Ghost Wolf

by Brandon Chen

  A lengthy table ran through the center of the room, as long as the alleyway by Yuri’s home. It was adorned with a white table cloth and golden silverware that gleamed with luxury. The goblets, spoons, forks, and plates … all of it was solid gold, and there were enough utensils set out to feed at least fifty people. The red chairs were cushioned to look as comfortable as clouds. Standing around the perimeter of the room were several armed knights that were dressed in suits, like Senna. The dining hall had two other entrances, one each to the right and left of the table. Yuri expected that one of them led to the kitchen where the food was being prepared.

  At the end of the table was Horux’s beloved king, who was seated on a black chair instead of red. Yuri was actually surprised that the ruler’s seat looked just as comfortable as the others. He had expected the leader to be seated on a throne of gold that was covered in brightly colored pillows, but then realized how ridiculous that might look in reality.

  The king had a head of curly brown hair, and a well-groomed mustache that, to Yuri, looked like there was a squirrel above his lip. Resting on his head was his grand crown, which was golden and had dozens of glittering jewels embedded in the metal. The ruler wore a dark blue robe over his expensive black linens, which was made of the finest material in all of Terrador — abyssalite.

  Abyssalite was one of the world’s hardest metals, and was extremely expensive because it was also very light. The metal could be fabricated into cloth that functioned as armor. While the king looked like he was wearing elegant attire, he was also wearing the world’s toughest body armor. Yuri wasn’t sure whether or not the king always wore abyssalite garments, or if he was just wearing it because tonight they had a guest from the Lower District.

  The queen, who sat to the king’s right, looked incredibly young for her age. Supposedly, she was around the age of fifty, but she still looked like she was in her late twenties. Unlike Violet, she had straightened hair the color of night. However, her eyes were the same violet color as her daughter’s.

  On the king’s left was the striking Princess Violet, whose beauty was without equal. Her hair was entwined with violet flowers and twisted into a complex braid that dangled to her lower neck. She was wearing a gorgeous blue dress that was the same color as the clear skies of a summer day. Violet looks absolutely stunning.

  The young woman saw that Yuri had stepped into the room. Her lips curved into a welcoming smile and she nodded to her side, indicating that he should sit beside her. Yuri certainly had no objections there.

  Yuri was about to walk to his seat beside Violet, but halted when he saw that Senna was bowing deeply in veneration for the royal family. The guest mirrored the knight’s posture, copying him precisely. As the two men rose up, they took their positions. Yuri plopped down gently on the seat beside Violet while Senna joined his fellow knights around the perimeter of the room.

  “Welcome to the royal palace, Yuri,” the king said with a gentle smile. “It is rare to see such a young champion win the Nobles’ Tournament. I must congratulate you on your victory. I am sure that Beo and his family have awarded you quite handsomely for your efforts. They are a very generous House.”

  “It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty,” Yuri said with a polite nod of his head to the king. He smiled. “Beo has indeed proposed to grant me half of the tournament winnings, a very generous offer. However, I told him that I did not require such a fortune.”

  That statement took everyone in the entire room by surprise, sweeping the welcoming looks right off their faces. Now they all just gawked at him with disbelief. Even the king’s mouth had dropped open at Yuri’s words. But soon he was grinning, intrigued by Yuri’s decision.

  “Why is it that you denied such an offer?” the queen asked curiously. “I was told that your family is enduring a … difficult economic situation. Would the wealth from the tournament not help lift you from the clutches of poverty?”

  “My Queen!” the king said, giving her a disapproving glare.

  “I mean no disrespect, of course!” the queen exclaimed, her countenance now expressing fear that she had insulted her guest. “I was simply curious. I tried to phrase my words as politely as possible.”

