His eyes narrowed, Can I trust this stranger? “You say I am in danger, why is that and who is this female elf?” It was then that he realized who it was.
Lucas stood up; his black leather clothing creaked as he moved. “You met her the other day, Jennifer Townsend.”
His heart sank as he heard her name. “She is only a girl; she is younger than I, so how can she be a danger to me?”
“We believe she has marked you, maybe she doesn’t know you are a werewolf. She may have mistaken you for an elf. She knows she is an elf though and according to your foster mother’s description she is approaching maturity. She will be seeking a mate, and it seems she has picked you.” His eyes seemed to bore into his skull, “She touched you didn’t she, and you felt something, something you have never felt before, am I right?”
He realized Lucas wasn’t lying, Jennifer, the girl with the golden hair is an elf and I’m a werewolf. He wondered if he should tell of the episode at the ford, and about hearing Jennifer’s voice inside his head, instead he said, “And what’s wrong with that, I’m twelve years old and I won’t always be twelve, I’m maturing too, and not only that, I happen to like her very much. I want to see her again. I feel we were meant to meet. I know she likes me and who knows, maybe one day we will be a pair.”
Lucas’ face flushed heavily as his voice rose. “You cannot mate with an elf, if you touched one drop of her blood with just your finger you would change into a fierce monster, a raging, rabid creature, more deadly than a werewolf and would have to be destroyed.” Then his voice changed, like father to son, as he said, “It would be the end of you, Jason.”
He felt sick, his head sank. They were taking him away from her, her from him. “I don’t understand. Why is this happening to me?”
Lucas shook his head and gazed at the floor, “Jason, look at me. I have done this many times during the span of my long life, werewolves infatuated with elven maidens, and it doesn’t get any easier. Elves and werewolves are two entirely different species, they have lived in peace and harmony since they came together, and their only enemies are the goblins.”
He watched him and listened intently, this was new to him, and now he was curious.
“The elves defeated the goblins in a great battle in the Cambrian Mountains with the werewolves help. That was over five thousand years ago, and as a reward, the elf lord Ardronicus granted the werewolves everlasting life with the use of Chanteline, the rune star, the elves most treasured possession, the giver of long life.”
“The rune star, what is that?”
“The rune star is a magical stone, it’s a large white diamond covered in ancient runes, only the white witch Helga knows their meaning and she lies in a self-induced coma. She is the oldest being on the planet. The rune star grants everlasting life to its bearers and its protectors. You are one of its protectors.” Jason frowned, and dropped his gaze. Lucas smiled, “Yes, you too will enjoy a long life, but don’t think that makes you totally invincible, you are indestructible in a way, your wounds will heal quickly, but you can die just like any human, elf or goblin if you lose your head.”
“A goblin, you mentioned a war with goblins, do they still exist then?”
“I imagine so, we didn’t kill every last one of them.”
He said ‘we’, how old is he then? He said, “I don’t see why I have to go, there are more elves I imagine, and how would I avoid them if they are a danger to me.”
“Elves are not a danger, the ones seeking a mate are, they are avaricious. Once they find a mate they never relinquish their hold on him or her. Jennifer Townsend will wait until both of you have reached maturity, which will be in your case, when you are seventeen and you will come under her spell. You see, Jason, in our human form we are indistinguishable between elves and other werewolves, we have a very similar aura, odour, the only difference is, elves are telepathic, and we are not.”
“I know, for I heard her voice inside my head.” Damn, why did I say that?
Lucas’ jaw dropped, “That is a million to one chance! It means you are a receiver! Oh dear, you are really hooked. This is worse than I thought. We were to move you away in a few days time, we were going to send you to a small village near Huntingdon, but she will track you there. You will to go to Brecon Beacon National Park, immediately, there is a private college there, I have contacts, so it will be easy to slip you in during terms.”
He stood there, mesmerised, “By that you mean I am to leave immediately?”
“At first light.”
“What about mum and dad, and the farm, the animals. Won’t I ever see them again?”
Lucas smiled. “You will see them agin, one day, when Jennifer Townsend mates with one of her own kind. Her parents have been made aware and they will keep a watchful eye on her. As for your mum and dad, as a reward for taking you in, in the hope of helping you to find your way in the human world, and for your thorough education, they were given everlasting life when they were exposed to the rune star.”
They both turned to a knock at the door, Jason’s mum and dad came in. His dad said, “We were listening at the door, we have everything packed, food and drink too, ready for the morn.”
Jason’s brows knitted, “You were both eavesdropping.”
His mother said, “No we weren’t, we intended to listen, in case we were needed, now off to bed with you, you two have talked enough.”
Chapter four.
Departure.
Jason rose from a fitful sleep. He dressed and ate a silent breakfast with the others. When they had finished, his mother told him as they rose from the table, “Aries is saddled and waiting, so be off with you.” She held out her arms and they embraced, she whispered, “We will miss you, my son, we love you and we will meet again, and don’t forget to write, at least once a month.”
