The Wolf On The Run (The Wolf of Corwick Castle Book 3)

by Terry Cloutier

  I started to crawl forward, having to make my way over twisted, bloody bodies that lay scattered on the floor. I winced as I touched a dead man’s mail-covered arm, feeling the searing heat of the metal burning my flesh. I could hear men screaming in panic around me, and twice someone stepped on me and then hurried away. The smoke was thick and the heat intense as I pressed my face into the cooler dirt, fighting to breathe while I pulled Sabina along behind me.

  Finally, my helmet banged into a solid obstruction in front of me and I paused, gasping as I looked up. Above me, the smoke wall chose that moment to part for just a moment and I felt my heart sink. We had reached the granary doors, but they were closed! I could hear men pounding with their weapons on the doors and I ground my teeth in frustration. The townspeople had barricaded the doors, I realized, willing to sacrifice their own men in a bid to save the town.

  In truth, I can’t say I blamed them for it, from a strategic point of view. Killing a few of their men to destroy both the invaders and the tunnel made sound tactical sense. Had I been them, I probably would have done the same thing too.

  “Damn!” Jebido said as he crawled up beside Sabina and me and took in the situation. “Now what?”

  I didn’t have time to reply as a terrible screeching sound came from above us. “Cover your heads!” I shouted in warning.

  I lifted my shield to protect Sabina, groaning at the pain in my shoulder as a charred, burning hunk of wood as long as my arm collided against the shield and then bounced off. Smaller burning pieces fell all around and on top of us, with another large chunk careening off my helmet, stunning me. A great gaping hole had been ripped open in the ceiling above us, with massive gouts of flames instantly shooting upward, feeding on the fresh air from outside. The smoke around me seemed to be drawn upward as well, and I could make out objects again.

  I pulled Sabina to her feet just as a crossbeam attached to a column at the back of the granary broke away and crashed to the floor. The column wobbled as a portion of the roof above it collapsed, then slowly tipped over, burning fiercely as it dropped to the ground. Sabina clung on to me desperately as the floor beneath our feet shuddered, while dust and debris swept down the length of the granary, mixing with the smoke and clogging my already overwhelmed senses. I could hear a strange ringing in my ears, amplified by the terrified howls of the men around me trying to break down the doors. I shook my head, trying to clear the ringing sound as I stooped down to help a stunned-looking Jebido to his feet.

  “Are you all right?” I asked, afraid to let him go.

  Jebido’s cracked and soot-covered lips stretched obscenely in an attempt at a smile. “Still with you, Hadrack,” he rasped. The bridge of his nose was scraped raw and burnt red at the hooked tip. He glanced at the barricaded doors. “What do we do now?”

  I hesitated as my men all stared at me in expectation. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I had no idea, and instead, I looked around at the burning walls that boxed us in. Whatever I decided, I knew it would have to be soon before the fire ate through the main supports and the building collapsed on top of us. Soldiers from both sides were using their swords, axes, and war-hammers to pound at the doors, but I could see through the cracks that the townspeople had nailed thick planks over them. I knew that it was futile.

  Another column fell behind us, rippling fire along its length before slamming into the next column in line. The fallen pillar shattered into six or seven charred pieces from the impact as the one still standing wobbled unsteadily. Several of the crossbeams attached to the standing column broke off and fell, leaving only one still clinging on stubbornly. I knew that pillar wouldn’t stay upright for long and I suddenly had an idea.

  “There!” I cried, pointing at the column.

  Baine wiped the sweat from his eyes and looked behind us. “There what, Hadrack?” he asked.

  “You’ll see!” I shouted. “Follow me!”

  I started to head back the way we’d come and Jebido grabbed my arm, stopping me. “Are you insane!? We’ll die if we go back there.”

  “We’ll die if we stay here too!” I hollered back in his ear. I looked him in the eye. “Trust me!”