  Yuri chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. “Ah, yes. Everyone seems to be quite confused by my decision. Well—” The boy was interrupted when the door on the right side of the room flew open. A dozen chefs barged into the room with golden plates covered by silver domes. They set the food down in the center of the table and swiftly removed the covers in unison, revealing a collection of foods emitting incredible aromas that gradually filled the room. For some of the dishes, the chefs had taken simple foods like pork and prepared them in an ostentatious fashion through decoration, such as placing an apple in the center of a ring of rare clams. The other dishes that were served were exotic, such as the wolf steak. Yuri had never heard of a person that ate wolf.

  “You may finish what you were saying after we eat!” the king said with a hearty laugh. He clapped his hands together and then extended his arms outward. “Tonight’s dinner is a grand meal, Yuri! Feel free to eat as much as you like. If there is a special request that you’d like to make, ask away! I’m sure the chefs can make something to your liking.”

  Yuri swallowed hard, his mouth watering as he gazed upon the platters of food before him. This was enough food to feed every person on his street for a week! “I-I think I’ll be fine, Your Majesty. I appreciate your generosity, and I must thank you for inviting me to tonight’s meal. All of the food looks delectable.”

  The chefs, who were standing in a line at the door to the kitchen, all bowed in unison. They smiled graciously at Yuri’s compliment, and then filed out of the room together.

  “Don’t be afraid to dig in!” the king said with a grin.

  The dinner went a lot smoother than Yuri had thought it would. At first, he was very reserved around the king, queen, and princess. He tried to be as polite as he could around the royal family, in his attempt to impress them. But as he continued to eat, drink, and talk, soon the layers of his façade were peeled back and his true, goofy self was revealed. Within an hour, Yuri was telling the royal family stories of what his life was like in the Lower District.

  “But even though Terias used to always beat me up and put me down when we were younger, I knew that holding a grudge against him wouldn’t accomplish anything,” Yuri said, telling of his rocky relationship with the bully. “Recently the two of us have been getting along, though. I’d like to think that he’s finally accepted me as a friend.” He shrugged and lifted his goblet of red wine to his lips, allowing the expensive liquid to trickle into his mouth and tickle his tongue. The sweet taste filled his mouth and he exhaled as he set down his goblet, feeling slightly tipsy. But that was nothing compared to the king and queen, who were already inebriated.

  “That’s incredible how the hardship that Terias put you through was what transformed you into such a skilled fighter!” the king said, waving his cup around, causing the wine to slosh around in the chalice. Luckily, nothing spilled out. “After tonight, you must go home and thank him! He indirectly granted you the power to win the Nobles’ Tournament!”

  “You are such a great boy, Yuri! Selfless, talented, and handsome! Not to mention, you aren’t greedy like most of the nobles and princes these days,” the queen slurred. She gave a sly smile to Violet. “Perhaps Violet should consider you as a potential husband! I’d prefer if you married her over the rest of these unworthy chumps!”

  “Mother!” Princess Violet exclaimed, blushing profusely.

  Yuri met the princess’s gaze and chuckled warmly. By the gods, she’s cute. He took another bite of his wolf steak and swallowed. “Given the chance, Your Highness, I would take her hand in a heartbeat. But I do worry what people would think of a highborn princess being engaged to a lowly street rat.” He grinned at Violet. “Regardless of what the future holds, any man given the chance to marry Princess Violet would surely be the
luckiest man in all of Terrador.”

  The princess bit her lower lip in embarrassment and averted her gaze from Yuri. “Oh, stop it!”

  Yuri laughed and then looked to the king. “Excuse me, milord! Er, I may require a trip to the bathroom.”

  “Ah, yes! The door across the room there,” the king said, pointing to the door on the opposite side of the room from the kitchen. “Just continue down to the end of the hallway. There is a bathroom on the right side.”

  “Milord, shall I go with him?” Senna said, taking a step forward.

  “Why? I’m sure the man can piss on his own,” the king said, waving his hand as he let out a boisterous laugh that filled the dining hall.

  “Your Majesty, I beg you to reconsider your decision! He is a guest and therefore must be watched at all times. Perhaps I should—”

  “Senna, let him be. He’s only making a quick trip to the bathroom,” the queen assured the knight.

