"Oh, be assured," the dark wolf whispered, "there will indeed be judgment. And your judgment is death. Nothing will give me more pleasure than destroying you, your useless faith, and the children who would drag on your faith. And after I have destroyed you, I will give your bodies to the worms of the earth. I hate you, Saul, and all those like you."
An unearthly, volcanic rage smoldered in the dark wolfs eyes, and Saul saw the massively muscled chest breath once, deeply. It took all the old hare's control to still himself, waiting until the creature leaped upon him. Only then, he knew, could he make his desperate move. Saul hoped dimly that his powerful hound would carry him beyond reach of those murderous claws.
"You are weak, Saul," it rasped. "The Lightmaker is a dream. And the dream has ended!"
Instantly it was upon him, its thunderous roar shattering the night. Saul reacted like lightning, leaping in a high arch over the fallen oak. But even as he cleared the other side, a dark paw flashed toward him and a deadly blow struck him full in the chest. Saul felt claws tear deep, hot wounds across his side, spinning him through the air, stricken and torn, to crash brokenly against the ground.
Devastated by the cruel blow, Saul rolled numbly on the forest floor, struggling frantically for breath and consciousness. So powerful was the impact that for a moment he lost sense of time and place, gasping, only dimly perceiving where he was. As light rising slowly through a fog, his consciousness returned, and with it came the agonizing sensation of a mortal wound. Saul rolled dazedly onto his back, to behold a nightmarish shape looming over him. Foul breath descended.
"Killing you will be my pleasure," the dark wolf snarled, its eyes gleaming with an evil thrill. "I have won!" Hellish jaws shuddered, revealing jagged rows of fangs tinged with the blood of fallen foes.
Saul gasped for breath, speaking numbly. "1 despise you, beast, but I pray for you. For the Lightmaker is coming … and your end ... is near."
Only a brief moment did the dark eyes cloud, slavering jaws halting their descent. Then the black lips shook, drawing back in a hideous snarl, and a rumbling growl broke loose from deep in its cavernous chest. Saul closed his eyes.
The intruder's bellowing yowl hit Saul's ears at the same time that the furry shape hurtled through the air to smash against the dark wolfs head. A long leg flashed out, raking a bloody furrow across the beast's snout.
Stricken with rage and roaring in pain, the creature snapped on empty air as the giant hare leaped away, laughing. Saul was forgotten in the dark wolf’s maniacal rage as its bloodthirsty jaws snapped again and again after the intruder who had launched this suicidal attack.
"Windgate!" Saul gasped numbly, shocked and dazed. It took all his broken strength to rise from the ground, yet he gained his feet in time to see Windgate disappear beneath a bush. The black wolf leaped after him, unable to reach within the thick branches.
"Ha!" Windgate mocked. "You may be ugly, but at least you're stupid!"
In a flash Windgate raced from the bush and burrowed beneath another one. The monster roared savagely and leaped after him, deadly fangs missing the soft fur by inches. Windgate shouted and taunted, allowing the jaws close enough for a touch, but never more. For all his burly size, the mocking hare moved with blinding speed, never ceasing, never tiring. Within moments he had lured the wolf deeper into the woods where it roared and struck demonically in its wrath.
"Hurry!"
Saul turned to the voice beside him. It was Benjamin, another Elder of the colony. Benjamin's old head, with his wild gray hair stuck out in all directions, appeared from behind a bush.
Numb from his wounds, Saul gasped, "I'll not leave Windgate alone!"
"Hurry, Saul! We have a plan! We won't leave Windgate to the beast!"
Saul heard Windgate dashing about, now here, now there. But he knew that the game would soon be up. If Windgate were left alone, eventually the beast would wear him down. But he also knew that his friend was too smart for a suicidal attack. Windgate would not have done this without a plan to survive. With a last quick glance, he turned and ran after Benjamin.
The Elder quickly led him across the field, halting in the middle. Saul could see that they were only a few feet from a well-hidden burrow hole. From a distance the wolf would not be able to see it. The beast would believe they were standing in the open field, far from the main burrow located on the far side.