  Then I turned and started to run, using my shield to deflect the heat as I dodged around the pockets of enraged flames that reached out for me. I didn’t bother to look back over my shoulder to see if the others were coming. I knew they would be. I reached the weakened column and tore at my singed cloak, winding strips of the cloth around my hands. Then I positioned myself on the side of the massive pillar facing away from the burning outer wall and started to push.

  “I swear, boy!” I heard Jebido grunt as he joined me and put his shoulder to the pillar. “If this works, I’m going to give you the biggest, wettest kiss of your life!”

  “Don’t threaten me or I’ll stop!” I promised, hissing the words out from between my teeth as I dug my shoulder into the wood and pushed.

  There was only enough space for four men to work effectively, so Sabina, Baine, Niko, and Tyris stood behind Putt, Sim, Jebido, and me and pushed against our backs. We heaved, gasping as burning planks fell all around us, but though the crossbeam wobbled and the column swayed back and forth slightly, it wouldn’t fall.

  “Do I have to save your asses for a second time today?” I heard someone holler from behind me.

  I glanced over my shoulder as Odiman appeared through the swirling smoke with more men running behind him. I saw some of the men were wearing red surcoats, but I barely gave it a second thought. Everyone inside the granary had one common goal now, survival, and there were no enemies here anymore. The entire left side of Odiman’s face was burnt away, leaving only raw, melted skin hanging along his jawline where once a magnificent beard had been. He grinned at me painfully and pushed Sabina out of the way, then snapped at the men, forming them quickly into ranks of four. Odiman and Sabina joined the last rank as each man put his hands on the man's back in front of him.

  “We’re ready, Hadrack!” Odiman shouted.

  “All right!” I called. I pointed up at the crossbeam keeping the column in place. “Keep your eyes on that! If it falls on you, it’ll crush you!” I pressed my shoulder against the wood again. “Heave!” I shouted. We leaned forward as one solid unit, and I could feel my boots immediately starting to slide on the ashes that blanketed the floor like black snow. Putt turned one of his feet sideways behind me and jammed it against the back of my heels, helping to support me. I could hear voices crying out, many of them pleading with The Mother or The Father for help, but the First Pair weren’t listening, and the crossbeam held fast. “Hold!” I finally shouted in defeat, lifting my hand.

  I took in great gulps of foul air, knowing everyone needed a short rest before we tried again. A section of the roof gave out near the sealed entrance and I turned in dismay, expecting the granary to collapse along with it, but somehow the building held. I could hear horrible screams of agony rising over the roar of the flames and I knew that unless we wanted to join those poor souls, the pillar had to fall now.

  Jebido pressed his lips to my ear. “We need to rock it, Hadrack,” he said. I looked at him in confusion. “Back and forth,” Jebido explained, using his hand to show me. “If we get some friction up there, it might break the crossbeam free.”

  “Friction?” I looked up at the burning wood and leaned close to him. “But it’s already on fire, Jebido! How much friction does it need?”

  Jebido just shrugged helplessly at me and we put our shoulders to the column again. “All right!” I called out over my shoulder. “Give me everything you have this time! Then hold for a count of three, then push again. Do that until I say stop! Now heave!” We leaned into the wood again and I could feel the column slowly shifting forward. We pushed and then eased up, and pushed and eased up again, then did it a third time. “Enough!” I finally cried, looking up.

  Was there a wider gap between the crossbeam and the pillar now than before? I could see orange and blue flames dancing
weakly all along the crossbeam’s length, but though the wood was stained black and smoking, it seemed to be resisting the fire somehow. Just our luck that we had to get the only beam in the entire building that wouldn’t burn, I thought with a curse. A large section of the roof around the column suddenly shifted and then caved in, dropping burning planks and shingles on our heads. I heard men screaming from behind me and I felt something smack hard against my shoulder. I staggered and dropped to one knee.

  “I’ve got you,” Jebido said, helping me to my feet.

  I nodded my thanks to him and looked up. A fresh, jagged hole in the ceiling had appeared, revealing clear blue sky above us with black smoke venting out of it in a huge plume. I realized the pillar was free from its upper moorings now except for the stubborn grip of our crossbeam. I glared upward. I’d never hated anything as much as that ugly piece of wood.

