Son of hell: Blood of wolves

by Michaela Burdová

  He took it in his hands, turning it from front to back, and back to front again. It had a dark leather cover with an inscription on it that he could not read. He couldn´t recognise the language. He resigned himself to his ignorance, shrugged and, holding the book firmly in his hand, ran from the room.

  He ran down the stairs, along the dark hallway, and stopped on the landing. He looked down at his belly - no sign of the injury. He heard soldiers marching outside nearby and somebody blowing their horn.

  "You did it!"

  He turned around sharply, somewhat surprised. Lady Liadel stepped out of the shadows. Neran, simmering with anger, was beside her in an instant. He grabbed her by the throat, slammed her hard against the wall, and bore his lupine fangs. The elven gasped, visibly shaken.

  "You wanted to kill me," he growled. Liadel stared wide-eyed at him.

  "N-no," she stuttered.

  "You knew about the beast!"

  "I - I was afraid that you ... wouldn’t help me!"

  Neran´s fury was evident in his stare. He pressed his fingers a little harder around her neck and wondered whether he should believe her. Actually, there was nothing to think about – he did not believe her, but he needed her.

  She looked into his eyes silently begging him to release her, for she could not breathe. For a split second, something reflected in her incredibly blue eyes touched him. He released his grip and let her go.

  She suddenly seemed fragile, yet he knew this was not the case. He couldn´t understand why she didn´t use her strength. Maybe it was the enchantment. He considered his options there and then. If he helped her now, he would have no assurance that she would not betray and kill him on the spot. She was capable of doing it.

  Unless ...

  Liadel rubbed her neck and tried to catch her breath. Neran looked at her with continued suspicion.

  She straightened herself up and said: "I need the key."

  "I'm sorry, but there was no key."

  The elven’s expression darkened, her eyes turning as cold as ice. The fragility and kindness had dissipated before him. Neran had seen that look before and he did not want to experience it ever again.A chill flooded his body.

  "That's impossible," she whispered.

  "I swear. There was only this book."

  Liadel yanked it impatiently from Neran’s grip. "Yes," she whispered anxiously, stroking its leather cover. "This is it…"

  "That?"

  "Finally, I'll be free ...” Liadel opened the book and began leafing through it. Neran looked as blank as the pages of the book. There wasn´t a single letter to be seen. Liadel found a double page approximately in the middle of the book. As the pages opened, blue text glowed from them as if inscribed into the book with secret ink. Liadel took a deep breath and began to chant:“Dalieena Ika nátto, hejä Lia Deyla saïu kolnee! Hejä daimen ë tarra, welan ta nátto! Dalieena ika nátto! Hejä! Hejä! Ika nátto! Hejä!”

  Neran stepped away from her. Every word sent a chill down his spine. Anxiety and a strange, sinister feeling took hold of him. He felt his skin vibrate and something clench his stomach.Hejä Lia Deyla! Hejä daimen ë tarra! Wiel nen fintam! Mily vëila! Hejä! Ika nátto!”

  A beam of light suddenly burst forth from the book. The light was so sharp and penetrating that Neran had to cover his eyes with his forearm. It absorbed the elven into its glow, and just as quickly as it had come, it vanished again.

  The darkness that remained seemed laden and dense. Neran stared at Liadel, speechless. The elven stood there with a smile on her lips as the book disappeared before their eyes. She hesitantly lifted her hand and touched her neck - the golden collar was gone.

  Liadel looked at Neran with her bright eyes. "Let’s go!"

  She ran down the stairs, Neran behind her. Thoughts and doubts raced through his head. The uncertainty of what he had done ate away at him. If he had messed it up ...

  They stopped at the intersection of corridors and hid behind a corner. Soldiers were running this way and that.It seemed that Karnelos has stirred up the whole castle.

  "If we go this way we’ll get to the stables. We can take horses and slip through the gate. It will be open. Karnelos is bound to have dispatched his troops to capture the fugitives."

  "I think I know a better way to get out of here," Neran argued with a mysterious smile on his face. "We go direct."

