by Billy Wong
"No need to be." He started walking, and she followed. She noticed him go to untie his mount, and said, "Maybe you should leave him at the stable for the time being. Bringing a horse along to hunt werewolf doesn't tend to be a smart idea."
"Oh, that makes sense. I guess it means I'll have to walk." He spoke the last sentence with forced humor, making her hope he wouldn't end up whining about it.
They set out into the forest, where she assumed the werewolf or wolves would be hiding. It was a big place, though, and finding a trail might take several days or more if her quarry hadn't been active lately. "So how do you hunt werewolves?" Herbert asked.
"I just look around for signs and follow them to their makers. Often I don't have to find them, though. Just being in their territory draws their attention. Then they come after me."
Herbert's skin turned lighter. "That sounds... dangerous. You usually do this alone?"
"Yes, why?"
"What if there's more than one werewolf?"
Only "more than one?" Ha! "It's happened. I'm still here."
He looked her up and down, his expression a mix of admiration and doubt. "How many have you faced at once?"
"The most I've fought by myself is ten—hell of a big pack, especially for weres. Barely made it through alive, though." Against her will, she shuddered, and hoped he didn't see it under her cloak. "Tore my body up good. I'm still scarred all over from it. And that's despite me slowing some of them down with traps."
He patted her shoulder. So, he had seen her shudder after all. "Guess I should be glad to have your protection, then?"
"I'm not used to working with a partner. So I don't know how good I'll be about that." She paused. "Speaking of which, have you silvered that sword of yours? If not, you might want to borrow my daggers, because I doubt it'll reliably stop them."
"I don't need to borrow it. I had mine silvered."
She gave a nod of approval. "I'm happy to hear that."
They combed the woods for tracks, but found no trace of werewolves. Red wasn't discouraged. Almost a decade of hunting had taught her patience. Herbert already looked flustered after a few hours, not to mention winded. They had only been walking around slowly, and she could spend a whole day running. He didn't complain, though. She gave him good credit for that.
After a while, she suggested they take a rest. Herbert shook his head. "No, I don't need a break," he gasped between pants. "Please don't look down on me."
"I'm not. I'm just saying it seems to me like you'd do well to rest."
"But if you baby me now, how will I ever get used to working hard again?" He shook his head. "I wasn't always like this, you know. I used to be considered a respectable knight, and a good fighter."
Red sat down on a log, encouraging him to follow. After a while, he did so, and she felt her seat shift with his immense weight. "So what happened? Something tells me you haven't been very... sorry, I don't know how else to put this... active in a while."
"I screwed up. The Knights were generous enough not to get rid of me, but relegated me to menial tasks since they didn't think people would trust them enough if they let me represent them. So I ate and ate and... I used to be a lean two hundred forty pounds of muscle. Now I'm more than twice that in fat."
She tried to comfort him. "You can't be all fat. There has to be plenty of muscle left under there. But why send you out on a mission now, if they didn't for so long?"
"There was no one else available. Everybody else was busy. So they used me as the last resort."
"You only screwed up once, right? I think they should have given you another chance."
He hung his head. "The one time was pretty bad."
"What did you do?"
"It's more what I didn't do. I was supposed to keep somebody out of trouble. But I couldn't, and that ended up leading to a lot more trouble."
"Eh, every person makes mistakes. Hell, I made a pretty bad one just recently."
Herbert raised his brows. "Is that how you got those bruises?"
"Got in a fight with someone I had no business fighting, in more ways than one."
"It comforts me a little to know you can't be that much better than me," he said with a laugh.
Red gave him a dirty look. "How so? You don't know how good the person who kicked the stuffing out of me was."
"At least I know you're not unbeatable now. After hearing that story about ten werewolves..."
"I was prepared then and I still lucked out. Anyway, though, I have an idea. You don't like being as out of shape as you are, do you?"
"Of course not. I would have tried to change earlier if I realized how fat I was becoming. But I kept fooling myself, telling myself it wasn't that bad. Only after having to go out, and seeing the effect my weight has, am I no longer able to delude myself."
She nodded. "Then how about I help you get back to form?"
"You know how?"
Well, she'd never helped anyone lose weight before. But she did quite the assortment of exercises to keep herself in shape, and figured using them could help him regain his. "We won't know unless we try," she said, and he readily agreed.
They continued to search for werewolf tracks, Red taking a few hours out of each day to exercise with Herbert. She cheered him on through pushups, squats, jumps onto tree stumps and rocks, and short runs around clearings during which she kept an eye out for werewolves. He improved fast, which didn't surprise her knowing his past as a physically capable warrior. Of course, he hadn't lost much actual weight yet, but his stamina stopped being a big problem.
After a week of finding no werewolves, he suggested, "Maybe we should go back and see if there's any news. Somebody might have seen something that'll help us narrow our search."
It was taking a long time. "Okay, we could try that. By the way, how old are you, anyway?"
"Thirty-eight."
"Almost forty?! You look younger than that!"
"I'm well preserved because I don't do anything," he said in a flat voice.
She put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, don't be down on yourself. You're doing something now."
