Brace For the Wolves

by Nathan Thompson

  “He's sure mouthy when he's not being tortured, ain't he?”

  A raspy chuckle sounded behind me, and I stepped aside to get both enemies in view. The other man was skinny and of medium-height, and wearing leather armor like I was, save that his was decorated with all sorts of shrunken animal skulls and other weird fetishes. He had ragged black hair and skin that looked as if it was beginning to turn green and scaled. The strange sight reminded me how my other opponent's muscles looked unnaturally large and made me wonder if their power was changing them physically. Then my eyes darted to the strange writhing net on the ground next to him. A tiny pink light was struggling inside of it, while dark blue energy zapped at it repeatedly.

  “Breena!” My bonded companion's name tore from my lips and I rushed at the net. The lizard-like man chuckled, and he raised one of the animal skulls strapped to him. A green fiery blast intercepted me and knocked me back, nearly knocking me into the club of the larger man. I twisted as I fell to dive under the blow, tumbling back to my feet and stabbing at his leg. My blow missed the joint in his hip and landed on the meat of his thigh. His next attack came inches away from my face and forced me to drop my spear as I darted backwards. The force of his swing was so strong that I saw the air in its wake activate Karim's warding shield on me, and I saw a blue screen flash in front of my face as the invisible air ripple whumped against it. I drew my blades and raced around the larger man to get back at the net, but the lizard-like man's fire forced me back again.

  “Let! Her! Go!” I growled as I willed my Outer Current spell to reactivate and rushed forward. Both men moved to intercept me as I rushed for the net, but this time I had only feinted at the direction. A twist in my next step allowed me to pivot and charge directly into the smaller man.

  His eyes widened in panic, and he grabbed another skull and waved it in my direction. A sheet of green fire sprayed out in front of him. I just gritted my teeth and charged through it, feeling acid-like burns eat through my warding shield, my leather armor, and my enhanced skin. The pain almost made me scream, but a moment later I was through the burning wall and slammed into the scaly shaman. Again, green fire burned into me as I came in contact with him, and again I gritted my teeth and swung my blades at him. My long arming sword stabbed deep into the shoulder of his primary arm, taking his next totem out of the fight, and my other attack chopped at the belt most of his other skulls were attached to.

  “No, cripple-head, don't!” the jackass screamed in panic. “You'll—”

  “Don't care,” I growled as I dug my short sword into his belt and forcefully activated my Outer Current again. The discharge of electricity surged out of me and into his metal studded belt and his shoulder. There was a loud series of crackles as metal rivets popped along his armor, then his skull fetishes began to explode. The first few only released small trickles of energy that pinged off of my wards. Then three more blew up at once, causing a blast of heat that burned into my side and scorched my own armor. Those three seemed to trigger a chain reaction that set off all of his other fetishes, including the large skull dangling from his hand. The explosion gave off a green light that seared into my eyes, and I staggered away from the screaming man as I felt Karim's wards and my own enhanced skin try and fail to protect me from the backlash of the ruined items. I reeled for a few more steps, swinging my weapon in front of me in a desperate attempt to protect myself until my vision returned.

  I knew the effort had failed when I felt a large, blunt object impact my side and blast me right off my feet. The attack sent me tumbling through the patchy grass, my left ribs all screaming alerts at me. A brief flicker from my mind-screen told me that the blow and previous explosion had eaten away over half of my vital guard. I rolled painfully to my knees and could barely make out a large blurry shape advance menacingly toward me.

  “Bastard,” my last foe growled. “Do you have any idea how much money he owed me?”

  I tried to think of another witty reply, but my brain and lips felt so mushy the only word that came out of my mouth was “potatoes.”

  The large man swore again. He drew his large club back, and my legs didn't listen when I told them to roll me out of the way. Then something small and bright blasted its way out of the nearby net and began buzzing around my opponent's face.

  My vision cleared enough to see a tiny, beautiful, gossamer-winged woman dodge the oaf's awkward hand swipes and throw a cloud of sparkling dust directly at the man's eyes and nose. He sneezed and stepped backwards and still tried to swat at my fairy companion. I heard her sniff in contempt and she barrelled past his limbs to fire a stream of fiery pink darts into the back of his bald head. He cried out in pain again, still sneezing and frantically rubbing his eyes to clear his vision. He swung his club again, not realizing that there was an entire cloud of sparkling motes still in the air in addition to the tiny glowing fairy.

  He never came close to hitting her, and she calmly, methodically began to take him down with streams of fiery darts and heavy droplets of water. When his staggering increased and his aim got even worse, she chanted a longer spell and a stream of water drifted from her hands and up his nostrils. He was able to disrupt it by swiping at it enough times with his hands, but whenever he did she just recast the spell and went right back to drowning him. Finally, the man gave off one last gurgle and fell to the ground. The little fairy kept up the attack for a few more moments, then broke it off when the man no longer moved. She swooped down and fired one last bolt of light to his temple, then blurred over to me.

  “Wes?” I heard my companion asked.

  “Breena,” I panted as I looked at her. “You're alive.”

