by Anne Zedwick
In the dark shadows of a pile of cut wood, an old lady in a dark cloak with hard eyes watched the girl cry. She had never been a nice woman and never liked anyone. But the raw pain of this girl’s sobs somehow penetrated her heart. She almost went to give her comfort. Why shouldn’t she? The girl was her granddaughter. Her eyes softened. But then she turned away, pushing away the tiny fragment of love that still remained in her heart. Her eyes hardened again and she disappeared like a wraith.
Evelyn didn’t even notice her.
Chapter Six
Dyret groaned as the news reached him in bed. One of his closest friends, Gavin, stood over his bed. His friend’s coppery fur gently brushed his hand as Gavin sat down in a chair next to his bed.
“Will she never see reason?” Dyret asked weakly. “It’s dangerous out there! What would possess her to leave the safety of my castle?”
Gavin shrugged. “I think she went back for her brother.”
“Send someone after her. We have to get her back here before he finds her.”
Gavin nodded. “Of course, Dyret.” He touched Dyret’s hand with his own. “Um…are you feeling better?”
“I’ll be fine by tomorrow. We heal quickly, you know…at least that’s one favor the witch did us.”
Satisfied that his friend was okay, Gavin nodded and left the room.
Dyret sighed. Why did he even care what happened to her? Wouldn’t it be good if Claw got the witch to remove the curse? If Evelyn could help, then why did he care? Sometimes he wished things could be easier; that he didn’t have a human heart still. Because then, he wouldn’t have problems with feelings of love rising in him, love for this girl that he had been watching for years. Love for the girl that had killed a lot of his friends.
Dyret rolled over and closed his eyes. Even if he had to make sacrifices, he wouldn’t wish that he didn’t love Evelyn. He knew she might not care for him the same way, but at least she didn’t hate him anymore. And that was enough for the time. He would protect her with his life. The thought came to him hard as he realized it. He really would give his life for this girl. He’d never felt that way before about anyone else other than his closest friends that were in his ‘pack’.
Dyret pushed the thought from his head, and let himself drift into sleep.
***
Evelyn heard a snap behind her and spun around. A coppery colored beast was standing behind her. His arms were folded, and although his look was stern, she could see something in his eyes…was it pity?
“I have to get you back to the castle,” he told her softly.
Evelyn shook her head. “I have to go get my brother!”
“He’s gone.”
“No! He’s not gone! I refuse to believe that.”
The beast walked slowly up to her. “Please, Miss Evelyn, come with me.”
“I won’t go back there. I need to find David.” She rubbed her watery eyes. “Nothing is going to stop me from getting my brother back.”
He went to her and shrugged. Picking her up off her feet and tossing her over his shoulder, he lightly started walking back toward the castle.
Evelyn pounded on his back, hitting him with all her might. “Let me go! I have to help David! Please!”
He didn’t respond, but if she could see his face, she would realize that his heart was breaking. She continued to cry and struggle, all the way back to the castle.
Evelyn was brought to Dyret’s room and she literally growled at the copper beast as he left the room.
“Are you mad, Evelyn?” Dyret was out of bed and sitting in a chair by the window. He looked at her with his huge, brown eyes. “What were you thinking?”
“I couldn’t leave David with that….thing out there. I should have gone sooner!” Her voice rose. “And your stupid beast friend wouldn’t let me help him. I have to go get my brother. He’s in danger because of me! I have to go save David!”
“What? Like Claw wants you to? So that he can kill him and get you? Evelyn, think rationally. You can’t just charge over there and take him from Claw. That guy is old, experienced, and he won’t just let you take your brother and walk away with him. He’s stronger even than I am.”
“But David’s in danger!”
“And he’ll be in more danger if you go to him!”
Evelyn sank to the floor, her eyes wet. “You don’t understand. I have to do something…” she whispered.
Dyret slid from his chair and put his huge, warm arms around her. “We will. I’ll help you get him back, but you can’t do it alone.”