They returned to town, but before they could ask anything, a lean trapper in a fur cap called out to them. "Hey, you two! The Magistrate's been wanting to have a talk with you."
What had happened? They went to the Magistrate's house, where he answered the door with a contemptuous look. "So you two incompetents are back after a week with nothing to show for it, I see. I should have expected as much from an armored hog and one who goes by such a pretentious name as 'the Red Rider.' Did you know that while you were gone, another trapper's wife has gone missing from inside the very village?"
"How would we have known that?" Red asked.
"You wouldn't. But if you knew what you were doing, you should have found the werewolf already before letting it strike again."
She felt sorry for the victim, but he should have understand these things could take time. But she stifled her anger at his rudeness and asked, "When did the woman disappear?" The more recent it had been, the more likely they would be able to pick up the werewolf's trail from where it left the town.
"Yesterday."
That gave her some hope. "Sorry about being slow, but I think we can wrap this up soon." She turned to Herbert. "Let's check the town's perimeter. We should be able to see where the werewolf left, and track it from there."
"You better be," the Magistrate grumbled.
Herbert nodded reassuringly at him. "Let's go, then."
They walked to the edge of the settlement and began to search. But Red became baffled when after circling the town twice, they still found no trace of werewolf movement. "I don't understand—even if this wolf is one of the smart ones, it's hard for them to hide their trail. But I don't see any sign of them at all..."
"One of the smart ones? You mean there are different kinds of werewolf?"
She didn't exactly feel enthusiastic to explain it right now, but said, "Yes, turned werewolves are stupid, a
nd remain bestial and savage even in human form. Werewolves born to one werewolf and one human parent retain their intelligence in both forms, and those born to two werewolf parents can control their transformations."
"Meaning?"
"They can transform even during the day."
"Interesting." He frowned thoughtfully. "But I just had another idea. What if it's not a werewolf that's responsible for these disappearances, but a human living in town?"
Chapter 3
"I guess it's possible," Red said, a bit disappointedly. She knew there were human monsters just as evil as any werewolf if not more, and in fact it wouldn't be the first time she came across such. But they weren't her preferred foes. "But what about the beast that scared that trader?"
"It could have been a regular wolf, or bear. We should probably report this to the Magistrate."
She wanted to stop this killer or whatever it was from harming more people, even if it wasn't a werewolf, but the way the Magistrate had talked down to her and Herbert got on her nerves. She considered not telling him anything, and letting him worry a little while they conducted the investigation on their own. But then, that might lead to trouble with the locals... "I suppose we'll have to."
They went to the Magistrate's house. Upon seeing them, he asked, "So you have any leads yet, or do you plan on continuing to waste my time?"
"We think it might not be a werewolf that's making people go missing," Herbert said, "but a person living here. We'd like to search around the town, with your permission."
"Fine, search all you want. But if some of the citizens are uncooperative, don't expect me to come over there and hold your hands. You can handle that yourself."
Red figured disgruntled residents would likely go complaining to him anyway, but that wasn't their problem. She and Herbert began asking around to see if anyone had noticed anything unusual recently. Most of the people they talked to were happy to help so far, but didn't have any useful information. Meanwhile she also scanned the ground, keeping an eye out for suspicious things. For a long time, nothing. Then, walking behind a cabin while Herbert spoke to a woman at the front, she spotted streaks in the dirt leading towards the rear door—streaks that could indicate a body being dragged.
She returned to the front, let Herbert finish up some small talk about the resident's son and then asked, "Have you acquired a large item recently? Looks like somebody was moving something heavy inside."
The thin older woman hesitated. "It was a cabinet my husband put together outside."
"Ah, all right then." Herbert looked curiously at her, but she turned and tugged on his arm to indicate he should follow.
"You think something's up?" he asked.
"Maybe, but I'm not sure. So, let's ask the neighbors to see if her story checks out." They went to the closest house on the right, which would have a better view of their backyard, and knocked. A freckled woman answered. "Do you know if the man of that house was building a cabinet out back?" Red asked.
"Yes, he was."
She exhaled with a bit of disappointment. Then she added, "When?"
"I think he finished about... maybe two weeks ago."
Those tracks had looked a lot fresher than two weeks. "So?" Herbert asked after they thanked the woman.
"I don't think tracks from a cabinet would last half a month."
They returned to the house in question, and the woman looked visibly nervous in the window as she saw them again. "May we come inside?" Herbert asked when she came to the door.
"On whose authority?" she demanded, her face tight.
"The Magistrate approved our investigation. If you haven't done anything wrong, then you should have nothing to hide."
"We have nothing to hide, so you have no reason to pry into our business."
Red had thought Herbert might have been too quick to use that line. Then again, he hadn't been out in the field for a while. She tried to appeal to the other woman's sense of female camaraderie. "Listen, I know you might've been forced to do things you didn't want to. So help us keep the town safe now, and we could help you avoid overly harsh punishment."
"What makes you so certain of our guilt? You all but accuse us, but show your proof of this crime we supposedly did."
"I didn't say I was sure of your guilt," she said, her voice growing terse. "But the more you delay, the more suspicious we get."
