by Mark Tufo
***
We had been on the road three days, always heading north. The pace seemed unsettlingly slow considering the urgency that the world had taken on. More than once I tried to urge Azile on a little faster. She was having none of it. The fourth night I got my answer why.
Azile brought our small band of travelers to a halt. A man of indeterminate age was laid across the roadway up ahead.
“Shouldn’t we go check on him?” Bailey asked.
“He’s naked,” I said aloud.
“Probably robbed of all his belongings,” Bailey said.
“Or…” I stated.
“Or he’s a Lycan,” Bailey finished.
I heard some noise off to our right. It was quiet, but I saw Tommy react, so I figured I wasn’t imagining it. Azile looked off to our left. It was a trap – a Lycan trap. Now I figured I was among some of the best company I could be in just this event, but I would have felt a whole lot better maybe inside a tank. I wondered if my brother had one of those hidden in his doomsday locker.
The man in the road stood, his transformation happened so fast it was difficult to remember he had at one point looked human. Other Lycan began to materialize out of the woods around us…had to have been a half dozen at least.
We were on the precipice of an attack. It was so thick you could taste it, and to be honest, it was bitter as hell. Oggie was bristling; Bailey had her rifle at the ready. Game on, I thought, then Azile spoke.
“I call for a Covenant of the Crescent Moon,” she said loudly with not a hint of panic in her voice. I’ll be honest, I was scared, and I think so was everyone else in our troop.
The original Lycan seemed to sag for a moment and was rethinking his plan.
“Come, come,” Azile said, “have the Lycan forgot the old ways?”
The Lycan growled. “We have not forgotten our laws, Witch. You will have your convening…and then I will tear you open.”
My original estimate had been low. We were surrounded by at least ten of the beasts. They had a very disturbing scent; “savage death” would be an accurate descriptor. Maybe I could market it to serial killers.
Our pace picked up from turtle-slow to healthy trot. When we cleared the woods, I realized the reason for Azile’s malingering pace. A pale sliver of moon hung over the top of the trees. A crescent moon.
“What are you getting us into, Azile?” I asked, coming abreast of her.
“It is what I am trying to get us out of,” she replied, answering nothing.
“You know about this?” I asked Tommy. He shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
“No talking,” our guide said.
“Are we not guests of this meeting?” I asked.
He didn’t respond.
“Then I’ll damn well talk when I want to,” I told him.
He turned and came at me. I gripped the hilt of my sword. He stopped; he was in range with his unnaturally long arms. Even with a sword drawn, I would be lucky to give him a shave. He began to sniff the air around him. I saw maybe the slightest enlargement of his eyes and then no more as he turned back. It could have been wishful thinking on my part – his whole fear thing, I mean – I could only hope it was. I was never one to rest on luck. Okay, that last part reeks with sarcasm.
“That’s what I thought,” I told his back. “Chicken shit.”
His shoulders hunched, Azile’s head dipped a bit. “Are you trying to get us all killed?” she hissed.
“No. I figured you already covered those bases. If I’m going out…it’s with a bang,” I told her. (Why? Why? Why? What is my problem? There are times in my life, where I just see red and actions and or words will come out without any sort of filter. Many times I have been able to undo this particular idiosyncrasy with a well-placed ‘sorry’ or pride-swallowing apology, but I had a feeling our host wasn’t going to listen.)
“Take this.” Azile pushed something into my hand. I was repulsed and compelled at the same time. I could smell the blood through the leather boundaries of the canteen she handed me. “Drink it all. You’re going to need it before the night is through.”
I was ashamed of myself even as I uncorked the lid. I saw more than one of the Lycan swivel their heads. They must have also caught wind. I felt like a meth-head that hated himself for what he did…and then I drank heavily.
Night was in full force by the time we were told to stop. The horses were sweating and panting hard but the Lycan looked as refreshed as if they had just awoken from a nap. We were deep in the heart of an old city, which one it was I had no clue. I hadn’t seen any signs to give me a clue. The skyscraper we were in front of looked on the verge of collapse. The ground around the building was sheathed in six inches of broken glass. It sparkled like a field of diamonds under the light of the stars.
Our ten hosts quickly swelled into the fifty-plus range as more and more Lycan came to see the spectacle. What I wouldn’t have done for a rifle like Bailey’s. She had hers cradled in her lap, I wondered if she’d let me borrow it. I saw movement in the lobby of the building. Originally I thought it was a trick of the light as by far the largest Lycan I’d ever had the displeasure of seeing, strode through the front doors of the building, having to stoop down as he did so.
“Fuck, I bet his name is Durgan,” I said. Tommy snorted when he heard me.
“The Red Witch seeks amnesty and calls forth the Covenant of the Crescent Moon,” our guide announced to the big brute that stood almost head and shoulders over a monster I thought was already preternaturally huge.
“You are foolhardy to come here,” the leader said. “We are at war with your kind.”
“Xavier Villalobos, the slaughtering of a town of innocents hardly constitutes war,” Azile rang out.
“Careful, witch,” he growled. “if you wish to live.”
“How easily you would brush aside the covenants that have guided your kind for the ages,” she said defiantly.