  “Your day is done, you bastard!” I promised with a grunt. I glanced behind me at the men's darkened, haunted faces, pausing as my eyes met Sabina’s. She looked small and frail, and very frightened, I thought, but there was also fierce determination on her face as well. I gave her a brief smile of encouragement, then I turned and braced my shoulder against the wood again. This time, I told myself, this time, it goes down. “Ready?” I called. I heard the creak of armor as men took up positions behind me and I felt Putt’s strong hands once again on my back. “Don’t stop, no matter what!” I cried as I threw myself forward. I could feel the column shifting in protest on its base beneath our combined weight and my heart leaped. “More!” I screamed. “Give me more! Keep pushing!”

  Something cracked loudly above us. I looked up as the crossbeam pulled away from the column until finally, only a small, decorative wooden arch the builders had used to secure it to the pillar was left holding on. I could see the arch vibrating under the strain, and then, finally, it snapped in half. The end of the crossbeam was at least three feet wide, and now that it was free, it dropped straight down so fast that I didn’t have time to react. I felt the rush of air as the beam whistled past my face, then it crashed into the dirt, tearing a deep gash into the floor before finally snapping in two. Behind me, I could hear the men cheering hoarsely.

  “Keep pushing, you whoresons!” I snarled. “We’re not done yet!”

  I jammed my shoulder against the pillar, feeling the mass resisting us as it teetered back and forth on the wooden base. Jebido was gasping for air beside me as I blinked away hot tears brought on from the smoke and acrid stench rising off the charred wood an inch from my face. I shook my head, trying to clear my vision, then looked up as the column groaned like a wounded animal. For one heart-stopping moment, I was positive that it was going to fall on us as the column seemed to hang suspended at an angle, with the fate of all our lives hanging in the balance as well. I looked away and closed my eyes, praying to The Mother to help us. Finally, I felt the pillar slowly settle back onto the base before it started to tip steeply the other way.

  “Let’s put this bitch down!” I screamed, knowing that if it rocked back again, we were finished. “Give me everything you have if you want to live!”

  I could feel the column still resisting, almost as though toying with us, then we seemed to reach a critical point in its balance and a sharp snap sounded from the base. The pillar sagged, the fight finally gone as it slowly toppled toward the raging inferno that covered the far wall. I held my breath as the falling pillar hit the support beam on the wall, hoping the weight and momentum would be enough to break through. If it wasn’t, we were all dead.

  The support beam wasn’t as stubborn as the crossbeam had been, however, and the pillar smashed past easily, then cut through the burning planking like a hot knife slicing through sheep lard. The column finally came to rest with a loud boom on top of the piled sacks as dust, grain, and debris flew into the air. A jagged, six-foot gap appeared in the sheet of flames as the wall disintegrated, letting in bright, beautiful sunshine that pierced the heavy swirling smoke. Men began cheering all around me as they scrambled to get over the grain sacks and escape. I pushed Jebido ahead of me toward the opening as Sabina and Odiman appeared through the smoke.

  “Malo was right about you,” Odiman said out of the side of his ravaged mouth as he and I helped Sabina down through the gap in the wall.

  “How so,” I grunted, not caring in the least.

  “He said you’re a pig-headed bastard with a mean streak,” Odiman said as he paused to look at me. “He also said there’s no man he would rather have by his side in a fight.”

  Odiman grinned lopsided at me, then he turned and leaped to the ground. I jumped down right after him, landing heavily and falling to one knee.

  “You beautiful bastard!” Jebido cried as he dragged me to my feet and drew me away from the burning building. Finally, when we were a safe distance from the heat and flames, he hugged me to his chest. “We did it!”

  “I swear, Jebido,” I growled in his ear, swaying with exhaustion. “If you try to kiss me, I’ll put you on your ass.”