Evelyn leaned into him, nodding against his furry chest.
“It’ll be okay, Evelyn. It’ll all be okay, I promise.”
Evelyn wanted to believe him, but she wasn’t sure if she could. His voice was so soft and comforting, and yet she couldn’t escape the fact that David was somewhere with the monster that had planned on killing her family.
“I believe you,” She whispered. But the words were hollow on her tongue, meaning nothing to her. It was just another lie. She couldn’t believe that it would be okay when David was still in danger. She wouldn’t believe him until David was safe.
Dyret stroked her mousey brown hair, running his clawed fingers through the softness of her locks. “Good.”
Evelyn stepped away from him. “So what are we going to do? I refuse to let David stay with that…thing…any longer than necessary.”
Chapter Seven
The old woman stood, mist curling around her dark cloak. She looked like a phantom in the fog. The blackness of the cloak covered most of her features and made her look menacing and mysterious.
A frog croaked in the distance, the low sound echoing across the swamp and falling faintly on the woman’s ears. The mist was cool on the woman’s hands as she crossed her arms and frowned. Her cloak rustled as she took a few steps forward, careful to avoid the swampy water. Her feet squished on the soft ground. She smiled. Claw was an idiot if he thought that he could force her to turn him back. Using her granddaughter against her would do no good. Evelyn didn’t even know where she was. And besides, she didn’t care all that much what happened to that naïve little girl.
The woman almost laughed. She could kill them all whenever she liked. But then, where would be the fun in that? She would much rather watch Claw’s failed attempts at finding her and laugh at how Dyret thought he could make Evelyn love him. They were all going to fail in the end. That, she was certain of. Although now, she thought, would be a good time to spice it all up and make it harder for them and more interesting for her. It seemed like as good a time as any to get involved in what happened to them. She grinned. After she was done with them, they’d either be dead, or wishing they were. All the sounds of the swamp fell silent as she began to work her dark spells.
***
Dyret sighed in his red velvet chair. He was confused; he wanted so much for Evelyn to love him, although he knew it was almost impossible. And yet he still hoped, because love shouldn’t give up, and he was certain that he loved her. He didn’t know what Evelyn felt for him, but he did know that because he was a beast—nothing should happen between them. Nothing could happen between them.
But no matter how he tried to push the feelings for her away, they kept coming back, nagging at the back of his mind until he couldn't think of anything but her. He looked down at his form: a ragged, frightening sight. He didn’t blame Evelyn for being afraid of him and killing his friends. He was a monster, with an outer shell that marked him as a freak of nature. He took a mirror from the table that stood next to him and looked at his horrifying reflection. Slowly, his face and body shifted into a human form. The man that looked at him had a pained expression on his otherwise handsome face. It was hard to keep his human form very long. The spell fought against him.
His brownish hair was wild and it hung in his gold-flecked brown eyes. His shirt was dirty and torn, the blue color of the fabric faded to gray. His arms and chest were heavily muscled from years of being a beast and from f
requent hunting trips and fighting practices with his friends.
Dyret grunted, and his form shifted into the beast again. He turned away from the mirror, not wishing to look at the hairy freak that stared back at him. Evelyn would never care for such a monster. Even if she liked his personality, it was unrealistic no matter how much he wanted it.
A knock sounded on the door, shaking Dyret from his thoughts.
“Come in,” he called.
The door swung open and Evelyn stepped in. She wore a yellow dress with silky quarter length bell sleeves and gold trim around the neck. She looked down. “Umm….my clothes were ripped and dirty…one of your friends found this for me…”
Dyret opened his mouth to speak and then closed it. She was beautiful. When Evelyn took another step into the room and closed the door, giving him a weird look. Dyret shrugged. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Ah…I came to talk to you about getting David back.”