She kissed him on the cheek and his dad came forward. He hugged Jason, almost squeezing the breath out of him, “You take care now, study hard and eat properly.” He added, “There is one thing, and don’t forget this; you must learn to run at the same pace as humans and display the same exertion and don’t swim any longer than three or four minutes under water, that way you will pass for one of them.” He added, “That means you must also hide your superior strength, it seems being a werewolf has its disadvantages too.”
Jason looked down as Jessie came in, “She knows I’m leaving, oh the sorrow, she grieves for me.” He knelt down and Jessie licked his face and whined softly. He stroked her head, scratched her behind the ears and she licked his ears as he hugged her to him.
“She’ll miss you just as much as we will, Jason.” His mother stooped down and pulled on Jessie’s collar, separating the pair.
Jason rose up, he wiped his eyes and his voice caught, “I, I will miss you all.” He forced a laugh, “Even the pigs.”
His parents laughed, despite their tears.
Lucas said, “It’s time to leave, Jason, you have train to catch.”
He turned one last time in the saddle, his parents were still there at the farmhouse door, his dad held on to Jessie by her collar as she pawed the air, he waved to them and watched as the hill took them from his sight.
He said goodbye to Lucas, and boarded the train and found a seat by the window. As the steam train left the station he watched the man in black grow smaller and smaller.
He went through in his mind their conversation on the journey into town. Lucas told him: ‘Beacon House is on the edge of a national park in Southern Wales, it’s a school for gifted children, your high IQ and your instant recall will help you through. You will make many friends, boys and girls of your age. You will remain there for at least five years. The Townsend girl should have found another, er, victim by then.’
Despite the warning, he hoped this would not be the case, ‘How will she find another elf?’
His heart almost stopped as he heard, ‘It shouldn’t be too difficult; the town is full of them, another reason for you to leave. Lyndon’s population is
ten percent Elvin, most towns are the same.’ after moving his mount closer he said, ‘Lyndon is where the rune stone is kept, deep in an underground vault.’
He pictured her in his mind, he still refused to believe completely that Jennifer was an elf, he had seen her ears, they were on the large side and only oval in shape, ‘I thought elves had pointed ears.’
He’d despaired as Lucas told him, ‘Some of them do and they hide them behind their long hair.’ He added, ‘Jason, forget her.’
“Forget her he says, so easy to say, but hard to do.” He realised his questions were only helping Lucas to convince him of the futility of his doubt, and if all this was true then he wanted to know more. ‘Tell me about my ancestors, my parents, and how many more of my race are there and how would I know them.’
Lucas remained silent for a while and then he told him, ‘Your ancestors live in the Scottish highlands, they are now a nation of sheep farmers. The wool trade is a lucrative business for them, but they don’t mix with humans, for one thing they would be conspicuous by their longevity. There are others in the Welsh mountains and they live in communes, as for how many werewolves there are, it is difficult to say as they all prefer to live well way from townspeople.’
‘Yes, the smells, something I will have to get used to I suppose.’
‘And that is how you will know your own kind, when you get to know their scent that is, but don’t worry, I won’t be far away.’
He assumed it was Lucas down by the river the other night, and he listened to him as he carried on. ‘There are other children like you, fostered out. Their parents, like your own, want them to grow up as humans, something, I am sad to say, the elves don’t take kindly to.’
‘Where do werewolves-. Where do our ancestors come from?’
‘Legend has it we came from the far north, the land of Thor, of Odin and Asgard, the land of the dwarves and Vikings.’
‘Are there still dwarves?’
‘Yes, but they rarely show themselves, they are too busy mining for precious metals.’
He felt suddenly light-headed, ‘When do I start howling at the moon?’
‘There are many myths surrounding werewolves. The most common one is that we change into a terribly fierce and blood-thirsty beast who feeds mainly on human flesh at every full moon.’ He added, ‘We transform for a reason, for self-preservation mostly.’
His mind had suddenly demanded to know more. ‘Do we change in times of danger? What should I do if I am in danger?’
‘You don’t need to change to protect yourself, just look at you, you are the size of a well-built sixteen-year-old and your dad says you are as strong as he is and you are also faster than a human. Your high IQ is one of the reasons you were fostered out to your mum when you were one year old. Your mum, as you call her, is a highly qualified teacher, hence your high educational qualifications.’ He shrugged, ‘As for changing into a fierce beast, that is true, but it is an extremely painful process and you are not mature enough to change yet, in five years time, maybe.’
‘You say maybe?’
‘If the need arises, if the elves call us to battle,’ but that hasn’t happened in five thousand years and the chances of it happening again are nil.’
He thought about those last half-dozen words, they held a tinge of doubt and Lucas remained silent thereafter, while Jason thought of his joining a human community, eating with them, studying, taking part in sport and swimming.