  Yuri almost wanted to laugh. Never in his wildest dreams did he ever see himself enjoying a dinner with the drunken king and queen of Horux. This was outstanding.

  Standing up from the dinner table, Yuri gave another bow of respect to the royal family before he departed from the room. He shot the princess a charming smile just as he left, receiving yet another embarrassed blush from her.

  The young man started off walking down the hallway, but then broke into a dash. Now was his chance to find the library, but he didn’t have much time before the royal family would expect his return. Well, maybe the king and queen wouldn’t notice; they were too drunk. But Senna and Princess Violet definitely would notice his disappearance.

  Yuri rapidly opened the doors to random rooms in a desperate attempt to find the royal library. He opened door after door, only to be disappointed again and again. How many rooms were in this castle? The deeper that Yuri journeyed into the building, the more he realized that he would need more than just a couple minutes to find the library. It might not even be positioned close to the dining hall.

  “Damn, damn, damn!” Yuri swore to himself as he shut yet another door. He suddenly heard footsteps tapping on the carpeted floor on the far side of the hallway that he was currently in. Swallowing hard, he picked a random door and opened it, entering a room of pitch-blackness.

  “Hm?” Yuri heard someone say in the hallway. “I could’ve sworn I heard someone talking here.” The boy blinked. Is that Beo? What is he doing here? As one of the king’s personal advisors, he was given free access to the royal palace, so it actually made sense that he was on castle grounds. However, tonight he had a night off, since the king was dining with Yuri. There was no real reason for him to be here.

  The young man waited until Beo’s footsteps faded away. Cautiously reaching out, he gently grasped the doorknob before him and twisted slowly, making little noise. Sneaking back into the hallway, Yuri began to stealthily creep down the passage after Beo. Why am I following Beo right now? This is dumb. I should head back to dinner. I’ve been gone for way too long.

  After following Beo for several minutes, Yuri watched as the noble opened the door to a grand room. The royal library. No way. The boy quickly flitted forward and slipped through the entrance after Beo, just before the door fully closed. He stepped silently into a gigantic room that was nearly the size of half of Horux’s marketplace. This library surely had the capacity to house hundreds of thousands of books. Now that he was here, he realized that it would be impossible for him to find the manuscript that he needed without the help of one of the royal librarians. I’m done for.

  There were thousands of bookshelves that towered a hundred feet high, making Yuri feel puny in comparison. Scrolls and books alike were crammed onto these shelves, and each shelf was marked with a specific label. Not that those labels would help, Yuri had no idea what they meant.

  The young man saw that Beo was skimming his index finger along the spines of several books, as if he were searching for a specific title in this mess of tomes. He still had not spotted Yuri, and the boy wanted to keep it that way.

  Yuri stealthily crept down another hallway of bookshelves, directly behind Beo. He reached out and pulled two books from the shelf in front of him, revealing a hole that he could use to spy on the suspicious noble. Watching the patrician, Yuri narrowed his eyes when he saw that the man plucked out a book and tucked it underneath his arm. The young man spotted the spine of the book as Beo strolled past him. The Inception of Horux.

  Yuri’s eyes widened. That was the book that he needed! Could it be that Beo wanted to make sure that no one found out about the catacombs, like Archerus had? Damn it, he’s going to get rid of the book! If he does that, he’ll be eradicating all proof that the catacombs of Horux really exist. What do I do?

  The door to the library swung open and Yuri’s heart leapt a beat. He carefully pulled out another couple of books from the shelves, widening his peephole. He saw that Senna had entered the library, accompanied by several other armed knights. Yuri watched as Beo suddenly panicked and secretly slid the book underneath the shelf that he had taken the manuscript from. He pushed the book deep enough that it was impossible to see with a casual glance at the shelf.

  “Lord Beo, I was unaware that you were in the castle today. My apologies if I have disturbed you,” Senna said, nodding respectfully.

  Beo rose to his feet and brushed some dust off his hands, turning to face the knight, who had just missed the noble’s hiding of the book. “Oh, you didn’t disturb me. I was just doing some studying. I thought that I would come by the dinner table later on to see how Yuri was getting along with the royal family. How is the boy?”