“Yes, well, about that…I am going to have you stay here and—”
Evelyn crossed her arms and shook her head. “I won’t just sit here and be left behind. I know what you’re thinking. And I will not let you go out to find him while I sit here waiting for you to come back. Nuh-uh. Not happening.”
“But it’ll be dangerous.”
“I don’t care!” She knew she shouldn’t get mad at him, but she couldn’t help feel hurt that he wanted to leave her behind. “I hunted you, remember? I killed many of your group. Wasn’t that dangerous?”
She wanted to take the words back the minute she said them. Evelyn put a hand to her mouth and looked down. “I’m sorry…”
Dyret put a hand on her shoulder. He wasn’t mad, and didn’t even seem hurt. “Evelyn, I know you want to make sure your brother is safe, but you have to trust me. You’re the one that Black Claw wants. He’ll hurt you and maybe kill you if he gets you and you can’t give him the information he wants.”
Evelyn looked up into his dark eyes. “But I can’t just sit here…” She choked on the words.
“There’s nothing else you can do right now.”
When Dyret put his arm around her slowly, Evelyn leaned into his warmth. “What if…what if David is…” her voice cracked, “dead…?”
Dyret stroked her hair. “He won’t be. Claw would want him alive so that he can get you to help him.”
Evelyn nodded; somehow, she trusted this beast that held her now. Somehow, she trusted him with her life. How could Dyret not hate her? How could he be so kind to her when she said things to hurt him and had killed so many of his friends?
She looked up at his serene face. “Dyret?”
“Hmm?”
“After we find David…” she looked down, “I’m going to help you, like you’ve helped me so many times. I don’t know how yet, but I am going to.”
Dyret was quiet, and if Evelyn had looked up, she would have seen that his eyes were glistening with shimmering tears.
“I want to help you become human again,” Evelyn whispered.
Dyret hugged her close to him. “I would like that.”
Evelyn put her arms around his thick chest and nestled into his soft fur. She didn’t know if she could find a way to make him human again, but she had to try. He’d done so much for her. He didn’t hate her. “But I’m still going with you,” She whispered with a smile. “Nothing you say will change my mind. I’ll sneak out if I have to. You aren’t leaving me behind.”
Chapter Eight
Dyret sat on his bed, his head pounding. What was going on? It felt like a cold, dark hand was gripping his heart. He shook with cold, and a sudden pain jolted him off the bed and onto the floor with a grunt. Then it was gone. He felt fine. Perfectly fine…then it happened.
Dyret suddenly hated everything. He smashed his hand through his bed post. The wood splintered into pieces, scattering across the room with a loud crack. He brought his fist down on the wooden chair next to his window, reducing it to fragments.
Dyret panted on the floor. He looked around the room. What just happened? The hatred that had formed in heart was gone, but he could clearly see what he’d done. His room was a mess. He scanned the room nervously. He’d never done anything like this before.
His door flung open and Gavin came running in. “Dyret? Dyret! Are you okay? What happened?”
Dyret looked up at him. He shook his head. “I don’t know…I just went…mad…”
Gavin helped Dyret up. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
“Yeah…yeah, I’m fine. Are we gonna leave to go find David now? Is everyone ready?”
Gavin nodded. “Yep. Everyone’s ready to go. Um…Evelyn is trying to convince us to let her go too…what do I do? Should we stick her back in the dungeon?” He grinned.
Dyret thought of the day before. “She’ll go with us,” He sighed. He knew it was a bad idea, but if they left her behind, she’d just follow them anyway.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes!” Dyret snapped, his eyes growing hard with anger.
Gavin stepped back. “Okay, okay…Uh, Dyret, are you sure you’re doing all right?”
“I’m fine!” He glared at his friend. “I’m fine! Now leave me alone! I’ll be out in a minute.”
Gavin left the room with one last worried glance at Dyret.
Dyret sat down on his partially ruined bed with a sigh. His head spun. A few minutes later, he stood and went out to find the search party. He, Gavin, Evelyn, and another friend named Cogan were all going.