"Now stand up!" stressed Benjamin.
Saul stood on his hind legs, sensing a gathering pain in his wounds with each passing breath, and felt blood seeping from his torn side.
"Aaaiiieeee!" Benjamin shouted across the field.
Within the forest gloom they saw the beast halt, red eyes glaring insanely out of the darkness.
"Here we are!" Benjamin shouted. "And we are not like him! We will fight you in the open! Come and face us, monster, if you dare!"
Only a frozen second did the wolf hesitate. Then Saul and Benjamin struggled to keep themselves still as it tore savagely free from the forest, leaving a gaping hole in the brushy wall. Face blackened even more in its rage, it hit the open field in a horrifying run, its long lean legs devouring the ground before it as it closed the distance with terrifying swiftness. Within seconds sure and certain death was nearly upon them, its nightmarish jaws distended.
Yet even as the dark wolf closed the final few feet, Saul saw Windgate's burly form running swiftly from the forest edge toward the burrow hole at the opposite end of the field. Then Benjamin threw himself down the hole with Saul beside him.
But the monster must have sensed the trick, for without missing a stride it spun in stride, the dark shape sailing swift and low to cut off Windgate from the burrow hole. Windgate saw the creature turn toward him but did not alter his path. Now he was committed. He would reach the burrow ahead of the beast or die in the open field.
Windgate hurled himself forward with every desperate flash of his long legs, while the dark wolf closed the remaining distance with supernatural speed. They reached the burrow together in a final, frantic leap. With all his great strength Windgate threw himself across the foaming fangs that seemed to snap shut around him. Then he was tumbling down the burrow hole, dazed but alive, as a thunderous impact blackened the sky above him and night descended in a demonic roar.
*
three
Deep beneath the grassy field, in the safety of the main hall, the colony huddled together and spoke in hushed tones. Children snuggled against their mothers, shivering and crying, and mothers whispered kind words to ease their fears.
Saul stood in the front of the big underground room and gazed affectionately at his people. It had been a narrow escape.
He shook his gray head as he thought of how close they had come to disaster. And he had even sensed the monster's presence. He closed his eyes and sighed. He was getting very old indeed.
He had sent Windgate back to the burrow in the hill above for a careful look. Perhaps the beast had departed. Yet Saul knew that now the beast would never stop his attack. It had become a battle to the death between the colony, which worshiped the Lightmaker, and this evil servant of the Dark Lord.
The Elders were gathered about Saul, their faces worried and distracted. They murmured amongst themselves, speaking in hushed whispers about the fearsome size and unnatural ferocity of the monster that had almost destroyed them all. Saul glared at them angrily.
"Is it defeat you speak of?" he demanded harshly. "If you will not speak of victory, then you will not speak! This is not a place for the weak of heart! Or the fearful! Did the Lightmaker give us a spirit of fear or weakness? No. He gave us a spirit of courage and strength, to do what must be done. We serve the Lightmaker. And we will endure to the end. We're not going to tremble before any beast, Earthborn or Hellborn. Control yourselves. Be strong. Remember that the cowardly will not stand in the days to come. Nor will they stand before the Lightmaker. We will yet have victory."
The Elders lowered their heads quietly, and Saul stared at each of them in turn, allowing t
hem to sense his courage, hoping they would find strength in his strength.
Windgate returned from the tunnel, breathing hard.
"It is not good, Saul," he whispered. "The beast ... has begun to dig."
Saul's chest tightened with the news. It seemed that his wounds had opened again. Several of the Elders uttered low moans, and some whispered fearful prayers.
"Silence!" Saul said. "Do you wish to frighten the children even further?" He looked at Windgate. "What else?"
Windgate kept his voice low so that only Saul and the surrounding Elders could hear.
"Already it has moved several feet of dirt. We are safe for now. But by midnight it will be within the hall. I don't know what we can do. It appears strong enough to dig into all of the tunnels. There will be no place to hide."