  Liadel frowned. "But it runs through the centre of the castle across the entire courtyard. How do you want to do that?"

  "I'm as fast as the wind," Neran boasted. "They won’t even notice us."

  The elven looked at him with curiosity. "Really?"

  "Don´t play the fool, you know it very well," he said. "I can only manage short distances though. It takes a lot of energy to reach such speeds and it´s exhausting."

  "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" said a voice behind them.

  They both spun round to find Karnelos and several of his guards, headed by Commander Bruno, standing there. Liadel proudly lifted her chin. Neran couldn´t but help admire her calm composure.

  "My dear husband," she said mockingly. "Shouldn’t you be in bed by now? You know that staying up late doesn’t do you any good."

  Karnelos’ face twitched with anger, but he restrained himself. He put on a taught, sweet smile. "I am grateful for your concern. Making friends with an escaped prisoner is however, beyond the pale."

  Liadel made a wicked face, stepped forward and looked at her husband with complete contempt.

  "Deal with it, my dear husband. I am leaving."

  Karnelos burst into laughter. "Really? And how do you envisage doing that, my love?"

  Liadel smiled knowingly and slowly brushed her hair back off her shoulders. Karnelos looked at her slender neck and his smile froze on his lips.

  "That´s impossible!" he gasped with surprise and anger. This time it was Neran´s turn to responded.

  "It is. I helped her a little. By the way, you’ve got a cute pet up there in the tower. I guess you'll need to get a new one now," he said putting on a mellifluous smile. Neran´s face then darkened, his pupils shrank and his eyes burst with fire. "Now get out of the way."

  Karnelos, red with rage, took a step back whilst Bruno took a step forward. "Kill them!" he ordered his men, and they attacked.

  Neran dashed forward and within a few moments had killed all but one with a few well placed blows. The last man standing was Bruno. As Bruno deftly swung his sword, Neran knocked it out of his hand and stretched out his arm. It swelled and grew hair.

  His long claws severed the commander’s throat.

  Bruno´s limp body fell down to the ground. The smell and sight of fresh blood awakened Neran’s animal instincts.

  He turned to Karnelos, grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air.Karnelos moaned and rolled his eyeballs.

  "Where is Urvan?" he growled into Karnelos´face. He noticed that Liadel was standing aside, watching the scene, making no effort to ask for her husband to be spared. She must have hated him a lot.

  Karnelos croaked.

  "I promised him he would die," Neran explained. "I like to keep my promises."

  "I - I sent him ... a - after the fugitives..."

  Neran frowned. In all honesty, Karnelos could not have sent a better man. Urvan would not stop for anything until he had found and slain all the runaway elves.

  The blood around him began to irritate him. Then again, he thought, a little bit more couldn´t do any harm, could it? With that thought, a certain excitement tickled his belly and permeated his entire body. He looked Karnelos straight in the face. "I think I’ll do yourcountry a favour, indeed ... everybody a favour."

  Karnelos looked worried. "H-how?"

  "By doing this," Neran replied, squeezing Karnelos´ throat so hard that it burst, blood spurting all over his face and staining his hand. The Lord of Breetia collapsed to the floor.

  "You killed him," Liadel said, a little surprised.

  Neran looked at his hand, the th
ick, sticky blood slowly dripping from the tips of his fingers. "I cannot control myself anymore," he said. "We have to get out of here." He wiped his face with his other hand, and then cleaned both hands on his trousers. He took Liadel by the arm and lifted her onto his back.

  "What are you doing?"

  "Hold on tight! Around my neck! And tell me the way!"

  The elven reluctantly obeyed and he dashed forward like a thunderbolt. Liadel closed her eyes against the sharp blast of air and guided him. They ran like the wind through the corridors without anybody even noticing them. They soon found themselves in the courtyard. The soldiers were already rushing back to the castle on the news that someone had apparently found the lord and commander of the troops, dead. With the gate wide open, Neran, with Liadel on his back, passed through it like an arrow.

