to repel them if they charged again. The raging Garou ran in circles, confused.
“That’s not what I mean! ” Evan said. “You were in Russia! ”
“Took a while to get back, ” Albrecht said with a shrug. “But we made it. ” The king stared at the frantic werewolves, who howled and paced in a circle, sniffing at the air. "I don’t know what’s going on here, but those guys should’ve come out of their trance by now. ”
“It’s the Heartsplinter, ” Evan said, looking at the enraged Garou with a worried expression. “It’s all around us. I’ve got to find its heart and kill it. ” Evan scanned the area, looking for signs of the crawling heart.
Albrecht frowned and looked quizzically at Evan. “I don’t see anything. You say it’s around us nou/? ”
Evan nodded, groaning. “Only I can see it. Aurak sensed it, but—ohmigod! Aurak! "
He spun around, searching for the old shaman’s body. It was still where he had left it. The stag spirit stomped the ground, marching in a circle around Aurak’s body, threatening anything that even looked in its direction.
Evan ran over. Albrecht followed him with three Silver Fangs closely behind, Derrick Hardtooth among them.
“He got bit by the Talon, ” Evan said, leaning down over Aurak. The stag stepped aside for him, but snorted and bellowed as Albrecht approached. Albrecht stopped a few yards away, respectful of the spirit’s duty.
"I think I got the poison out, ” Evan said. “But I can't be sure. ”
Hardtooth spoke to the stag in a tongue Evan couldn’t understand. The stag lowered its head and stepped aside for the Silver Fang Theurge, who bent down on his knees beside Evan, examining Aurak. He placed his hands over the old man’s body and used a spirit power to heal the wound.
“There is still poison in him, ” Hardtooth said. “I cannot remove it. We must hope his spirit can fight it. ”
A howl broke out nearby, joined at once by all the frenzied Garou. They charged suddenly, aiming at the source of the voices they heard.
The Silver Fangs leaped forward and met the charge. They fell into a rolling, gnashing, barking tangle of limps and claws, blood spilling across the snow.
“I’ve got to find this thing now! ” Evan cried as he leaped up, nocking a new arrow.
Albrecht put his hand on Evan’s shoulder, halting him. “Where’s Mari? ”
Evan groaned. “She chased off after a fomor. She hadn’t come back when Aurak and I stepped over. ” He swallowed hard, hoping that she hadn’t been a victim of his arrow assault on the Heartsplinter. What if she’d come back to the camp only to find a bunch of maddened Garou out for blood? He shook his head, forcing himself not to think about it. “I’ve got to catch the heart, Albrecht. It’s our only chance. I think it’s wounded. Something hurt it before I found it. Otherwise, I don’t think I’d be able to hit it. ”
Albrecht looked at him for a moment, silent. Then he nodded and released his shoulder. “Don’t let anyone get near Evan! ” he yelled to his warriors.
Evan ran toward the fighting Garou, searching the ground for the heart. He suspected it would use the commotion to hide and try to strike at the Garou from close by. He felt of flush of triumph when he saw it, creeping under the feet of a Silver Fang. He raised his bow and shot. The arrow impaled it right in its middle, pinning it to the ground. A terrible screeching sound clawed at Evan’s ears. Even Albrecht and the others heard it; Evan could see them clutch their ears to block the sound.
He ran over to his prey, throwing his bow over his shoulder and drawing his Fang Dagger. The heart struggled to break free from the arrow, its dark blood streaming across the snow. Evan could see two rows of jagged yellow teeth, purple with the poison dribbling down them.
He carefully aimed and brought the knife down right into the thing’s open maw. It screeched again, nearly causing Evan to double over in pain. Its fleshy body spasmed and collapsed, unmoving.
Evan breathed a deep sigh of relief and sat down, tur
ning to look at the others. He frowned. The Silver Fangs still fought the enraged Garou. Three Wendigo were down and one Silver Fang was injured badly enough that another had to take his place while Hardtooth healed him.
The green mist still roiled beneath them at knee level.
Evan shook his head in denial. It didn't make sense. The heart was dead. The mist should be gone. He turned to look at the heart again, impaled on his arrow and knife. It didn’t move. He grasped the knife handle and twisted, chopping the heart into pieces. Blood spilled out, released from the dead organ, but nothing else moved.
Evan spun around again, in near despair. Albrecht waded into the fray, swinging his klaive left and right, hacking the Fianna’s arm off and disemboweling a Wendigo. Evan cried out. “No! They can’t help it! ”
Albrecht gave him an angry look. "I got no choice! ” he yelled. “I’m not losing any of mine to coddle them! This has gone far enough! ”
In moments, the frenzied Garou were down. Evan couldn’t tell if they were dead or if any still lived, unconscious from their wounds.
Albrecht ran his blade through the snow, wiping off the blood, and came over to Evan. He put his hand on his shoulder. “I hate to do that. You know I hate to do that. But I got two men badly wounded now. We’ve been through hell getting back to this side of the world. I couldn't let those guys take us down just because they're under Wyrm control. ”
Evan nodded, head hanging. "I don’t understand this, Albrecht. The banetender—he said I had to strike its heart. Aurak agreed. I got it. But nothing’s changed. ”
Albrecht frowned. “Look, kid. You did your best. I hate to say this, but are you sure it’s not some sort of illusion? I mean, you’re the only one who sees it. ”
Evan glared at Albrecht. “I’m sure, damn it! The ancestors showed it to me. "
Albrecht nodded. “Okay. I accept that. If you’re sure, I’m with you. But you have to decide: What are you going to do now? ”
Evan hung his head again. “I don’t know. If only Aurak were awake H
World of Darkness - [Time of Judgment 02] - The Last Battle Page 24