Saul was silent, his face grim. He sensed a pale weariness, and lowered his head again, resting, speech' less, waiting for his old strength to return. He prayed for wisdom, scanning the experiences of his long life for some tactic, some cunning, that would save them. But a disturbing cloud darkened his mind, a pervading sense of doom.
Old Benjamin spoke, as he was prone to do, talking to himself as much as to anyone else. "We could try to escape out the hidden door, but it would run us down ere we cleared the field. Or we could go up and fight it in the tunnel. But it would make swift work of us." His old eyes glared fiercely in the cavernous gloom. "'Tis a dark day visited upon us!"
Despite his pain and weariness, Saul smiled at the old hare. Benjamin had survived a hundred savage battles in his long life; battles against fox and dog, against rogue hares that attacked the colony, and relentless battles against the ravages of winters past. His gray mane was crisscrossed with the scars of combat, and his low brow reflected the hard suffering he had known. But he was not afraid. Benjamin's old body seemed to thrill with the challenge to defend his home. From beneath the heavy gray forehead, his dark eyes glinted defiantly.
"Do you not fear?" whispered Silas, a young hare who had only recently taken his place in the colony.
Benjamin threw him an angry gaze.
"I scorn my fear! I am a servant of the Lightmaker! I will put my fear into my claws! When the monster comes I will be the first to face him. It is the Lightmaker who gives life. Who can take it from me? I will fight to the death to defend my home. That is the way the Lightmaker has ordained it. We do not surrender to evil. We do not lay down and die when death comes for us. We fight. We fight, because while we are of the Earth we must defend ourselves from creatures such as this. And in the end, if we die, then we die. Yet will I fight."
Shaken, Silas replied, "But how can we have victory over such a beast? It can't be beaten, not by force. We—"
"I will show you how to defeat it," Windgate broke in, his voice tense with anger. He raised his paw and flicked his claws. "By doing what we know is right! I do not need to decide whether it is right to defend my family. I do not need to think about whether it is right to save my friends. I know these things. The Lightmaker will grant us the strength to overcome, when we do what we know is right."
Saul leaned forward and calmly placed a paw upon his friend's shoulder, settling him. Then he smiled at his young champion, so quick to fight for those he loved. "We shall see what we shall do," he said quietly.
"But there can be no outrunning it," Silas said. "And there can be no fighting it. There is no hope. 1 am as willing as anyone to stand my ground. But we don't stand a chance. It is going to dig into our tunnels ..." His voice trembled to conceal a desperate pitch, "... and nothing can stop it."
Harsh voices stilled his debate. Silas, stung, looked about angrily for a moment, as if confused. Then he shook his head in disagreement, murmuring, and fell silent.
Saul gazed about him and measured the resolve he saw.
"Why don't we run out the back door when it runs in the front door?" sounded a small voice. Thurgood's frazzled head peeked around Windgate's muscular leg; "Yup, yup. That's what I'd do."
"What?" said Windgate. "Why, get back to your mother, young cub." He patted the youngster affectionately on the head. "This is not a place for you."
"Well, I'm not afraid!" said Thurgood, popping up to his full height, reaching almost to Windgate's hip. "And I say we run out the back door when he runs in the front! I ain't scared o' no wolf! Me and DeSoto already outran him once!"
Saul saw another shaggy head peek out from behind Windgate's other side. The little hares looked at each other and nodded their heads furiously.
"Yup!" DeSoto said.
Thurgood stepped forward dramatically. "He don't talk much. But 1 do..." He raised a finger for emphasis, "and 1 say—"
Windgate snatched both cubs from the floor by the scruff of the neck and lifted them aloft. Feet scurried frantically to escape but the effort only caused them to swing back and forth.
"We heard what you said," the burly hare spoke ominously, eyeing first one cub, then the other. Legs fell limp and they hung from his strong paws like leaves swaying in the breeze.
"Excuse me a moment," he said. "I have to take these two back to their mothers." And he disappeared into the back of the hall.
Silas leaned forward and spoke harshly toward Saul. "Foolishness!" he whispered. "We cannot outrun this monster. It would hunt us all down and kill us. It will never stop until we are all dead."