“You are here and I am listening. Say what you wish so that we can end this distasteful meeting.”
“I am asking you, Xavier, to veer from this path you have chosen. We have all seen too much death and destruction. No good can come from this.”
“No good?” Xavier roared. “A world devoid of mankind would be the best of all worlds. What have you ever brought except death through over-population, deforestation, pollution, diseases, hatred, plague, and war? Those are your terms; we have lived in harmony with nature since the birth of Great Mother. Your kind has lived in direct contrast, always trying to bring nature to her knees, to make her your servant. You have brought both of us to the brink of extinction time and time again. I will not sit back any longer and allow it to happen. We have been given a chance to wipe the stain of you clean.”
“You are using the tainted ones to do your dirty work,” she said with vehemence. “This is something you have only done in great need, not to wage war.”
“I am fighting fire with fire. Your kind unleashed your zombies.”
“That was a plague that affected all,” Azile offered.
“Brought on again by man,” he said.
“What does the Council of Thirteen say about your actions?” Azile asked.
“There is no more council. I am my own ministry.” He beat his chest.
“He even sounds like Durgan,” I whispered.
“I came here hoping we could avert this disaster,” Azile said.
“The only disaster will be among your own kind,” he said triumphantly.
“I think you underestimate the humans and their allies.”
“Allies?” Xavier questioned.
“The Old Ones do not take kindly to their food supply being slaughtered.”
“The Old Ones? You talk as if they still exist,” Xavier said, trying to quiet the murmur that had arisen among his people.
“My name is Tomas of the Old World, I have come as an emissary for my people.” He arose from his seat on the cart.
“You did know we were comi
ng here. You could have given me a heads-up,” I told him.
The Lycan began to talk animatedly among themselves. Lycan and Vampire had been at war since the dawn of time if the old testaments were to be believed. Top of the food chain predators always sought ways to diminish their competition.
“You lie!” Xavier shouted. “Humans would no sooner ally with the Old Ones than they would the cows they eat.”
“You have forced their hand, Xavier, self-proclaimed king of the Lycan. Extinction is a powerful motivator for both. Perhaps your kind will not suffer from the loss of the symbiotic relationship you share with man, but the Old Ones do not wish to put it to the test.”
“One Old One will not turn the tides, Witch.”
“We are legion,” Tomas said forcibly.
“Legion?” I mouthed. Bailey pushed my shoulder when she saw me question him.
“Fool, do you not know a bluff when you see one,” she said in my ear.
“Almost knocked me off my friggin’ horse,” I said, rubbing my shoulder.
“BT was right about you,” she said, not elaborating.
Xavier paused before laughing. “You come seeking a peace you know I will not grant and then lie in hopes that I will run scared into the caves we have inhabited for generations untold. I AM DONE HIDING! The world will be ours. You are free to leave. If you are still here when the Crescent has dropped I will consider you gifts to be spread among my people.” With that, Xavier turned to go back into the building.
“My Lord, the man on the horse insulted me,” our guide said to Xavier’s back, pointing at me.
“Ah…it appears that we will yet have fun tonight. I thought this was just going to be a boring war of words. We have an affair of honor to settle.”
“We are under the banner of the crescent moon,” Azile elicited.
“You who seem so versed in our ways must also know that an insult must be bathed in blood before it can be laid to rest.”
“Fucking Talbot,” Azile muttered.
“I get that a lot,” I told Bailey.
“You are a fool. No one willingly fights a Lycan,” she replied.
“I will fight in his stead,” Azile shouted.
“A double dishonor!” Xavier intoned. “You would have a woman be your champion?” he asked me.
“No.” I got off my horse. “I meant everything I said to the flea bag. If he wants to try and get a piece of me…let him,” I said, standing my ground. Had to have been the damn infusion of new blood.
Xavier sampled the air. “You are not human?” It seemed to be more of a question.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Debatable, I suppose.” I was all bravado on the outside, and maybe some of that was the blood I had coursing through me, but on the inside I was a wriggling mass of seizure-prone worms. “Rules?” I asked, holding up my sword.
“Only that you must die.” Xavier said.
“Can I see that manual? It seems mighty biased,” I told him as I withdrew my sword. “Should have grabbed Bailey’s gun.” I brought a fist to my forehead. “Wait, wait,” I said to the stretching and snarling form of my opponent. “I write these journals, and I’d like to know the name of the beast’s head I’m about to sever and have rolling on the ground.”
“I am Timbre!” he shouted as he came at me.
I barely had enough time to bring my sword up; the steel fell from my hands from the contact. I had drawn first blood, but I was pretty sure the scrape on his knuckle wasn’t going to slow him down too much.
“You lost your toy, dead man,” he said.
“Wait, don’t you have a journal you’d like to remember my name in?” I asked.
“Do you also name your dinner?” he asked, coming at me again.
Good point, I thought.
It was tough to fathom a creature so large having so much agility and speed. I twisted to the side as he lunged at me, and still he was able to spin and rake a paw against my midsection. He hadn’t broke skin, but the Salvation Army wouldn’t take this jacket in. My side ached, a little harder and he would have cracked ribs. Already the thing was on the move back towards me. Like some futuristic Parkour, he ran a few feet up the side of a building and had redirected himself back towards me. If he hadn’t been trying to kill me I would have marveled at his athleticism.