  4: The Wolf and The Stag

  I remember the summer that I turned six years old being hot and dry. There had been no rain for several months that year, leaving most of Corwick’s crops wilting limply in the fields. We were known as the Kingdom of the Flins then, as that had been several years before the Ganders conquered us and we became Southern Ganderland. I recall my parents speaking together in whispers after chores each night, worried about something called taxes and the lord’s wrath, should the crops fail. I was too young to understand their fears, of course, and my memories of that time have mostly faded, though I do believe rain came midway through the season, salvaging some of the yield.

  One clear memory I do have of that hot summer is Bloomwood, the sprawling forest that lay to the north of Corwick. Bloomwood was designated a Royal Forest, but that didn’t stop poachers from hunting there, even though the penalty for it was hanging if the foresters caught them. For some reason that he’d never explained, my father was allowed to hunt in the forest as much as he wanted. A fact that seemed entirely natural to me at the time. At six, I considered my father to be the most important man in the world, and I couldn’t imagine anyone telling him that he couldn’t do something.

  That summer, with work in the cracked and parched fields all but a waste of time, my father decided to take me and my older brother, Lallo, to Bloomwood to search for the legendary red deer stag known as The Big Hart. This was to be my first hunt, and I remember being so excited that I barely slept the night before. My mother had been horrified at the idea, of course, as all mothers would be, but my father had assured her I would be safe with him and Lallo to watch over me. The stag we were after was said to be twice as big as usual, with a moss-covered rack as long and as tall as a man. Some claimed that The Big Hart had lived in the wilds of Bloomwood for more than a hundred years or more. I don’t know if that part of the story is true or not, but I do know that on our second morning, a frightening lightning storm appeared that set the forest ablaze for miles around. My father had us retreat to the rock-strewn highlands to the east, where there were few trees and sparse grass, so we were relatively safe there from the raging flames.

  The world burned all around us that morning, as a hot wind blowing from the south helped to stoke the fire's fury. By midday, the sky was so dark with black smoke that it could easily have been mistaken for the middle of a moonless night, if not for the eerie glow given off by the blaze. I can still hear the birds' shrill calls as they flapped away in panic by the thousands and see all manner of wildlife fleeing for their lives. At one point, a large silver wolf and a giant red stag appeared, running side by side along a boiling stream with the flames nipping at their haunches. The wolf and stag disappeared quickly from our view within the smoke, and we never did know what became of them. Did the three of us actually see The Big Hart that day? I have always liked to think that we had.

  I was still young and naive enough back then to ask my father why the wolf hadn
’t just killed and eaten the stag. He’d chuckled and told me that even the worst of enemies would set aside their differences to escape a common foe. They will do this, he’d said, simply because their survival instinct outweighs everything else—even hunger. But, once the danger has passed, the wolf, still being a wolf, will very quickly revert to its true self and will try to kill the deer. While the stag, being a stag, will do the only thing that it can and try to flee.

  That lesson from long ago weighed on me heavily as I let my gaze rove over the blackened, coughing survivors who had escaped the granary. Most lay sprawled out on a well-manicured lawn, with a few standing or sitting hunched over with their helmets off, hacking up black slime. Not long ago, these very same men had been deadly enemies, but, just like the wolf and the stag from years ago, they had set aside their hostility and worked together in a desperate bid to survive. I wondered how long that spirit of cooperation and camaraderie would continue to last and, for that matter, who would be the wolf and who the stag when it finally ended?

  A low wall of cut stone partially blocked my view of the street, but I could hear shouts coming from there and see townspeople working frantically to douse the roofs and walls of the surrounding buildings with buckets of water. I looked up at the scorched outer wall high above me where it joined the granary, but the ramparts were free of guards. It appeared that our escape had gone unnoticed, at least for the time being. Burning the granary and losing their seed stock along with it must have been a tough choice for the townspeople to make, I knew. Not to mention the danger of losing other buildings or even the entire town itself if things got out of control. So far, the gamble seemed to be working, as the fire appeared to be contained to just the granary alone.