Benjamin spoke sharply. "If we listen to you, we will do nothing," he said. "But something must be done. We must fight or flee. There is no other choice. If we stand and debate, it will be upon us before the night is through. So we must decide. I, for myself and my family, vote to stand and fight. Some will surely fall. But perhaps we can convince this evil servant of the Dark Lord that we are not easy prey. I know of no other course. Silas is right in one thing. We can't run for the woods. Whoever runs will he tracked down and slain. There is no escaping the beast."
Saul listened intently and winced at the pain that lanced across his chest. Blood had matted to conceal the depth of his injuries, but he knew his wounds were serious. He sighed, feeling the sentence of death. So little time remained, so little hope, yet hope and pray he must if an answer was to be found.
Windgate returned.
"I have put the two little hooligans back with their mothers, where they belong. And I have been back up the tunnel."
"Yes?" said Silas. "It is gone?"
Windgate shook his head darkly. "It will be upon us by midnight."
Together they fell silent, each lost in his thoughts. Saul glanced somberly from face to face, sensing each hope, each prayer. Sadly, as the moments passed, he began to realize what he must do. Long ago, experience had taught him the last, most desperate defense. For in battle there was always one last move to make, as long as one still had life. It would be his final fight.
"My brothers, listen to me," he began, slowly and carefully. "It is true that if we run the beast will chase us down and kill us all. Not even you, Windgate, with all your courage and strength, are a match for him. But there is a chance we can survive. I was the one who stole the children from his grasp. I was the one who stood against him and defied the Dark Lord. So it hates me more than it hates you. And because of this hatred it will kill all of us, if it can. But I don't think it will.
"It is the Light maker who gives wisdom, so I assure you that we are wiser than this beast. And it is with wisdom that we will defeat it. You all know that servants of the Dark Lord pursue their own pleasures above all else. So that will be our weapon. We'll use the creature's own desires against him. We will give the beast something it wants. But what we give will cost him the treasure he desires most.
"Windgate, do you remember the great maze of caves we saw last winter, the one you said would be a fine home for the colony one day?"
Windgate nodded sternly.
"Then I will give the beast what it wants. And the price it pays shall be your lives."
Windgate spoke. "I don't like the direction you're going, brother. I don't intend to
allow—"
Saul placed a paw upon his friend's shoulder.
"There's no other way, my friend. It is me he wants. He shall have me. But the chase will be long and hard, even for him. I will lead the creature far into the Deep Woods, farther than we have ever seen or gone before, where the snow lies deep and winter never leaves. I will take it to the place where the gray wolves roam. It will hunt me, and it will find me, in the end. But the end will be long in coming. And when the battle is done, you will all be far away to the south, in the caves by the brook. The beast may attack you again. But it will never be able to dig through the rock. And you'll have plenty of food and water. As I lead him away, brother, you must take the colony to the caves. That shall be our new home. And if I escape him, I'll return to you."
Windgate only shook his head. "No. I can't allow this. You are our king, so you must live. It is better that I lead this monster on the chase. It is a race he will not soon forget!"
Faintly, echoing through the hush of the tunnels, Saul heard the scraping sounds of relentless digging. He knew that little time remained. It was only Windgate's great love that caused him to offer himself for the chase. Yet this was a task for the old, not the young. For whoever led the beast away would never return.
"The beast won't soon forget you, brother. But you must do something that will let me reach the forest. Without your part, I'll never get the head start I need to lead it on the chase. And no one can take your place in this. You alone can distract the creature long enough for me to reach the woodline. Then with the moon, and the stars, I will begin the final game."
Windgate's hard eyes grew even more indomitable, refusing to allow Saul's sacrifice. Saul met his gaze, his kingly head bent. For a long moment their eyes locked, each unwilling to allow the other to forfeit his life. Then, after a time, Windgate lowered his head, nodding sadly.
Saul smiled. "One day you will be king," he said.
"Now, gather the little ones around me. For while we still have time I will tell them a story that will always give them hope."
A Wolf Story Page 2