  Half a mile beyond the castle gate Neran came to a halt. The snow was slushy and little thorny rose bushes grew all around. Gasping for breath, he gently eased Liadel to the ground. The elven looked at Neran and then back towards the castle. All she could see in the distance was the tiny flicker of torches burning on the walls.

  "I've never seen anything so fast," she said. "Werewolves used to be the fastest creatures in the world. Today ... You're one of the last."

  Neran looked at her and frowned. "You sound like you really don’t remember anything."

  "My memories are hazy," she said, narrowing her eyes as she examined his face. "You know who I am?"

  "Yes, I know, but I have no idea what's going on here."

  "I feel that I owe you an explanation, though I do not understand why."

  "You do indeed, believe me. But first of all, I have a promise to fulfil."

  Liadel nodded. She looked back towards the castle again. "What will happen now that the Lord of Breetia is dead?”

  "I don’t know. If he had no heirs or relatives, his country will probably be invaded by a neighbouring kingdom, possibly by King Raith-Hard of Arnnolen. With Arnnolen and its Golden Unicorn, spring might return."

  "Yes," Liadel smiled as if lost in a dream, "you may be right."

  Neran looked to the western plains where he had come from. "We must follow and catch up with the elves."

  "You want to track them?"

  Neran raised his head and closed his eyes. He focused his mind and sniffed, trying to capture the smells around him. Dampness, frozen grass, wood, smells of the night ... and the smell of elven fear. "I can smell them," he replied slowly. "They ran this way towards the forest."

  "They want to get to the Neiwlur border."

  "Let’s go," Neran said and headed up the hill. Liadel stood motionless and did not move.

  "What if I don’t go?" she called to him. He stopped and turned around.

  "I’ll force you. I saved you and I need advice and answers from you. Now, is not the time though.We’ll kill a few more people, and then we'll talk."

  The elven stepped forward, standing face to face with Neran. "I'll go with you only because the fugitive elves are my blood and I care about their fate. Your threat doesn’t affect me.” She was slim and tall, but Neran was taller. "If you know who I am, then you shouldn’t threaten me. Things have changed. I'm not saying that I’m not afraid of you, but I will not be bullied or take orders. I've taken enough orders. I’m of noble elven blood and my roots date far back into antiquity. I have seen things over which you could only sigh in amazement. You should bow to me and show me some respect, werewolf." She pierced him with a cold stare and walked passed him.

  Stunned, Neran looked at her, his surprise rapidly turning to anger. He clenched his fists in an effort to control himself.

  "Demon or no demon ... she is an arrogant elven!" he growled to himself. "Show her respect and bow to her ... No way!"

  * * *

  Wenir floored Kar with an elbow blow to the throat. Kar fell on his back and kept coughing for a while. He then lifted himself up on his arms and grinned at his friend. "Damn it! You're getting stronger, you bastard! It´s as if Aragen tore out your eye and added reflexes instead."

  Wenir did not answer. He stood in the middle of the glade, his bare chest glittering with sweat. He tilted his head back and looked up at the dark clouds floating passed. Over the years he had become used to the emptiness in his heart, but sometimes, at moments like these, he longed to tear it from inside him.

  “What´s wrong?” Kar leapt to his feet. Wenir looked at him.

  "You don´t think Aragen seems increasingly insane?"

  Kar shrugged his shoulders. "She’s trying to save us and is ready to do anything. Why does it bother you?”

  "She´s hooked up with a demon."

  "Our whole essence comes from demonic forces. If it didn´t, we couldn’t do what we do. So if Aragen wants to fraternize with demons, so be it ...” he shrugged again. "I'll support her. She's our leader."

  "There was a time when you did not like her much."

  "That´s true. That was before she showed us all her strength. Many things have changed over the years. She has proved that she is worthy of leading the pack. She has made us almost divine!" he grinned and his eyes lit up. "Another round? This time I´ll beat you. Am I a Predator or what?" he laughed.

  Wenir turned his back to him. "I'm not in the mood."

  "What's wrong with you?" Kar put his hands akimbo. "What's all this nonsense about Aragen? Do you doubt her?"

  "Not her strength or abilities, but her soul."

  "To hell with her soul!" Kar laughed. "Why worry yourself?"

