Claws of Doom

by Peebles, Chrissy

  Aidan collapsed into a chair near the front door, sucking in air as fast as his lungs would allow. He felt like his heart was going to burst.

  “Oh!” Olivia cried.

  Aidan jumped up and scanned the room, looking for the source of her alarm until he realized she was looking at him.

  “What’s wrong?” Aidan panted.

  “What happened to your feet? And your legs?”

  Aidan looked down and saw blood oozing from numerous cuts on his feet. Thin lines of crimson had also started appearing and spreading on his pant legs. He sat back down in his chair and leaned his head back, trying to slow his heart rate and breathing.

  “I guess I got cut up a bit. I, uh, didn’t have time to get dressed before I ran back,” he croaked, his dry throat making it difficult to talk. His blood rose into his cheeks as he continued. “Although you probably already noticed that when I came in.” This time it was the Olivia’s turn to blush.

  “Won’t they smell the blood?” Lilly whispered.

  Aidan’s eyes shot open. He hadn’t thought of that. Of course they would smell the blood and that would bring them to the house. “Oh, no.”

  Aidan reached out to the doe, trying to track her progress through the woods. He found her soon enough, still racing along the creek. This time she was without pursuers. They’d stopped chasing her a short distance back. Still, she ran on, fear still driving her legs to keep going. Aidan pulled back and broke the connection.

  “They smelled me,” he told the girls, his eyes still closed. He opened them slowly. “I’m so sorry.”

  Olivia grabbed the rifle and started digging in her bag.

  “What are you doing?” Lilly asked, hearing her sister digging frantically through her stuff.

  “Daniel gave me silver bullets,” Olivia replied, without even looking up. “Ah ha!” she exclaimed, pulling a small grey pouch out of her pack. She immediately started loading the rifle.

  “You can’t go outside,” Lilly cried, grabbing at Olivia’s arm.

  “I’m not going outside,” Olivia answered, pulling her arm away. “There are slots in the window coverings. It’s not just to let light in.” Lilly moved her hand to a nearby wall and felt her way to a window, inspecting with her fingers the cross-shaped openings Olivia had been referring to. “I can shoot through those. If I can see them, I can shoot them.”

  The three jumped when they heard the first howl from the approaching wolves. Olivia pulled the ramrod out of the rifle and moved to a nearby window. She set the end of the weapon in one of the crosses and waited. The three were absolutely silent as they listened for the sound of the pack.

  A rustle in the woods outside alerted them to their arrival. Olivia pulled the butt firmly to her shoulder and readied herself. Aidan moved stealthily across the room and looked out the window opposite Olivia. After a moment, he turned his head back toward Lilly and murmured that the wolves were moving around to Olivia’s side of the house. Lilly leaned over and whispered to her sister. Olivia nodded her head.

  The blast from the rifle was deafening in the confined space of the cottage. Aidan’s ears rang as he ran across the room and looked out another window.

  “I missed,” Olivia growled as she picked up her bag of silver bullets and dug out another. She tore open the paper with her teeth, primed the pan and dumped the remaining powder and ball into the barrel. She shoved the paper down in last and used the ramrod again to pack the bullet down. She again raised the rifle to her shoulder and slid it into the cross, searching for another target. Lilly slipped around her and pulled out another few cartridges to try and help her sister reload faster. Grabbing the other rifle, Lilly went through the same loading process Olivia had just performed. She dropped the ball in, but it didn’t feel right so she dropped it back out and started over. After a few attempts she tossed the gun on the table in disgust and went back to standing by the window with Olivia.

  “What’s wrong?” Aidan asked.

  “The shot is the wrong size for the barrel,” Lilly replied. “She can’t use that rifle.”

  “Great,” Aidan mumbled. He stood by, watching and feeling helpless as Olivia shifted her stance to get a better view off to her right.

  The next crack of the rifle was followed immediately by a loud yelp from outside. Aidan hurried to a nearby window and looked out. He couldn’t see anything except a softly swaying bush at the edge of the tree line. He glanced over at Olivia who was already reloading. A small smirk rose on her lips.

