The Wolf On The Run (The Wolf of Corwick Castle Book 3)
Page 42
Baine paused for a heartbeat, his eyes turning dark and violent, then they calmed and the Baine that I remembered returned. He grinned. “It’s done, Hadrack.”
“Good,” I grunted in satisfaction. I looked around at the faces of my men. “Then let’s go home. I promised Shana that I wouldn’t be late.”
Epilogue
I didn’t perish beneath Casia’s vengeful blade on the day of Haral’s trial. Though I imagine that is somewhat obvious now, for, if I had, these words would never have been written. I almost wish the poor woman had succeeded and ended my life, but what we wish for and what we get are two very different things in this world.
I was just a boy when I killed the Reeve of Corwick. I didn’t know what I was doing back then. I just reacted in a mindless act of rage that has haunted me my entire life. If not for a lowly rock and a lucky strike, I imagine things would have been quite different for a great many people. Would it have been better if I had missed stepping on that rock and instead died along with my family? That is a question that I have pondered many times, never coming up with a clear answer. Perhaps someday, people much wiser than me will decide on that, but for now, all I know is that taking a life—even one as foul as the reeve’s—does not come without consequences.
Now, my grandson, Frankin, must live with the knowledge that he has taken a life, while I also must wear the guilt of his actions. The boy was just protecting me when he slid his knife into Casia’s kidneys. I understand that more than most, yet I fear the gods might not see it that way. The girl’s grievance with me was valid, and her entitlement to revenge unquestionable. I slaughtered her family much like the nine slaughtered mine, and Casia’s retribution for that act should not have been denied, despite good intentions.
I shudder to imagine what the consequences will be for the boy’s actions. For as sure as I’m sitting here writing this, there will be something. Were I a younger and more foolish man, I would spit into the face of those consequences, daring anything to try and hurt my family. But I am as old as time itself now, and I have seen and done too much to think that it will simply be forgotten. Somehow, someway, there will be a price to pay for what the boy did. There always is. The gods will make certain.
The Unified Kingdom of Ganderland quickly began to heal under the skilled guidance of King Tyden, who proved to be a wise and effective king. A man who, even today, long after his death, is still widely revered and respected. My reunion with Baine was one of the happiest moments of my life, and he, Jebido, and I spent the entire night of his return laughing, drinking, and talking. Baine’s story of revenge against the imposter Outlaw of Corwick was a harrowing tale that kept Jebido and me riveted for hours. Someday, should the gods allow it, I will chronicle that tale. But for now, there is still more to tell of my own.
I chose to keep my knowledge of the location of the second codex secret, seeing no purpose in revealing what I knew. But doing so would soon prove to be a horrible mistake. The mystery of Emand and his murderous wife had bothered me for a time and I’d meant to look into it. Why had they been there at all? And who had hired them? But, as the days passed, I became preoccupied with my new duties as the Lord of Corwick, not to mention my new wife, and I simply forgot about the little cordwainer. With the last of the nine soon to be in my grasp, and Pernissy banished to the dungeons, it seemed I had no enemies left. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Soon, the winds of war would blow again for Ganderland. But this time, they would not be sweeping down from the north, but would come in a bloody wave of vengeance from the wildlands to the south. And I would come face to face with perhaps my greatest friend, who might also prove to be my greatest enemy as well.
THE END
Author’s Note
Thank you, dear reader, for your continued support of this series. I began writing The Wolf On The Run at the beginning of the shutdown in Canada from the pandemic. I have my own business that I have been running since the late 1990s, and with the shutdown, that business came to a shuddering stop. I know I wasn’t alone in this experience, and I fully understand the hardships other entrepreneurs worldwide have been going through during this crisis. I had just finished writing The Wolf At Large, and planned on focusing more of my attention on the business after the book was released, but, since I could not do that, I began writing The Wolf On The Run instead. The problem was, I had only a vague notion of where I wanted to go with it. As I mentioned before, I wrote The Nine for fun, and had no expectations anything would ever come of it—certainly not a third book. I left myself a lot of what I call ‘traps’ in The Nine, because I hadn’t thought far enough ahead in the story arc. It has been a challenge at times to get around those traps, but also an interesting exercise in problem-solving as well.
Many authors write intricate plot outlines before they even sit down to start a book, but I don’t do that. I work everything out in my head, usually chapter by chapter, while doing the most mundane things such as splitting wood or mowing the lawn. I imagine that would be considered a cardinal sin to most writing purists, but it seems to work for me for whatever reason. I would have to say the most challenging part of being an indie author is the editing process. They say you should never edit your own work—and there is a reason for that. I have lost track of how many times I went over this book and found errors that I couldn’t believe. I used to shake my head when I’d see those same errors in other books and wonder—really, how could you have missed that? Now, I know. Thankfully, I have two wonderful women in my life who have helped me with the editing, and I can’t say enough about how much that help has meant.
There will be a fourth book in this series, which is probably rather obvious, since two of the nine have yet to meet Hadrack’s justice. Will there be more? That I’m not sure of. I don’t want this series to become endless, and I do have other projects that I want to try, so time will tell on that. One of my favorite characters in the series is Baine, but I find he tends to get forgotten sometimes because Jebido and Hadrack are both such strong characters. I’m hoping at some point that I’ll be able to give him his own book to tell about his revenge against the imposter Outlaw of Corwick.
The Kingdom of Ganderland and the people in it never existed, obviously, but the trees, plants, buildings, and animals that I write about in the books are real. Feverfew, goldenseal, green tree boas, and even the markhor that Hadrack and Sabina rode actually exist. If you get a chance, please take a moment to google the markhor, as they are one of the oddest-looking creatures on the planet. -Terry Cloutier October 2020
Books in The Wolf Of Corwick Castle Series
The Nine
The Wolf At Large
The Wolf On The Run
Books in The Zone War Series
The Demon Inside
The Balance of Power
Novella
Peter Pickler And The Cat That Talked Back