by Tracy Falbe
From the street, Thal rushed between two buildings. Two green eyes confronted him in the dark. Rainer snarled and charged. Thal jumped back to avoid the lunging jaws. They slashed against each other with heavy claws and rolled and snapped in the heavy throes of fur-flying battle. Barrels were knocked over. They rolled and crashed, heedless of obstacles. Their snarling battle spilled into the moonlit street. Thal kept giving ground. Rainer’s aggressiveness shocked him. The submissive companionship of the night before should not have shifted into attack.
The challenge soon summoned Thal’s temper. His clawed hands seized the werewolf by the mouth behind his last teeth. All of Rainer’s limbs scratched against Thal’s exposed torso, but he maintained his fierce grip on the mouth. He twisted Rainer’s head until he yowled. Thal threw him down hard on the cobbled street. Thal jumped on top of him and bit him on the back of the neck. His teeth broke the skin but he held back from delivering the crushing force that would crack the spine. Rainer’s strong body bucked and heaved against Thal’s jaws, but Thal kept him pinned.
Rainer finally stopped struggling and whimpered. Thal bit down a little harder to make his point and then eased away. Rumbling ominously, Thal circled Rainer’s crumpled form, not quite trusting the surrender.
Rainer slunk away. His ears were flat and his tail tucked, but his black lips still quivered angrily around jagged teeth. Thal edged closer. His fur bristled and his tail was high. Rainer snapped at him, and Thal struck. He and Rainer tussled brutally. The snapping frenzy of their confrontation shook the shutters on windows. The noise reminded all who heard it of the fragility of their soft human bodies.
Thal thrashed Rainer with heavy blows and bit his arm and flung him against a building. Stunned and bleeding, Rainer staggered back, panting and much more sincerely subdued. Thal was panting heavily as well but was filled with the magical vitality that only victors know.
Shouting and pounding footsteps down the street broke through the red haze of battle. Both werewolves looked at the torch-bearing mob rushing to confront them. A blast slashed at their sensitive ears. A hot lead ball shattered the corner of a building near Thal’s head.
Rainer fled and Thal followed him. Thal nudged Rainer several times, trying to get him to stop. They had left the mob behind and it would be easy to avoid it in the labyrinth of the city, but Rainer kept running. They reached the outer wall of the Little Quarter. Because of the noise in the city, the gate guards had stirred up their watchfires. Thal tried again to stop Rainer, but he headed straight for the gate. Men screamed but stood their ground. Rainer charged them and dodged their spears. He started scrabbling against the gate in mad desperation to get out. The guards fell back as Thal jumped into their midst. His swinging arms bashed them away, but a man on a balcony took a shot with a crossbow. Thal felt the arrow split the hairs of his tail. He joined Rainer at the gate and heaved off the bar. The heavy slab of wood crashed to the street and Rainer pried open the gate and shimmied out the gap in total panic. Thal kept after him. The chase through the outer city was a blur. The werewolves stayed on the main road until they reached the village-dotted countryside. They bounded across fields and leaped hedges. The scent of cut hay freshened the night breeze. Rainer fled into a woodlot and Thal welcomed the embrace of the wild patch of old trees.
******
Regis tripped on the last step before reaching the balcony. He popped up quickly, drawn by the crazy roaring. Unaware of the pain in his bashed knee, he flopped against the balcony railing next to Valentino. They gaped at the wild scene in the street.
“Is it Thal?” Regis said.
“He…changed,” Valentino managed to answer.
The violent crashing ended abruptly as one werewolf triumphed over the other. Into the sudden quiet the noise of the approaching mob intruded.
“They’re being hunted!” Regis cried.
A shot was fired and the werewolves dashed away. Pistol started barking and clawing at Regis’s leg. The dog ran to the stairs and then back to Regis and then to the stairs, clearly wanting someone to follow Thal.
Regis presumed to grab Valentino. The intrusion of physical contact snapped the man back into his normal mind a little.
“Where are his clothes?!” Regis demanded.