"I suppose I can't stop you." The woman stepped aside, and Herbert entered. Red followed. She felt a movement at her back, and spun to catch the woman's arm as a knife flashed down in her hand. "Jonathan, run!" she cried, just before Red slammed her head against the door frame and knocked her unconscious.
"Who's Jonathan?" Herbert asked, drawing his sword while Red did her knives. "Is that-"
A growl issued from behind a door inside the house. Her husband? Brother? Son? The door burst open and a grey-furred bipedal wolf bounded out, followed by a thick young man with an axe. Had the woman only mentioned one name because she was more concerned for him, or purposely to mislead? Red darted sideways as the wolf veered right to intercept it, leaving Herbert to face the human opponent. She hoped his training would suffice despite disuse and his physical condition against the surely less skilled youth.
The wolf slowed before it reached her and growled. She lowered her stance, preparing to duck under its lunge and slice its throat. But then it surprised her. It turned and fled for the back door.
Red was reluctant to get too far from Herbert in case he needed help, but she had little choice if she didn't want the werewolf to escape. She sprinted after it, fumbling a special barbed dagger tethered to her belt out of its sheath. Even with her experience, it was tough to do at full speed. She hurled the dagger into the wolf's rump as it escaped into the yard, stopped and braced herself. Dragging the werewolf towards her back into the house, she drew one of her long knives. She jumped atop the wolf's back, looping one arm around its throat and trying to work the blade under her forearm to slice it.
It threw itself sideways, crushing her into the wall. Her knife grazed its neck, but failed to cut deep. It rolled over with her under it, pressing her into the floorboards, and managed to free itself of her grip. She scrambled to her feet and they faced each other in those close quarters, barely a foot between them. It swiped at her with arms she cut to ribbons and snapped at her; she held her ground and sliced its nose, making it yelp. It howled despairingly and charged. She sprang aside, laid its snout open with a slash. It stumbled to all fours. Sensing her opportunity, she kneed it in the ribs and pressed forward, pinning it against the wall. It turned its head trying to bite her. She raised the knife and plunged it down, driving it through an eye into its brain.
Standing up off the corpse, Red pulled the blade out. She turned to Herbert and saw he had already dealt with his foe, who lay at his feet in a pool of blood. Apparently he had dispatched his opponent faster than her, because he said, "That was impressive how calm you looked wrestling with that wolf. I wouldn't be that relaxed grappling with a wild animal."
She gave a small smile. "I've had lots of practice. And he wasn't that 'wild,' considering he had a human mind."
"How do you know?"
"Well, if he was anything but a purebred werewolf, he wouldn't have been able to transform in the day."
Herbert gazed down at the dead youth. "So his son was a werewolf too? I might be lucky we didn't come at night." He turned to the elder wolf's wife, still unconscious in the doorway. "Think she is too?"
"I doubt it. It would be too troublesome to keep her under control if they turned her, and besides she wasn't a drooling savage. And she couldn't have been a purebreed, if her son wasn't."
"There's a small chance her son was a purebreed and just preferred to fight as a man."
"I suppose." Red stepped over to the woman and began to tie her hands behind her. She woke up and attempted to spit over her shoulder at her, but otherwise didn't resist. Red hauled her to her feet and marched her outside.
Herbert
gave the dead men one more look, the father having reverted to human form, and followed. "So how does a werewolf come to live in a town anyway? I sort of figured they would stick to the wilderness."
"Turned ones do, but born ones you can find anywhere."
"Shouldn't we look for the victims' bodies before we leave?"
Her mouth twitched. "You can if you want to, but we could just let the Magistrate sort it out. I'm not much for seeing that myself."
He smiled at her. "And I'd thought you might be inured to it."
"I'm not too squeamish, but I don't go out of my way for unpleasant sights."
They dropped the prisoner off for the locals to handle, collected their reward from a grudging Magistrate and prepared to depart. "Should I stay with you for a bit and keep helping you with your exercises?" she asked Herbert.
"Where are you going now?"
"Well, I don't have any ideas as to where to find my next werewolves, but I was planning to go back south since that's where I'm used to..."
He shook his head. "I'm headed north, back the way I came, and you set me on the right path enough for me to follow it on my own. So I guess this is where we part ways."
"I guess." She looked up into his eyes. "Thanks."
"Thanks? For what?"
She laughed. "For being a good partner!"
They shook hands again and he mounted his horse, still with a struggle though looking better than when she'd first seen him if one considered he had been dismounting then. "And thank you for the help," he said. "If you ever need some in return, don't hesitate to ask."
"I won't. I hope your success today will get your career back on track."
"I hope so too, but I've also realized I should have been more proactive in trying to get assignments. I let this happen to myself, and I'll fight harder not to from now on."
She nodded, and they left town together. They parted ways, Red a little sad they had to so soon. Having a comrade hadn't been bad, and maybe she didn't want to be such a loner anymore. But she doubted his future as a knight would bring him into conflict with werewolves enough to suit her need. She could have asked if there were lycanthropes up north as an excuse to travel together a little longer, but thought it might seem too desperate.