  “Got one,” she announced. “He was poking his head out of the bushes when I saw him. He fell back when he was hit. How many more are there?” she asked looking at Aidan.

  “I don’t know,” Aidan answered, shaking his head. “I can’t feel them like I can other animals. I’d guess at least four or five based on the howls that we heard earlier. I can’t be sure though. What can I do to help?”

  “Why don’t you take a look out those windows over there and tell me if you see any.”

  Aidan stumbled across the room after kicking a nearby chair and sending up a large cloud of dust. “I don’t see anything on this side,” he coughed, waving a hand in front of his face to try and clear the air.

  There was a loud crash at the front door that shook the very frame. Both girls cried out and Aidan stumbled backward, catching himself on a bookshelf.

  “What was that?” Lilly asked. A snarling from the front of the house answered her question.

  Again the werewolf threw itself against the house. The top of the door splintered but held.

  “It’s not going to hold much longer,” Aidan announced. “Keep your eye out for a target. Shoot anything that moves. I’m going to try to barricade the door.”

  Olivia was focused out her window again, weapon at the ready. Aidan pushed the table across the room and flipped it onto its side before pushing it against the door.

  “Maybe they went away,” Lilly whispered hopefully. There was another impact against the house and the table trembled. “Maybe not.”

  “Keep quiet,” Olivia whispered. “Another one is creeping out from the tree line close to where the first one went down.” Olivia let out a long breath and gently squeezed the trigger. Another cry indicated she’d hit her target. Aidan ran across the room and looked out. Sure enough, the werewolf lay about twenty feet from where Olivia had said she’d hit the other one. Two more moved slowly into the clearing, their muzzles twitching as they explored the scene. The larger of the pair, probably the leader, let out a long howl and charged back into the brush. The other followed. Aidan caught glimpses of three others as they joined the leader.

  “Looks like they’re leaving now,” Aidan cried.

  Lilly gave a little jump and pumped her fist in the air. “Yes!”

  Olivia leaned the rifle against the wall next to her and walked slowly to a nearby chair. Her knees seemed to wobble beneath her and she collapsed into her seat.

  “You okay?” Lilly asked, moving to her sister’s side.

  Olivia nodded. “I…I just need a moment. She looked at Aidan. “I was so scared.”

  “We’re safe now,” Aidan said gently, walking to her side and kneeling down next to her. He put his hand on her shoulder. “We’re safe. You drove them off. Good job.”

  Olivia nodded as she took a couple deep breaths. “You think they’re scared off for good?”

  Aidan paused. “I think so. I don’t think they’re used to being hurt.”

  “Except by silver bullets,” Lilly interjected.

  “Except by silver bullets,” Aidan agreed, looking up at the younger girl. “But I don’t think they run into those very much. I think they’re gone for good,” he told Olivia, pushing himself back up to a standing position. “Excuse me for moment.”

  Aidan walked gingerly to one of the bedrooms and closed the door quietly behind him. Olivia’s eyebrows raised in a silent confusion of what he might be doing, and she whispered her question to her sister. Lilly shrugged and started putting cartrid
ges of silver bullets back in the small bag. Aidan emerged a few minutes later. Olivia noted a small figurine in his right hand that he massaged between his thumb and forefinger. He stood in the center of the room turning slowly in a circle, his eyes raised to the ceiling.

  “It’s hard to tell exactly where they are, but I think they moved off pretty quick. I get a few weak feelings from some animals north of here that I think might be the werewolves passing by. I’m not really sure. I’m also getting something weird from the west. I don’t know. That’s all I can get. If they were closer, I think I’d be feeling something stronger from the animals nearby.”

  “I guess that will have to do,” Olivia responded, noting that Aidan seemed distracted, not completely focused on the location of the werewolves. “You think they’re far enough away to risk going back down to the creek and getting our buckets of water? We really need to do something about your legs.”

  Aidan looked back down at his crimson-streaked pants and was about to answer when the front door exploded inward, tipping the table and sending it careening across the dining room floor.