  My pink-haired friend's sparkling pink dress looked scorched, and she was bruised and disheveled, but the woman who had done her best to train me, and help me recover the use of my legs and memory, was alive.

  “Wes?” she asked again. “You're really Wes? It's really you?”

  “Yeah, Breena,” I said as I struggled to get back to my feet. “It's me. I'm here.”

  I had a moment of dizziness for a second, then my vital guard finally allowed me to shrug off the massive blow I received earlier. That reminded me that Breena had been hurt as well.

  “Hey, Breena, are you okay? Do you need me to heal y—”

  “No,” she said with a quiver, and she rushed to my chest, burrowing her tiny body into the middle of it. “You're alive,” she repeated as she squeezed against my chest. “I thought you were gone for good. I thought I failed you.”

  I brought up an arm to hug her, then tried to cast my Healing Wind spell with my other arm. I wanted to tell her I was okay, and that nothing too bad had happened, but I knew she'd just see the lie for what it was.

  When my healing spell settled over her, the tiny sprite stiffened, and she flew out of my grasp.

  “You're hurt too,” she said firmly. “I won't miss that anymore.”

  I started to argue, but she had already began casting. Coolness and wind settled over me, and I felt the strain on my vital guard vanish along with my injuries.

  “Thanks, Breena,” I said as my wounds vanished. “That's the last of them.”

  “No it's not,” she said as she choked back a sob. “You're hurting in ways you don't even know how to tell me. I know.”

  I tried not to shudder when she said that, but I was pretty sure she saw right through it.

  “Yeah,” I finally said. “What about you? Are you okay?”

  She shook her tiny head.

  “Cold,” she said in a small voice. “Too small, for too long. And too much illusion magic.”

  She grew before my eyes, until she was at least a foot and half tall. She floated back over and leaned into me.

  “We need to get back to the shelter then,” I finally said as I moved a hand to cradle her carefully. “You can move now, right?”

  A furious nod.

  “I brought others there too,” she said in a whisper. “I was trying to get to you, but then I had to hide
.”

  “Yeah, I know,” I said back quietly. “I found them. Good job. I think I got the rest. We need to get back to them though. I brought extra food.”

  “Good,” she sniffled. “You did good too, Wes. I'm sorry I couldn't do more.”

  “Yeah,” I said quietly. “Me too.”

  Neither of us could say “I forgive you” yet, because neither of us were ready to hear it. We took another moment, and then we clumsily separated from our awkward half-hug. I turned to see my three companions walk into view. They looked at the two bodies on the ground, and then at me.

  “Sorry,” I said. “I thought she was in danger, and I panicked. I should have waited for you guys.”

  “Maybe,” Eadric said with a shrug. “We'll figure it out when we get back. Let's check the bodies and get out of here.”

  Charred Charlie, the scaly guy who had tried to snare Breena, didn't have anything that had survived the explosion of his magic items except for a scorched, Earth-made combat knife and a pouch containing money. Drowned Dick, the larger man, had his club, chainmail and a money pouch of his own. The chainmail fit me even better than it had on its original owner, so I figured I'd take it, though Eadric snorted again at the armor’s quality. I noticed that the dents my spear strikes put in it had somehow recovered, something my dwarven friend assured me was supposed to have happened. Breena reminded me that people who had progressed to gain a vital guard often had their equipment gain the ability to slightly regenerate as well. It was a subject I still didn’t fully understand, but we were out of time for questions. I had just finished loading the last of the gear into my magical storage space when I heard the howls sound out again.

  “Traitor-prince, traitor-prince...”

  The whispers were much fainter than they had been before, and none of the creepy verses followed them. But that wasn't as important as realizing that I had forgotten that two Horde were still unaccounted for. There was no excuse for that. I had a nigh-omniscient super-computer on my side.

  A moment later, more howls joined the first two.

  “Traitor-prince, traitor-prince...”

  “They're calling more Horde to our location,” I realized, and I swore again. “We have to go or they'll surround us.”

  We had done fantastic so far, but all of our battles had been on our terms, and the few unknowns we had run into had nearly spelled the death of us. Even though they had avoided combat, I couldn't escape the hunch that the howling beasts were on another level than even the Mongrels we had fought. I wouldn't risk another fight with them until we had a chance to rest and recover all of our vital pools and magic.

  Weylin nodded, and he began a movement chant that let us travel faster and more easily.

  As we ran, we heard more howls, but the Horde still did not engage.

  “Traitor-prince, traitor-prince...”

  The chants followed us all the way back to the border line of the shelter. But once we came in range of the wards, they came no closer. I looked back and saw one wolf-like shape come right to the edge. The creature reared up on its hind legs, and let out one last howl. As it did so, I saw the image of another, larger wolf transpose over it. The larger wolf was a creature with brown and white fur, save for its face. The face of the transparent wolf was completely hairless, and it bared its fleshy red lips and yellow teeth at me. As the creature under it continued to howl, the larger image spoke at me.