  Wenir bowed his head. He suddenly felt guilty that he had dared to admit he had any doubts. “I know Aragen is our leader. She protects our pack and I will never doubt her. I just can´t forget about what she did to Amitha."

  Kar rolled his eyes. "You should get over it, my friend."

  "How can I? I breathed for her, I lived for her ..."

  Kar suddenly grabbed him by both shoulders and held Wenir´s stare. "Now you live and breathe for the pack, do you understand? Your life belongs to Aragen! To no one else! So get a grip!"

  "I know, I know," Wenir consented seriously. "I’ll die for her if necessary, as if I were one of the Predators."

  Kar straightened up and released him. "So you're a good boy. Now let’s have one more match. It'll clear your head."

  Chapter 8

  Neiwlur

  "Here," Neran pointed to the trampled snow. It contained numerous imprints of horses' hooves. He raised his head and looked at the vast white hill ahead. It was dawn and a stunning red-golden glow poured in from the east.

  "The Sárian Forest is right behind that rise," Liadel said. "That´s where the territory of the elves begins."

  "They can’t be far away," Neran responded. He continued wading through the deep snow, following the footprints. Liadel caught up and pulled up beside him. He glanced over and realized that, like all the other elves, she did not sink into the snow. She soon overtook him and before long was standing at the top of the hill. She was as agile and nimble as a cat. Neran struggled on behind her as best he could.

  "Hurry up!" she shouted at him. "I can see them!"

  Neran caught up with her and paused by her side. Liadel grimaced.

  "When you are not using your werewolf abilities, you're not so fit, are you?"

  Neran pierced her with his angry eyes and harboured the thought of wringing her neck. Before he could do so, the elven had started running down the hill. Neran grunted angrily and followed suit.

  Ahead of them they saw a band of riders galloping rapidly across the white plain. They were catching up fast with the group of exhausted fugitives. Neran knew that time was of the essence. The elves were unarmed and the riders would kill them instantly.

  He stretched his muscles and moved at superhuman speed. He sped past Liadel like a breath of wind and crossed the plain in an instant. The riders had caught up with the fugitives and from their saddles were slashing them with swords, butchering the elves like animals. Neran would spoil their plans.

 
He pounced, knocking a soldier and his horse to the ground. The stallion fell on the man and, judging from the screams, apparently crushed his legs. Neran managed to jump aside and blocked the path of another rider. The horse shied, throwing its rider. The other soldiers, startled, looked back at Urvan and stopped. The elves were surrounded, but they could take advantage of the confusion.

  "Damn!" Neran heard Urvan shout. "Draw your swords and defend yourselves!"

  Two men rode towards him and attacked. Neran ducked and swiftly grabbed one of them by the arm, twisting it until the man screamed and dropped his sword. Another tug and Neran had pulled him out of the saddle.

  The second sword just missed his head. Neran turned towards the attacker and with a single leap found himself on the back of the horse. The horse pulled back hard and the soldier panicked. Neran grabbed him by the head, pulled it to one side, bared his fangs, and bit deep into the man´s neck. The man´s blood boiled in his mouth and he could not resist, gulping as if he had not drunk in a week.

  His senses dulled and his instincts sharpened. The killer instincts of the animal inside him were pushing to the surface. Neran tried to control himself, but he could not pull himself away from the soldier's neck. Still alive, the soldier´s body twitched with the last tremors of life.

  Someone shouted, making him look up. From his saddle, Urvan stabbed one of the prisoners. The emaciated elf fell on its face into the snow. Neran dropped his prey from the saddle, grabbed the reins, and spurred his horse forward.

  "Watch out, sir!" another man exclaimed and crossed into Neran’s path. Neran released the reins of his horse and jumped over its head. Whilst still in flight, the man swung his sword and struck Neran’s belly. The full force of the impact threw both of them to the ground and into the snow. Neran´s ferocity completely took over. His skull stretched into lupine jaws, his muscles extended and long black claws grew out of his hands. He reached out and slashed the man’s throat. There was another rush of blood. He felt like he was in paradise.