  “He’s actually gone missing,” Senna murmured. “I don’t know what the fool is doing. He said he was going to the bathroom, but he wasn’t there when I checked. I’d like to think that he just got lost, but then he would’ve eventually run into a squadron of soldiers. In that case, they would’ve just led him back to the dining hall.”

  “Is that so?” Beo said with a frown. “All right, let’s go look for him. I’m sure that he’s just lost, as you said.”

  Yuri smiled slightly and watched as the noble left the library with the knight, leaving the library in silence. He scampered around to the bookshelf where Beo had hid The Inception of Horux and quickly pulled out the manuscript. He began to aggressively flip through the pages, scanning the book rapidly for the map. He blinked, reaching a page with a sketched design of a cage, built to contain a werewolf. Swallowing hard, Yuri shook his head as he continued to turn the pages. “The original architects really did build the catacombs to trap a werewolf,” he whispered to himself.

  After a minute of skimming the book, Yuri finally found a page with a map of Horux and a highlighted entrance to its catacombs. The only entrance was outside of the city deep within the woods, disguised as an ominous cave. Yuri smiled to himself, satisfied that he had found the book. He tore the map from the book and rolled up the piece of paper. Tucking the parchment into his pants, the boy slid the book back under the shelf, and turned to find a man watching him from several meters away.

  The bald man was wearing a white robe that draped down to his feet, covering his sandals. He had circular beads around his neck and looked more like a priest than anything else, but Yuri knew that he was one of the librarians that worked in the royal library. The stranger held a book in his hand and frowned, his gaze burning into Yuri. “What are you doing here?” he demanded.

  “U-Uh … look, I—”

  “He’s with me,” a familiar voice called from the entrance to the library.

  Yuri turned around to find Princess Violet standing in the doorway. His eyebrows shot up with surprise, for he hadn’t heard her open the door. Maybe it was because the librarian had terrified him. Either way, the boy was relieved to see her and strode towards the princess. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that the librarian had simply bowed and turned away, continuing on with his business without pressing the young man further.

  “So
rry, I got lost,” Yuri murmured to the princess.

  “I’m pretty sure we both know that’s not true,” Violet said with a raised eyebrow, her arms folded over her chest as if she were a disappointed mother scolding her child. Did she follow me? “What are you up to?”

  “I’m not up to anything!”

  “I’m not drunk like my mother and father, Yuri,” the princess said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m not gullible either, and I just saw you flip through a book like a mad man and then tuck a page into your pants.”

  Yuri groaned. “Oh, you saw that. Okay, I know how this looks, but I’m not a bad guy. I’m just trying to do the right thing and—”

  “I get it,” Princess Violet said abruptly, taking Yuri by surprise. “I don’t think you’re a bad person. I just want you to tell me what you’re up to, why you’re sneaking around the castle and ripping pages out of a random book in the library. And be honest.”

  Yuri looked into the young woman’s eyes and sighed, nodding his head. And he did it, he was completely honest with the princess. Even though he didn’t really know Violet all that well from the brief conversation that they had at dinner, Yuri felt like he could trust her. He did not hesitate to tell her everything about Beo, Archerus, and the werewolf underneath Horux.

  Violet’s eyes were wide with incredulity at the tale that she was hearing, but she also could hear the sincerity in Yuri’s voice. He was genuinely concerned for the people of Horux. “So, you have the proof that the catacombs do exist. Now what?”

  “I need to confirm whether or not the werewolf is down there,” Yuri said. “I’ll depart Horux tonight and—” His heart skipped a beat as he saw the door to the library creak open.

  “I left something—” Beo said, walking into the room. His eyes went wide with surprise upon seeing the princess, and his face paled slightly as he spotted Yuri as well. No doubt, he was nervous that the two of them were standing around the area where he had hidden The Inception of Horux. “Ah, Yuri! What in the gods are you doing in the library? Senna said that you were going to the bathroom and you had gotten lost.”