  “Ran from home, hid with prey, cowered in its rabbit den. Bide our time, choose our place, and then we kill the traitor-prince.”

  Chapter 4: Claimed Den

  I sighed in relief when we reached the ruins where the refugees had been hiding. Everyone was still accounted for. Little Gabby ran up and hugged me again, and Val, Sam, and Kayla still wouldn’t talk to me. I turned around and looked at everyone, trying to figure out what I should do next, and then felt a pat on my shoulder.

  “That’s good, Challenger,” Eadric said, the stout man looking up at me. Are dwarves supposed to be this tall? I remembered thinking. The man was around five feet tall. “We can take it from here.”

  “But I…” I started to protest, and then stopped. I had no idea what I was about to say, because I had no idea what to really do next.

  Fortunately, Eadric didn’t need me to.

  “You’ve just organized a jail-break, an evacuation, two desperate battles, and a rescue mission. You’re good. Take a break.”

  “He’s right,” Breena said as she flew over to me. She had briefly left my side to reassure the older group of refugees that she had returned. “I’ve been hiding people here for weeks. And Emalee’s going to help me get your group situated.”

  “We’ll help,” Weylin said as he and Karim stepped forward. “You’re a legend from the past, while they’ve seen us for some time. They’ll be more comfortable with us handling the mundane matters. Go rest.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked. “I feel like I…”

  “Should be in charge,” Karim finished. “And you are. According to Avalon itself. But now it’s time to delegate.”

  “That’s… right.” I finally said. His words made sense. Leaders delegated. People had told me that before.

  “Wes, dear,” Breena said as she flew up and laid a palm on my cheek. “You’re the most tired, and you’re the most hurt. And this is one thing everyone else is the most comfortable with. We’ll all go to sleep as soon as we get settled in, I promise. We’re just going to calm everyone down and point them to comfy spots on the ground. That’s it.”

  “But… the food?” I finally said. Because I remembered people needing food.

  “You pulled it out earlier, remember?” my little fairy friend said. “I told you to pull a certain amount out of your magic storage, and to leave the rest inside so we wouldn’t have to guard it?”

  “Yeah… that’s right. You’re right,” I finally said. “But… Guineve,” I said after struggling to think for a moment. “We still need to get Guineve!”

  “I saw the group near Guineve,” Breena said firmly. “You’re in no condition to take them on right now, and they’re in no condition to take her on either, even if she is still recovering. And Avalon will wake you and let you know if anyone is in real danger. Right, Avalon?”

  “Affirmative,” the nearby mists intoned.

  “See? It’s time for a break, Wes.”

  “You’re… you’re right,” I finally said. Now that the adrenaline from all the fighting and killing wore off, the exhaustion was like a tide that was hitting me in a series of waves. “I need to go to bed.”

  “Good,” Breena said firmly. “I’ll show you a spot to sleep.”

  She moved me deeper into the marble ruins. She hovered over a spot with three walls and a partial roof. Some rags, straw and broad leaves had been laid down to form a bedding. “This will work for tonight. Go ahead and lie down.”

  I used the last of my brainpower to realize that was a really, really good idea, and I slowly, carefully lowered myself to the floor.”

  “Now I’m going to cast something to help you sleep,” the little fairy said. “It’s not dangerous, so don’t fight it. I’ll wake you up if anyone needs you, but I want you to rest now, okay?”

  “Yeah…” I mumbled as I closed my eyes. “Sounds… good.”

  “Perfect.”

  Breena began mumbling another spell, and as dust fell on me a lightness settled on my mind. I began to pass into soft, dreamless sleep.

  “Goodnight, Wes,” I heard Breena mutter, as if I wasn’t supposed to hear her. “I love you.”

  Then everything went black.

  I had brief impressions of people laughing, and screaming, and calling my name for help. I also thought I saw blades, fire, gnashing teeth, and blood. Lots of blood. But the sounds and images just fluttered dimly around the edges of my subconscious and faded back into the soft, comforting blackness.

  It felt marvelous. Wonderful. Like I could stay here forever. Like I was gaining something back that I des
perately needed, that I had been deprived of for ages. I never wanted to open my eyes again.

  Wes?

  Nothing could ever move me away…

  Wes?

  Except for that voice.

  Stell? I thought back. I recognized that voice. There was no way I wouldn’t. That voice had rescued me, given me opportunity when no one else on Earth would.

  Wes! You’re alive!

  So much joy in those three words.

  But also guilt.

  Wes, I’m sorry, she said next, her voice thick with grief. I’m so sorry.

  For what? I demanded back. Don’t be. You did what you were supposed to do. I told you I’d come back if I died.

  And I did. It was horrifying, and I was still afraid of thinking about it because I knew it could still break me, even after everything else that had happened.

  But for her? I’d do it again.

  You weren’t supposed to die, her voice said bitterly. I wasn’t supposed to leave you…

  She trailed off, but she started speaking again just before I could interrupt.

  Something went wrong, she added. When I asked for help, no one came.

  Why? I asked. Why didn’t the Icons answer your call?

  Something happened, she said grimly. Everywhere at once.