Valentino slapped away his hand. “How did you know he would take his clothes off?” he said.
“He always does, so not to ruin them,” Regis said.
“You’ve seen this before?” Valentino said.
“I’ve not seen it,” Regis whispered. Until now, he had not been able to truly imagine Thal as that powerful and vicious creature.
He looked down into the street. Streaks of fiery light revealed the passing mob. His chest lurched with worry for Thal and for the men hunting him.
Pistol whined and tugged at Regis’s ankle. “We must bring him his clothes. His dog will find him,” he said.
“His clothes are on the bench,” Valentino said.
Regis gathered them in his arms. He held the weapons awkwardly while trying not to drop the boots.
“I’ll take those,” Valentino said.
“Please, Condottiere, you have a horse. Please help me catch up to him,” Regis said.
Pistol yipped and danced at the top of the stairs impatiently.
Valentino’s mind was as garbled as a spilled box of beads bouncing in every direction. The feel of the werewolf touching his face was still itching across his cheek. Thal could have ripped him to pieces, but he had not.
The shouting of the mob receded. Valentino reckoned that Thal would outrun his hunters, but how long would his werewolf power last? What would happen when he became a man again? Valentino suddenly understood the musician’s concern.
“You stay here. I’ll go after him,” Valentino decided and took the rest of the clothing from Regis. He strode to the stairs and the little dog bounded down ahead of him. The household was in hysterics. The Condottiere had no time to give anyone answers. He ordered the servants to bar the doors and not open them till dawn.
Regis encountered Raphael and Carlo and told them the Condottiere would try to find Thal. Reluctantly the musicians watched the big man barge off to the stables.
******
Rainer flopped into a leafy hollow where an old tree had torn open the ground when it fell in a strong wind. Thal stopped close by. He could smell the blood of Rainer’s wounds. Regret flared even if he had inflicted them in defense. Panting, he hunkered down to wait until Rainer lost his wolfen shell and they could talk as men.
Rainer groaned and licked the bite wound on his arm. When his sorrowful glance connected with Thal’s watchful eyes, Thal felt no true malice in the werewolf, only confusion and untenable urges.
Thal stretched out more comfortably on the cool leafy ground. After many nights inside walls, this return to open landscape refreshed his spirit. He felt content between the throbbing sky and the steady rhythm of the Earth.
His sigh wheezed through his long snout. He hoped that his calm presence would draw some of the poisonous humor from Rainer.
The night waned, and Rainer’s eyelids finally slipped shut. His sleep did not last. Twitching advanced to convulsing and then his whole body was heaving and collapsing. Fur fell away and exposed his human skin. Bloody scratches and puncture marks marred his flesh and made his old scars less noticeable. His jaws and claws shrank away and his tail disappeared.
When the transformation was done, Rainer hugged his shivering body. With teeth chattering, he watched Thal change back to a man. Because he knew how painful transformation was, he sympathized as Thal shed his wolfen appearance. When it was finished, Rainer was surprised to see that Thal still possessed a fur. The faint glow of the sinking moon sprinkled the lustrous fur with celestial light.
Thal set a gentle hand on Rainer’s shoulder. “How badly are you hurt?” he asked.
“I will be all right,” Rainer whispered. He was shaking hard.
“You’re cold,” Thal said and placed his fur arou
nd Rainer’s shoulders.
Although Rainer needed the covering, he mistrusted the tingle of the hide against his skin. It felt like the first itching pull of the moon curse in the hours before his body changed.
“Why did you attack me?” Thal said.
Rainer moaned and looked away. He had been so foolish!
“Please tell me,” Thal coaxed. “My wish is for us to be friends.”
“Hah!” Rainer cried.
“Why is that so bad a thing? We should be together,” Thal said.
“What do you want from me?” Rainer said.
“I don’t want anything,” Thal said.
Rainer’s face fell into one hand. His other hand flopped to his chest but his cross on a string of beads was back at the Clementinum. He groaned, missing the comfort of his bauble that let him cling to salvation even if it was out of reach.
