Son of hell: Blood of wolves

by Michaela Burdová

  A scream brought him back from his reverie. He lifted his head and watched Urvan dismount and attack Élia. The elven defended herself bravely. She placed a hard kick in Urvan´s face and another in the stomach, but when she received a punch to the head, she fell to her knees. Urvan grabbed her hair and pulled her back on her feet. He picked up his sword and grinned. Liadel appeared out of nowhere, charged, and pushed Élia to the ground just as Urvan’s sword sliced through the air.

  "You?" the soldier shouted in surprise. Liadel lay beside Élia on her back and raised herself up on her elbows.

  "Your master is dead! I hope you follow him to hell!" she shouted into his face. Urvan raised his sword, but Neran was already there. A sneer appeared in the corner of his mouth. He grabbed the sword with both hands and broke it into two. Urvan's eyes widened with fear. With one forceful thrust he pushed the two ends into Urvan´s chest. The soldier gasped and sank to his knees. He stared up at Neran. Neran bent over his face. "I promised you would die," he growled, and then kicked Urvan into the snow. Urvan lay there with his arms outstretched.

  The remaining soldiers panicked, turned their horses, and rushed off in the direction of the castle. The elves looked at one another in amazement. Neran was breathing deeply, trying hard to contain the exhilaration he felt in his veins. The smell of blood still stung in his nose, making it hard to control. He closed his eyes, tilted his head towards the paling sky, and inhaled the fresh, cold air. It helped.

  "Thank you, ma'am," Élia said and rose to a sitting position. "You saved my life."

  Liadel only nodded. Neran felt her gaze. He lowered his head and looked at her. He had his human face again, and his hands were returning to their original form.

  "Your action was unnecessary," he said. "You threw yourself without a weapon straight into the sword’s path. He could have killed both of you."

  Liadel’s eyes flashed. She got up and proudly lifted her chin. "In contrast, you would have let her die."

  Neran gritted his teeth. "I saved you."

  "Really?" the elven said, lifting her eyebrow. "I'm not so sure. Just look around. You brutally murdered those men for your enjoyment. Did you really charge Urvan in order to save us, or because you simply couldn’t control yourself?"

  Neran couldn´t believe his ears. "Without me, you'd be dead by now! Is this how you show your gratitude?"

  "You wanted to kill him. You would have done it anyway, not because of me or her," she pointed to Élia with a slight smile playing on her lips. Neran´s rage grew. He was almost beginning to regret not having let her perish. He grabbed her coat by the collar and pulled her towards him.

  "Don´t mess with me," he growled to her face.

  "What will you do? Will you kill me because I told you the truth?"

  Neran's grip tightened a little, the rage pounding in his head. He bared his fangs ever so slightly. "Nobody asked you for your truth. I should have let you rot in Karnelos’ arms."

  Liadel’s smile disappeared and she began to tremble. At last, he saw signs of fear and it gave him unimaginable pleasure.

  "I'm sorry, that you regret my release. I should have told you about the beast in the tower. I was a coward, blinded by my desire for freedom."

  Neran suddenly realized how temptingly close their faces were. He studied her big, beautiful eyes and her full, delicate lips, and suddenly became annoyed with her beauty.

  Beautiful bitch, but it doesn’t affect me.

  "Our paths will soon part and you’ll be rid of me," she added. "Wait a little longer and don’t kill me."

  "You sound as if perhaps you think I could. Not even the Lord of Hell could fathom how to destroy you." He pushed her away with contempt. "You’re trying to trick me with your noble nonsense! In reality, you're worse than me! Tell your friends here who you really are! Go on, tell them!"

  “I’m Liadel, Lady of Breetia.” She turned to him. “The two of us need to talk.”

  Neran fumed silently. He looked at her and wanted to tear her apart just like the soldiers. He hated her for being right. Once he had tasted flesh and blood, his animal instincts took over. For years he had sought to sharpen his self-control, but it seemed that he could never completely tame the beast inside. It was only now that he noticed that all the elves were staring at him. As he looked in their direction he caught sight of something glimmering on Urvan’s body. He bent over the body, opened the coat and saw his dagger belt slung around Urvan´s waist.