  Chapter 13

  A Cold Welcome Home

  Aidan leapt forward at the sound, transforming instantly into a mountain lion. The girls cried out and jumped. Olivia reached for her nearby rifle. Aidan stood in the middle of the room, a low rumbling emanating between bared teeth, the hair on his back bristling on end, a torn shirt slowly swishing side to side around his furry neck. His nose twitched and he stopped growling. The doorway stood empty, only small leaves dancing into the room on a light breeze. Aidan’s hackles settled back down flat, and he turned slowly around to face the back of the room. The girls’ eyes followed his gaze.

  “Daniel!” Olivia shouted. She ran across the room and threw herself at him. He caught her delicately in his arms and gave her a hug.

  “What’s going on here?” he demanded, his gaze locked on the large cat still standing in the middle of the room.

  Lilly felt her way around the overturned table and closed and secured the front door as well as it could be considering the damage done to it. “Werewolves,” she hissed between clenched teeth. “And then you almost scared me to death barging through the door like that.”

  Aidan grabbed his bag in his teeth, dragged it to one of the back rooms, and dropped it in front of the door. He let go and pawed at the handle. Olivia giggled nervously, let go of Daniel, and went to open the door for him. Aidan dragged the bag into the room and kicked the door shut behind him. A few moments later he appeared, again human.

  “I should make you mend these for me,” Aidan commented as he picked his pants up off the floor. He untied the small bag from a loop on his pants and tossed the torn clothing he’d been wearing before his transformation at Daniel. The clothes hit Daniel’s arm, but he made no effort to catch them. Instead, he strode to a nearby window and looked out. Aidan stooped down, grabbed the figurine he’d dropped and slid it nonchalantly into his pouch.

  “I heard the shots. I wasn’t sure if you’d made it here yet or not.” He was still facing away from them, but Aidan and Olivia could both see his chin drop to his chest as he continued. “I ran as fast as I could to get here. I thought maybe you’d been caught by some of Argyle’s men.”

  Aidan let out a snort and stopped immediately at the vicious glares cast at him by the sisters.

  Daniel turned and looked at Aidan. “I know you don’t respect me, but you’re still my brother. I wasn’t going to stand by when I thought you were in trouble. I thought I was going to be sick on my way here, imagining what would happen if Argyle’s men caught the three of you. From now on I’m going with you.” Daniel held up his hand when he saw the smiles appear on the girls’ faces. “Don’t misunderstand me,” he continued. “I still don’t agree with your plan to attack Argyle’s gathering parties. What’s gotten into you?” Daniel asked, turning to his little brother. “You were angry and upset after they attacked you at the house. Now you WANT to pick a fight?”

  Aidan dropped his eyes for a moment before looking up to meet Daniel’s gaze. “I realized it’s not our fight,” Aidan answered. “This isn’t our fight, it’s theirs. I didn’t want any of this. I didn’t send Mom and Dad away. I didn’t come to take you away, or Olivia. He did. Argyle and his men. They started the fight and they won’t stop. The only way we’ll be okay is if somebody stops him, but nobody’s fighting back. It’s up to us I guess. That’s why I want to fight, to end it, to finally be safe.”

  Daniel shrugged. “I hope we can. I don’t know if that’s possible, but I’d rather go with you than sit out there by myself, wondering what’s happening with you. It made me crazy today. I’m certainly not going to subject myself to that forever. I’m in. I’d rather fight alongside my brother than lose you.”

  Olivia jumped back into Daniel’s arms and squeezed him tightly. Lilly shuffled over and gave him a hug as well.

  “We’re glad you came back,” Lilly said softly. “It’ll be better to have you with us.”

  The two girls turned icy stares toward Aidan. Olivia gave a small cock of her head to indicate he should say something.

  “Yeah, I guess,” was all he could muster as he meandered over to the front window and looked out. “I’m going to go back down to the creek for the water buckets. You two can tell Daniel about our adventures while I’m gone.” He opened the door and cast a glance back at Daniel before closing it quietly behind him.