He rubbed his face and tried to gather his wits. Thal was being so patient, and Rainer was embarrassed by his pathetic mewling.
“I wanted to drive you away,” he confessed.
“Drive me away? Why?” Thal said, confused.
“To protect you. You have to get away from Prague,” Rainer said.
“The danger is no less for you. Those patrols hunt us both,” Thal said.
“Just go away from here,” Rainer insisted.
“Why?”
Rainer rubbed the bite on his arm. The wound hurt worse when he thought about his duty to God and Brother Vito.
“Ah, I am bitten again. Twice cursed I am. There is no hope,” Rainer whimpered.
“I’m so sorry. You attacked me. I had to stop you,” Thal said.
“I know, but I’ll never be free of this magic now that I’ve been bitten by two werewolves. Why does God punish me so?” Rainer said.
Thal wondered if he could make a man into a werewolf. He was not sure if he would ever want to put that to the test.
“You wish you did not have this power,” Thal surmised.
Rainer shook his head. “I’d do anything to be rid of it.”
Although Thal had longed to return to his true wolf state and rejoin his pack, he had never considered his new life as a werewolf and a man to be a despicable thing.
“Our power is no curse. I can teach you to control your urges. We don’t have to kill people. Stay with me and when the moon is full I will guide you. We can hunt our normal prey. You can learn to live with this,” Thal said.
Rainer’s mouth hung open. Thal’s attitude shocked him beyond comprehension.
“You’d have me celebrate this Devil’s life as a blessing?” he said with disgust.
“I’m no Devil,” Thal said.
“Denying your sin only makes it worse,” Rainer argued.
The barricades around Rainer’s mind were sturdy, and Thal despaired of breaching that haunted fortress impervious to reason.
Returning to a different subject, Thal asked, “What is it you want to protect me from?”
When Rainer resisted answering both bites flared with pain.
“Brother Vito means to trap you,” he gasped. The pain ebbed, but Rainer hated himself for betraying Vito and failing to serve God. Thal was unrepentantly evil. He clearly had no interest in accepting Christ, and Rainer hated himself for hoping that Thal would seek redemption at his side.
“Are you supposed to bring me to him?” Thal said.
Rainer nodded.
“Why did you go on that killing spree?” Thal asked.
Rainer shuddered. “Just go away. Leave Prague. I beg you,” he said.
“I have business in Prague,” Thal said heavily. “It’s you who should leave Vito. These men of the Church condemn our kind.”
Rainer shook his head vigorously. Again his hand sought his cross. He hated its absence. “Brother Vito will help me find salvation,” he insisted.
“Do your brothers accept your condition?” Thal wondered.
“Only Vito knows. He’s a good man to take me in,” Rainer said.
“He’s not your only choice. You can live with me. I want to help you find peace,” Thal said.
“There’s no peace in embracing this curse,” Rainer snarled.
Frustrated, Thal dropped the subject. Although he could sense that part of Rainer deep down wanted his kinship, the man was mentally unable to accept himself as he was.
Patting Rainer on the shoulder, Thal said, “I saw some cottages near the road. Let’s try to find some clothes there and go back.”
“You mustn’t go back. You must leave. That’s why I led you out here. To get you away from the city. Please go,” Rainer said.
He really believed that Vito threatened him. Although Thal did not discount the threat, he only added it to his list of other problems.
“I can see after myself, but I appreciate the warning,” Thal said. He offered Rainer his hand. “Can we agree to never fight again?”
Rainer’s first thought was to agree, but then he admonished himself for being tempted to make a truce with this ungodly creature. His bite wounds stung, venomous with disapproval for resisting this Devil’s magic.
He burst to his feet and flung away Thal’s fur. “Leave this place!” he cried and scrambled off in the darkness.
Thal picked up his fur and listened to Rainer plod toward the road. Because his offer of friendship had only worsened Rainer’s suffering, Thal guessed that Rainer’s need for true companionship violated his loyalty to Vito. Thal pitied the monk’s inner conflict.