  "Thanks for returning them to me," he uttered to himself under his breath. He undid the buckle, removed the belt from the body, and put it around his own hips. He took comfort from it. As he did so, he felt the heat inside him slowly fade and the icy touch of winter brush his skin. He realised he was only wearing his trousers and shoes.

  Élia appeared at his side. "Let’s go. I want to repay you for saving our lives. In Neiwlur, we’ll be happy to welcome you."

  Neran looked at Liadel with a grin. "Take note! These folks know how to show gratitude."

  "They're just being polite," she said and headed for the forest. They were soon walking beneath the snow-covered tree tops. Liadel walked ahead, Élia and Neran close behind her. Neran studied her back and long, dark red hair. Apparently, nobody knew who she was. If he had been kinder and less selfish, he would have warned them. Before he did, he needed to find out what Liadel wanted, what she was really doing here, and why she was behaving so strangely. Above all, he needed her to tell him about the Tears of Étarlina.

  He leaned towards Élia. "Does she know where she´s going?"

  "Certainly. Lady Liadel is of our blood. She knows our forests and hideouts."

  Lady Liadel is of our blood? Neran raised an eyebrow. "She’s not from Ollewan?"

  "No, she´s not,” Élia smiled.

  "But she looks completely different to you ..." Neran frowned and looked at her as Liadel suddenly looked back.

  "Why don’t you ask me, werewolf? Is snooping another of your virtues?"

  Neran put on a sour face. "Provoke me a little more and seriously, I won’t be able to control myself."

  Liadel grinned. "Oh no, not more threats?It seems that there isn´t a moment that passes by when you wouldn’t think of killing."

  "We seem to have something in common," he said.

  "Lady Liadel came to us twenty-one years ago," Élia intervened quickly, answering Neran’s question. "Karnelos captured and imprisoned her."

  "How? What kind of magic was it? Why was he so anxious to have you as his wife, if he hated elves? How is it possible that you belong to the Northern Elves, even though you don’t look like them? Actually, you're just as arrogant as the Royal Elves of Ollewan."

  This last remark did not have the effect he thought it would. "You are asking too much, wolf."

  "Don’t call me that," he snapped. "I'm not an animal."

  She looked at him with her hostile eyes. "You should be happy. I’d prefer to be called an animal, than a beast."

  Neran clenched his fists. He hated her. By all the Gods, he wished she would be buried by an avalanche or something like that.

  Élia suddenly touched his naked arm. "Stop your disputes. Quarrels only breed evil and hatred."

  Neran looked at her. Her beauty was completely different to that of Liadel’s. No elven had ever attracted him, but Élia was different. Maybe all the Northern Elves were different.

  Much to Neran´s surprise, the forest suddenly opened up ahead of them and they found themselves in an elven village. It was completely different to what he had seen in Ollewan. Amid the trees stood what appeared to be one large wooden cabin with a snow-covered roof. The houses were adjacent to each other, even connected to one other, zigzagging through the trees like a caterpillar. It looked like one big, long, wooden tunnel with windows and winter flowers on the windowsills, with a twisted white roof and countless narrow entrances covered by braided curtains of sticks and stones.

  There were elves everywhere. Some were sitting in a circle outside in the s
now and sewing blankets of green leaves. Neran wondered where on earth they had found green leaves, then reminded himself that there were many unexplained things about the elves. Others curiously peered out of their homes to look at the newcomers. Others again were in the trees, sitting on branches, watching their compatriots offering prayers and thanks for a slain deer that lay nearby. Children with big pointed ears ran around excitedly, adding to the chaos. Neran was too busy absorbing the scene to notice that he had been surrounded by warriors with raised spears.

  "We came back," Élia said and stepped out of the group. The warriors lowered their weapons.

  "The spies saw how they dragged you to the castle," one of them replied. Élia touched Neran’s shoulder.