Evelyn was standing by a horse and holding the bridle. She stroked its golden neck gently. She’d found some pants and a ragged shirt to wear and her soft brown hair was pulled into a tight braid. She looked at him and smiled, “Are we ready to go?”
“Yeah.” Dyret swung up into the saddle of his horse and urged it into the woods. “Come on.” His voice was anything but kind. The small party followed him away from the safety of the castle.
Evelyn rode alongside Dyret, neither of them speaking for a long while.
“Is there something wrong?” Evelyn finally said. “You seem…angry about something.” It wasn’t hard to notice his angry jerks on the horse’s reins and tense posture in the saddle.
Dyret clenched his hands into fits, his sharp claws biting into his palms. “I’m fine.” He said flatly.
“Are you sure? I’ve never seen you like—”
“I said I’m fine. Now be quiet, will you?!”
Evelyn’s horse stopped and she didn’t try to get it moving again. She stared at Dyret’s back as he rode on. Something was definitely wrong with him. Was he mad at her for something? She couldn’t think of anything that she’d done to make him this mad at her. Maybe he was just worried that something would happen to her?
Gavin pulled up beside her and gave her horse a gentle pat on the rear. They started moving again.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into him,” he said quietly. “He just…got angry all of the sudden in his room. Ripped the place apart.”
Evelyn stared at him with her dark eyes. “He….ripped his room apart?”
Gavin nodded. “It’s like….like he’s becoming an animal or something…”
Evelyn was quiet. Dyret was becoming an animal. She had to help him. She knew it wasn’t anything that just happened, there had to be something that did it to him…a spell that the witch cast or something. Her mind went through all the possibilities, and she kept thinking of Black Claw. What if he’d found the witch and had her cast some kind of spell on Dyret?
Evelyn moved her horse into an easy canter; she had to find Black Claw. As she passed Dyret, she called to him. “I’m gonna scout ahead.”
Dyret grunted. He didn’t even seem to care about her anymore. Evelyn left the party behind, quickly picking up speed and expertly guiding her horse through the trees.
Evelyn knew that it wouldn’t be hard for her to find Claw if she was alone—or for him to find her—but with the search party with her, she might not find him for a long
time.
Soon she was out of sight of the beasts and was still clipping along. Suddenly her horse slowed and came to a dead stop, prancing in a nervous circle. It whinnied uncomfortably, ears flattened and eyes white. That was all the warning that Evelyn needed. She leapt from the saddle, already drawing out her knives. Her eyes darted around the trees, missing nothing. Then she saw the dark figure standing quietly by a tree, another limp figure held in one of his hand. Evelyn ran forward, her eyes narrowing into angry slits.
“Claw! What did you do to him?” She couldn’t keep the worry out of her voice.
Claw laughed, lifting David up and dropping him onto the ground. Evelyn’s brother fell with a hard thump. Evelyn ran and knelt by him, brushing a loose strand of hair from his sweat-soaked forehead. “David, David, can you hear me? David! Get up.” Her eyes filled with tears.
What if he was dead? She turned on the black beast angrily, “Did you kill him? What did you do? If he’s dead, I’ll kill myself and you’ll never get what you want!”
“Relax. He’s not dead. Although, he will be soon unless you help me.”
“If you even touch him, I’ll kill you.”
“I don’t have to touch him to kill him. I merely have to leave him alone.”
“What are you talking about?” Evelyn whispered. “If he dies…I’ll hunt you down for the rest of my life.”
“Whether he lives or dies is entirely up to you, Evelyn.”
“What—did—you—do to him?!”
“I poisoned him. But I have the antidote, don’t worry.” He smirked, “You only have to lead me to your grandmother.”
Evelyn’s heart gave way to despair. “Don’t you see? I don’t know where she is. I can’t help you! Give him the antidote. Please!”
Claw shook his head. “It’s not good to lie, you know.”
“I’m not lying!” She bent over David. “You’re going to kill him!”