The only thing I had going for me was how much bigger he was than me. I know, one wouldn’t necessarily think of that as an advantage. Instead of dodging, I rolled this time. The air he pushed over my back was cold and rippled with death. I had a purpose as I snagged my sword, comforting in its weight.
“Finish him!” Xavier shouted at Timbre. Like the beast needed any incentive. I don’t even think he heard his king over the snarling and the snapping of his jaws. Hell, the sound of his drool splashing on the ground would have been enough to drown out a jet.
He was coming back at me. I had gotten up off the ground and was in a half-crouch, my sword out in front of me. It was a game of chicken as I held my ground. What happened next is difficult to explain as it happened so fast and I was nearly knocked unconscious. Timber slammed one of his large arms into my blade, which unfortunately turned to the side as he did so. The sharp steel sought purchase and was only moderately rewarded. Although, in retrospect, it was probably for the best that the sword turned in my hands as the flat side slammed into my forehead. Blood which I had been containing fairly well thus far, poured from the wound. The blade broke in two as I spiraled to the ground. My teeth rattled from the concussion. Now I know some people say that, to use as an effect. I am saying my teeth literally rattled. The pain was excruciating as it spread around my entire skull.
I had a death-grip on the twelve inches remaining, but I think that had more to do with not being able to remember how to open my hands than anything else. I was swimming in a fog, blood poured into my eyes making vision nearly impossible; that would have been a problem if my eyes weren’t rolling towards the back of my skull.
“Get up!” Fired across my brain.
“Is it time?” I asked.
“Talbot, get your ass up!”
“Tracy? Is that really you?” I asked. A lithe form came out of the murky mistiness in my mind. She was initially shadow and smoke before form began to define her. “It is you.” I was sobbing on my knees before her. “I’ve missed you so much,” I told her, reaching my hand out to touch her.
“I’ve missed you as well, my love. You cannot die here,” she told me.
“It would be so easy.”
“We’re waiting for you.”
“We?” I asked. Now I had tears to contend with. Even if I could get my eyes to stop turning like a slot machine wheel, they’d be blurred out.
Light as a feather, her hand stroked the side of my cheek. “Get up, my love. Fight this fight, get your soul and rejoin me. I will wait for you forever.”
“You were always my favorite wife,” I told her (it had been an inside joke between us).
“Timbre comes,” she said as she slipped back, her form losing definition and finally dissipating into white smoke.
Not sure how much time had elapsed. Timbre was indeed bearing down on me. I must have looked the captivating prize. Me, on my knees, head bowed, sword half pointed into the ground. A berry ripe for the picking if there ever was one. I could hear Oggie barking wildly, Tommy had a death-grip on him. Words were buzzing through my head. I think they were Tommy’s, he was also urging me to arise. There might have also been an incantation going on from Azile. All of a sudden, my head was becoming increasingly crowded. And, still, the hairy bastard kept coming.
He was now down on all fours loping towards me, I fell back as his muzzle snapped closed where my head had just been. A string of drool caught from the top of my forehead to my neckline. He was still running over the top of me as I was falling back. I brought up the hilt of my sword. I could feel the shiver in my arm as the jagged edge of my broken blade caught him above his pelvic region. The blade at first tugged and pulle
d in my hands as his forward momentum brought his nether regions in contact with the steel shards.
High yelps of pain pierced the night as the blade pulled against his Lycan-hood. I pitied him at that point; that was no way for anyone to go out of the world – but still, better him than me. He slid to a grinding halt ten feet from where I had lain. I stood groggily to my feet. The entire Lycan crowd, which a moment earlier had been going crazy, was now silent, as crickets began to dominate the night’s symphony. Timbre was on his side; his front paws exactly where you would expect them to be. Blood spread around him, his eyes wide with rage and fear.
He kept moving his mouth as I drew near, maybe to ask me to spare him his life or perhaps he thought I’d stumble into his jaws and allow him to win. In reality he was asking me to kill him.
“Talbot two, Lycan zero!” I shouted as I drove the sword into his midsection, twisting it around until it went deep enough to crack into his spine. I gave Xavier the finger and headed off to Tommy’s cart. In retrospect it was probably a very good thing indeed that Xavier had no clue what the finger meant or I would have been involved in my second insult-inspired battle of the night.
I had barely the energy to pull myself onto the back of the cart. My head was ringing like I had the bells of Notre Dame slamming around in there. I was pretty sure Timbre had busted a rib, and no matter how hard I tried, my eyes seemed to want to close.
“This is not possible!” Xavier shouted.
“Sooooo…. I take it this means the peace accord is over?” I asked Bailey.
“You really don’t know when to shut up do you? I thought BT was expounding for the purposes of his journal,” she whispered to me.
“You guys figure this out. I think I’m going to take a nap,” I told her before laying my head down on the hay bed. Oggie stood a protective watch as the world drifted away, I was unconscious in moments, and no matter how hard I searched…I could not find Tracy.