  "This man helped us to escape and freed Lady Liadel." The warriors looked at Neran suspiciously. He didn´t look particularly friendly and not at all like a hero. He was half-naked, bloodied and dishevelled. They then turned their attention to Liadel and in unison bowed their heads.

  Neran knew the history of the Royal Elves only from stories. Their ruler was a Queen, but the most important issues were decided by a Council of Nobles. The Council consisted of several of the world’s wisest elves whose souls had been blessed by the Gods and declared pure.

  He also knew the legend about the arrival of the elves. They told it to every child at an early age. It was said that they came from a distant land that was flooded by the ocean, lured by the voices of the Spirits of the Land who had called for their help. Thousands of years before, humans had waged long wars against each other. The land had been bleeding for ages. The elves arrived and brought peace with them. They knew magic and had much larger armies than the humans. They had asked the humans for permission to stay in return for their friendship, support, and eternal peace. If the humans stopped having wars, the country would prosper.

  The humans were sceptical at first. However, when they saw what miracles the elves could perform, they obeyed, perhaps more out of fear than free will.

  Indeed, the world had changed. The elves brought with them magical beings, beauty, harmony, and life. The humans learned to live in harmony with fairies, elves, and other beings. Harvests improved and diseases and mortality rates decreased.

  The elves themselves had been created by dragons out of sea salt, forest scent and stardust. The dragons were creatures from another world and time. It was said that they had come from the midnight darkness and that their power knew no bounds. Among the elves, they selected those who excelled in their abilities and deeds, then appointed them to be Gods who then ascended into higher realms.

  Shortly after the arrival of the elves in Velwetia a new war broke out - their own. The elves resisted the Thirteen Demons who wanted to destroy them. The demons were set on devastating the entire world, the elves being their first target. Neran could not guess why. The ensuing battles resulted in almost the entire Elven Nation being wiped out. The Elven Gods eventually intervened against the demons, weakening and defeating them through their combined powers. One by one they had found the demons and enchanted them to different locations.

  The Spirits of the Land were now in charge of their eternal captivity. They took care of the country, were her ambassadors, and were referred to as the Guardians. Their task was to guard against, avert and fetter evil, and to protect nature.

  Neran could not even guess how the Thirteenth Demon had managed to break free. He had heard on many occasions that the Thirteenth was the worst of all and by far the most powerful. Now the Twelfth was on the loose too, the memory of their encounter engraved in Neran´s mind for ever.

  What was the demons’ plan? Nobody talked about the Thirteenth and the Twelfth ... What did they want? To destroy the world, all by themselves? Were they powerful enough to do it? Neran doubted it. Maybe they wanted to pick on the Gods. Why else would they kill their priests?

  He ceased to ponder and followed Élia. She spoke a few words with the elven warriors using ordinary Elvish, who then led the refugees off to a healer. Élia then escorted him and Liadel into a large log cabin at the beginning of the tunnel.

  The inside was dark. The windows were covered by curtains of green leaves. In every corner of the room a fire burned in a glass globe, filling the cabin with an inviting, comforting glow. The floor was carpeted with dry leaves and along the walls were a series of small tree stumps. An elf, with eyes closed and crossed legs, levitated over one of them, his blue ponytail reaching to the ground. As Neran´s eyes wandered, he noticed another door made of a curtain of beads that he assumed led into the adjoining cabin.

  The elf suddenly got up and walked straight towards Élia. He kissed her wholeheartedly on the forehead and embraced her. "I thought I had lost you."

  "I’m back, Father. A new era is dawning."

  The elf looked at Neran. His eyes were as black as night and his lips were narrow. "I know. I saw it."

  "Did you see what happens next?" Élia asked eagerly.

  "No, but I feel a comfortable tickling in my belly. Perhaps there will be good times ahead. We will send a messenger to the king of the people of Arnnolen. It would be nice to do away with all the dying and establish friendships with new people."

  "King Raid-Hard is honest and fair," Neran interjected. "Surely, you’ll get along well."

  The elf gave him a stern glance. "You talk without being asked. You're arrogant and only believe in yourself." Neran remained silent. He had thought to object, but something in the chief's personality made him hold back.