Dawn was warming the horizon and the moon was only an ashen ghost beyond the hilltop mists. Its fullness had waned. Thal would not need to worry about the werewolf besetting Lady Carmelita’s house until the next moon. But would Rainer tell Vito where he had found him?
Close to panic, Thal ran after Rainer. The man cringed when he caught up.
“You must tell no one where I’m staying,” Thal said.
Rainer clenched his teeth, refusing to answer.
“It’s not for my sake. I don’t want any of your brothers condemning my hostess and friends. They’re not Devil worshippers or whatever your master might call them. Do not tell him!” Thal commanded.
Rainer gasped and fell against a tree. “I won’t,” he finally promised, clutching his neck and hating the relief of the fading pain.
“Thank you,” Thal whispered, believing him.
Rainer staggered onward. “Stay away from me!” he yelled.
Thal hung back. The rejection hurt but relentlessly trying to change the man’s mind was proving futile. His concern for Rainer remained. If he could not convince him to try and control himself, he would have to watch him during the next full moon. Thal could not knowingly leave him to stalk and kill hapless people.
While Rainer blundered back to civilization, Thal began to feel the pain in his own wounds. Blood had dried over many scratches and scrapes all over his body. He wished he did not have to walk back to the city with only a fur to cover his nakedness. He veered toward a cottage with the hope of begging some rags off its occupant. Rainer still headed straight for the road, uncaring of his naked wretchedness. Thal resolved to get him a blanket and catch up to him.
A familiar high-pitched bark cheered Thal. He turned from the cottage and hurried into some bushes along the road. Pistol barked at Rainer disapprovingly as he ran by him toward his master. The little dog charged into the bushes and Thal embraced the excited animal. Pistol wiggled and jumped so happily that he scratched Thal’s wounds. He had to put him forcefully back on the ground. Pistol licked his ankles and wagged triumphantly.
Thal heard horses approaching. He glimpsed Rainer diving for cover just as three riders cantered into view. Surprised to see that Valentino was one of them, Thal waved. The other two men in his company appeared to be mercenaries.
Their horses snorted and stopped advancing. Thal knew that he was disturbing the animals and stayed back. Slowly Valentino dismounted with a bundle.
“My clothes! I thank you,” Thal cried happily.
&n
bsp; “Your dog and singer friend were frantic that I find you,” Valentino said. He could hardly believe that Thal was a man again.
Thal grabbed his clothes gratefully. “Thank you for bringing these. I planned my night poorly,” he said, pulling on pants.
Seeing Thal as a man again made Valentino question his memory. Had everything he had witnessed in the moonlight been a dream? But the long scratches across Thal’s hard chest told of a battle that should have been beyond a man.
“How can it be what I saw?” Valentino said.
“I’m not sure of the answer,” Thal admitted.
“You are a servant of the Devil,” Valentino whispered, latching on to the only logical explanation.
“I’m not anyone’s servant,” Thal said adamantly. His shirt was back on and he tossed his fur over a shoulder. “My weapons please,” he said.
Slowly Valentino delivered the pistol, sword, and knives.
Dressed and armed again, Thal folded his cloak over an arm. “I must take this to Rainer. He’s hiding up there,” he said.
Valentino eyed the foliage down the road suspiciously. “Who?” he said and gestured to his men to look behind them.
“The other werewolf. He’s not well,” Thal said.
“The other one is here?” Valentino said, following him. The horses shied away as Thal passed. The other two men eyed him warily. Their commander had roused them in the middle of the night to hunt werewolves and then oddly followed a little dog into the country.
“I must give him my cloak,” Thal said, breaking into a run. “Rainer! Rainer!”
The wind was at Thal’s back so he had no advance warning of the riders rounding the bend. When he saw them, he stopped, but Rainer jumped from the bushes and ran toward them.
“Who are they?” Valentino worried, catching up. His long experience in battle warned him when an enemy approached.
Thal recognized the foremost rider. “Those are sellswords that serve Jesuits,” Thal said.
“Jesuits?” Valentino muttered unhappily.