  Once outside, Aidan sauntered around the side of the house and walked tentatively to where the closest of the werewolf bodies lay. Squatting down beside it, he tried to get any feeling he could from its lifeless body. If he could get any kind of unique feel for them, he could help the others steer clear of the wolves’ paths in the future. Nothing. He got nothing from it. Neither good or bad. Disgusted, Aidan grabbed the hind feet of the animal and pulled it farther into the woods away from the house. Predators would not come for this feast, nor would any scavengers. He grabbed the other as well and dragged it to the same spot hoping it would be far enough away when the carcasses began to decompose. He didn’t plan on staying for long, but he wanted those bodies as far away from the cottage as possible in case there was a hot spell in the next few days.

  After wandering back to the creek, Aidan again took the plunge into its icy currents to clean off the feeling of filth he’d had since handling the werewolves. He scrubbed his hands pink in the frigid waters until he was at last satisfied he’d cleansed himself. He took his time putting his clothes back on, wincing as he pulled his shoes back on over his still oozing feet. He then filled the buckets with water and hauled them back to the cottage. He walked slowly as the last of the daylight had disappeared behind the mountains while he’d bathed. Tree roots and rocks marred the path he’d chosen, and he was forced to choose his steps very carefully to avoid spilling the water or twisting an ankle. One gimpy traveler is enough, Aidan thought to himself with a smile.

  Daniel, Olivia, and Lilly looked up when Aidan opened the door. Lilly was telling Daniel about Olivia’s shooting as the wolves attacked. Aidan placed the buckets next to the kitchen sink and sat down at the table with them to listen to the rest of her story.

  “And then she got a second one!” Lilly exclaimed. “I didn’t get to see anything obviously, but I could hear it. And then they all just went away! It was so exciting,” she finished, a little out of breath at the recollection of the fight.

  “It’s a good thing you were here,” Daniel said, casting a quick glimpse toward Aidan. “The girls never would have known they were coming if you hadn’t gotten back here so quickly to alert them and lock the place down.” His voice dropped to a grumble. “Good job.”

  Aidan shrugged, seeming to inspect something on the table in front of him. “They probably wouldn’t have even come up this way if they hadn’t smelled my blood. They would have just kept on chasing that deer and passed right on by.”

  “No,” Daniel retorted a little too forcibly. He paused and collected
his thoughts. Aidan looked up, his eyebrow cocked, waiting for his brother to continue. “They would have stopped for you if you hadn’t run back. You saved yourself, and I feel pretty certain you saved Olivia and Lilly too.” The girls nodded their agreement.

  “You’d have been a goner for sure if you hadn’t come back,” Lilly added.

  “I really don’t want to think about that too much,” Olivia said. “Let’s just be happy that everything turned out okay.”

  “Agreed,” Daniel responded, rising to his feet and slapping the table with an air of finality. “Now, Aidan, why don’t you take one of the buckets of water back into that room with you. You can clean out the worst of your scratches with that. I’ll go try to find some yarrow so they don’t get infected. Olivia, would you and Lilly unpack the bags. I think we should stay here for at least a few days so we can heal and come up with a plan for our attacks. I’ll be back as soon as I find something for Aidan’s cuts.” Aidan had already grabbed the bucket and was on his way to the room as the girls stood. Daniel marched to the door and opened it. “Block this behind me, just in case,” he announced as he shut it. “I’ll have to fix this tonight when I get back,” Daniel noted, shutting the door and watching it swing back open. Olivia slid a chair under the handle after Daniel left and joined her sister at the table, pulling various items out of the bags and organizing them based on where they should go.

  Daniel knocked on the front door just as the last few items were being pulled from the packs. Lilly set down the bullets from Daniel’s pack with the others and tottered her way to the front door to let him in. He entered carrying a bouquet of small feathery white flowers.

  “How’s the unpacking coming along,” he asked as he crossed into the kitchen and grabbed a small wooden bowl. He began grinding the flowers and stems of the plant into the bowl using a rock he pulled from his pocket.

  “Good,” Lilly answered. “We’ve got everything out. Now we’re just working on putting it away.