  Finally, the elf looked at Liadel. "You're free. Let your next journey be one from the heart and of your own free will."

  Liadel lowered her head. "Thank you, Kei-Sai."

  The chief waved to his daughter to bring three stumps to the middle of the room. The chief motioned everyone to sit down. Then he spoke.

  "You're a remarkable creature, werewolf. Your ancestors came from hell and you rescued my daughter and her companions from death. You have set free the Lady of Breetia and killed a man who out of fear kept sending others into battle in his place. Who are you?"

  Neran did not understand the question. The elf must know who he was. He was a Son of Hell, in the language of Fiery Gorges a so-called weer worf, for people werewolf. What else did he want to know? Apparently, he could see into the future, or at least glimpses of it, or of events that he wanted to know about. What was the purpose of the question?

  "My name is Neran. You know who I am. I don’t know what else to say."

  "Young man, I'm interested in your journey through life. Who do you think you are? Are you a hero or a beast, a saviour or a murderer? Tell me."

  "I am myself," Neran replied simply.

  "Nevertheless, you roam the land instead of living a quiet life with friends, wife, and family. He who roams the world does not know who he is. He is looking for a direction in life. He is looking for happiness ... What are you looking for?"

  Neran was a little taken off guard. "I ... I am seeking it too."

  "Sure," the chief smiled. "Everybody needs a direction. So, what is yours?"

  All the tricky questions started to annoy Neran. "I don’t know."

  "Then you should find out. Try to find the priests from the sacred Weimerill Temple. They will help you to open your mind and heart."

  Neran had the urge to smirk.“Even if I believed something like that, who´sto know if any of the priests will still be alive by the time I get there!”

  The chief glowered.He obviously had no inkling of what had happened.

  "I saw three of them a few days ago.A demon came for them and then killed them," Neran explained briefly.

  The chief's eyes widened with terror.Élia let out a small scream."Is it possible?” “I didn´t know ..." the elf whispered sadly."Something must be terribly wrong…"

  "A demon came to get them?"Liadel too seemed in shock, perhaps even afraid.

  "It was the Twelfth," Neran responded."He tore their hearts out ... and ate them."

  "He is collecting stre
ngth," the chief explained.“If a demon devours the hearts of elven priests, he devours their power as well.He is getting ready for something big.His aura must be growing stronger. It would explain why I could not see what he did and what he's doing right now...”

  "He doesn’t know that the Thirteenth is already awake," Liadel replied.Her voice sounded distant.Neran looked at her.It was chilling.

  "There is no way he could have entered a sacred place. It sounds like he somehow managed to lure the priests out of their temple and then killed them,” Élia speculated.

  Liadel abruptly stood up. "I'd like to rest, please."

  "Certainly," the chief agreed and Élia escorted her away. Neran remained alone with the elf, his impatience becoming evident.

  "Can you tell me something?" he burst out. The chief nodded his agreement.

  "Do you know who that elven is?"

  "Nobody knows for sure, young man. One day, she suddenly emerged as the new Lady of Breetia. In fact, she was a prisoner. The only thing I know about her is that her roots are in Ollewan but her bloodline comes from Neiwlur. She is strong and refuses to allow me to see her aura or even read her fate."

  "Can you read people´s destinies?"

  "I can only see the essence of a person and a part of the journey that awaits them. In her case, I see nothing. Yet, I feel that she is from a noble bloodline, and that is why we honour her."

  Neran looked into the elf´s black eyes. "What is my destiny?"

  "Chaos rules your mind, but someone will come into your life and resolve everything."

  "Is that all?"

  "That's all I know," the elf stood up. "Now go and rest. You’ll get a new shirt, and I will give you some weapons as well. I see that you carry daggers from the Dwarfs of Kiantell."

  "They were a gift, along with a sword... She gave it to me... Well, it was a gift from the elves. They took it away from me when I was captured yesterday."

  The chief smiled. "I know who gave you that sword. It's a great loss to us all."

  "I can´t wait to get a new one like it."