After a while his mind turned to Jennifer, she was lost, gone forever and when he did see her again she would be betrothed to another elf, and he wondered what his future wife would look like, he imagined she would also be a werewolf, but he had no desire to spend his life herding sheep in the Welsh or Scottish mountains. He decided when the time was right, when he had finished his schooling, he would seek out his real parents.
Lucas watched as the train disappeared round a far bend. He walked towards a red-painted telephone booth on the platform. He entered and took out several coins. He picked up the handset and fed the coins into a slot in the black box. He dialled a number and as soon as he heard a voice he pressed one of the buttons below and spoke, “He’s on his way.”…“Is she? Well, you know what to do, as in the future things will start to happen.” He listened for a while in silence, then replaced the phone and walked out into the sunlight. He took a deep breath and clapped his hands together. “Perfect,” he said, “and now for the hard part.”
Jason woke up with a start. He looked at his pocket watch, almost midday. He looked out of the window. The train was on a long curve and he could see a station in the distance. He had changed trains three times up to now and this last stop would be the one where the college was situated.
Chapter five.
Brecon Beacon House.
The first thing Jason noticed as he stepped down from the train was the damp. The air was almost wet with moisture. It was however, clean, no stinking petrol or diesel fumes. The stink of burning coal from the train had been enough, but that was fading in the wind. He took a deep breath and gazed about him. The old railway station was deserted and he noticed the woodwork needed a coat of paint. The air was quite cool for early August, but that didn’t bother him, he relished the cold weather. Lucas told him elves preferred the warmer climes - even though they were just as impervious to extreme cold as werewolves were - so the chance of any elf residing in this chilly climate were quite remote.
Lucas told him he would be met at the station and that he was to wait on the platform.
He smelled the human before he heard him, a tobacco smell, mixed with soap and something peppery and mint-like. He heard him before he saw him, first the heavy breathing and then loud footsteps on a wooden floor. As the man emerged through the waiting room doorway he looked in his direction and called out, “Hello, Jason, Jason Longfellow?”
He acknowledged with a wave and held his hand out to the tubby man as he reached him, puffing and panting, wrapped in a thick anorak and wearing a multi-coloured woollen beret that hung down one side of his head. “That’s me, how do you do, Mr. er...”
The man grasped his hand, and squeezed it gently. “Wednesday is my name, Arthur Wednesday, maths teacher. Welcome to Wales, Jason, I understand it is your first time here.” He eyed Jason’s jeans, his leather blouson and T-shirt. “Aren’t you cold, my boy, walking around in a T-shirt?”
He took an instant liking to him, and said as he looked down at his chubby face, wrinkled with concern, “Oh yes, it is rather chilly here,” and managed to imitate a slight shiver as he zipped up his jacket.
“Come on then, a brisk walk will soon warm you up. We have quite a way to go yet.”
With his rucksack on his shoulder and his suitcase in his hand, he strolled behind Mr Wednesday. They reached the end of the platform, walked onto the road and approached a small buggy with a tired-looking pony in the traces.
He spied a young woman watching them from across the road. She was tall with long black hair that covered most of her face. She was dressed in black, with black trousers stuffed into military-styled boots. He thought of Lucas and his black attire. Is she one of us? But where Lucas had worn leather, her clothing, trousers and a tunic fastened at the neck, together with an ankle-length cloak, was made of some silken material that hung around her body like a shroud and moved with the wind.
The wind, now increasing, came to him from her direction and he caught a whiff of her scent. He hid his surprise out of instinct, this was a scent he had never come across before, an acrid odour, bitter and cloying, and he watched as she turned her back on him and walked away in the direction of the woods.
He stowed his luggage behind the seat and sat down beside Mr Wednesday who promptly covered their legs with a thick woollen blanket and then took up the reins. At a click of his tongue, the ‘tired-looking’ pony came alive and set off at an easy trot. The tubby man grinned at Jason’s surprised expression. “He used to be a race horse, a trotter; he can go quite a distance at this rat
e.”
On the journey there, he was disappointed to discover there was no swimming pool at the school, but as they arrived there over three hours later, with numerous stops in between to water the horse, he was sure he could smell fresh water nearby.
The building - a three storey, red-bricked affair - was smaller than he had imagined. Three pupils dressed in identical blazers greeted them as the buggy pulled up at the front door of the building. Wednesday climbed down and introduced them, two girls and a boy. Jason saw two girls around his age, wearing pleated skirts and white socks with sensible shoes. The boy was a few years older than him and he wore grey flannels, and a white shirt and tie that matched the girls. “May I introduce Jason? This is Ingrid; she arrived from Germany last year.”
A tall girl with short ginger hair and freckled features held out her hand, “Hi, Jason.”
Silvermoon. A Tale of a Young Werewolf. A YA Novel. 12-18 Page 3