Wolf Incarnate (Shadows Over the Realm)

by Bennet, Tara

  “I know it’s hard. What you’ve seen, I won’t ask you to repeat it. I do need to know if you met a woman named Amber,” he said, decided to start with something simple.

  The older woman looked up suddenly, seeming to remember something from long ago.

  “Amber? That sweet little African-American girl. She was so pretty. She was so…” the woman faded off, looking back down at her spot once more.

  Vance sighed. What had happened to this woman was terrible, but time was of the essence if he was going to retrieve his brother. He needed the old woman’s help to do that. He needed to bring her Amber.

  He turned to leave. Maybe Amber’s scent picked back up outside. If she was taken, perhaps her pursuers had a unique or bizarre smell.

  “Wait a second, honey,” said Rose, standing. “They left a message for you.”

  She stood, opening her arm with wrist facing outward toward Vance. On it, scratched into her arm in bloodied letters were two words.

  Cherry Pie.

  Vance looked over at the display case and saw the only empty spot was just above the cherry pie placard. He dashed out the door, nearly bursting it off its hinges, and breathed deep sorting through smells.

  Chapter Six

  Mrs. Nguyen licked her short, plump fingers and dabbed her chin with a blue handkerchief that matched her outfit - which was now blue, also. Dr. Eiph, sitting next to her in the derelict house, ate his carefully measured slice with a fork, spilling not a crumb.

  “I am glad we didn’t devour that woman,” said Nguyen. “This pie is positively delicious!”

  “I quite agree,” responded Dr. Eiph, “though I daresay the poor woman will never be the same.”

  “Well, that was her own fault. If that silly girl hadn’t needed so much convincing to come along, we would never have had to resort to our true forms. I still don’t see why we didn’t use charms,” she said, raising her nose disdainfully at her remembrance of the direct and brutish method they’d used.

  “Our employer specifically warned us not to use any magic. The girl hasn’t awakened to her abilities, and he fears that direct over exposure to supernatural forces might awake them prematurely. I need not remind you how much more difficult that would make our task,” he said, standing.

  Now then. From the sounds of it the young lady is through with her antics. Let us go and have a chat, hm? Things will be me more pleasant for everyone if we can convince her we are not our enemy,” finished Dr. Eiph, smiling politely.

  “Oh you rogue,” said Nguyen in a lower voice, narrowing her eyes slightly.

  “What?” said Eiph, feigning innocence. “We aren’t her enemies. As for our employer well - that remains to be seen.”

  “Still, you can hardly think he has her best interests in mind, my dear Eiph,” countered Nguyen, standing with him.

  “My dear Nguyen. When it comes to one’s self, who does?”

  In one of the upstairs rooms of the derelict two story home, Amber observed her surroundings as her eyes adjusted to the dying ambient light. Burned wallpaper peeled off the walls where it existed at all, and ash caked the floor.

  She forced herself calm, making her mind inspect her situation to look for a way out. She was tied to a chair with duct tape, her mouth gagged with a simple cloth. She had heard them lock the door, but there was a window on the other side of the room. If she remembered correctly, there was roof just outside the window. Perhaps even a drainage pipe along the side of the house. At least, she hoped there was.

  First, she needed to get out of this damn chair. She eyed it as best she could from her sitting position. It seemed to be made of wood, and Amber felt sure that in a pinch she could smash it to pieces against the wall. However, that would make too much noise. No, it was smarter to try getting her hands free first, if she could.

  She wringed her wrists in opposite directions for several minutes, closing her eyes and clenching her teeth against the pain of the rough, material against her skin. If she slowed it would hurt less, but might take longer than she had. Just a little longer, Amber.

  She paused when she heard a sound in the stairwell. It was a pair of steps. But she had seen Eiph and Nguyen work and knew that, while it sounded like the steady sound of one person coming up the stairs, it was actually two - side by side. Amber suppressed a shiver.

  Stopping her movements, trying her best to look downcast and defeated, she waited for them to enter. The more it looked like she’d given up, the more likely they were to leave her alone for another extended period. When they came back the next time, she resolved, she wouldn’t be there.

  The door opened, and the two stepped through, Eiph entering first.

  “Ah. I see we’ve calmed down some. Perhaps now we can talk like dignified people, hm?” he said it as he walked up to her. Amber was frightened, but stayed still. After what she saw in that café, it was all she could do to keep from crying hysterically. Right now she was in survival mode, however.

  Dr. Eiph removed her gag, pulling up a chair from a corner and sitting down. Mrs. Nguyen stayed standing. Outside, she could hear the sounds of children playing. Amber dared not shout, despite her desire to do so, however. Coming along willingly was the only thing that had saved that poor waitress. She got the feeling that they would do just as bad, if not worse, to kids.

  “You may find this surprising, but we are not your enemies,” he said smilingly. Amber studied him, trying to memorize his face. She found, however, that her mind simply slid off of him. Every detail she looked for, she seemed to find - all at once, until her head hurt. He was tall and black until she noticed that maybe he was a lighter color than she had imagined and was perhaps Indian no wait that couldn’t be it, - white with a dark tan? Her head began to hurt, the more she searched. Finally, she was forced to look away. The only thing all her mind’s accounts of him had in common were the outfit, top had, monocle, and gender.

  Nguyen was similar, but different. She found herself still unable to force her senses to give her one account of the woman, but for different reasons. Rather than seeming to shift under her gaze, Nguyen was generic. It was as if, if you had averaged every human being on Earth using a computer program, you would end up with a picture of Nguyen. The effect was disturbing - almost worse than with Eiph. She wasn’t Vietnamese. Well, no more Vietnamese than anything else. However, her she did seem to be female and rotund. Her clothing also stayed the same, a vibrant blue throughout.

  “If you’re not my enemies, than untie me,” Amber said, looking Eiph in the eye as best she could.

  Eiph chuckled, and Nguyen shook her head and scoffed.

  “My dear girl, do we look stupid? We had hoped to avoid all of this, but it seems as though you were able to sense us for what we are when we entered that café. I recommend that the next time you experience such a revelation, you maintain your composure. At any rate after that, well, we were left with very few options. As I said, we have no intention of harming you, and we have made arrangements for your lupine friend to find and release you after we have gone.”

  Amber felt questions explode into her mind. She’d had them before, but had been focused on her escape. For now she needed the answer to the most important one.

  “What do you want?” she asked.

  Dr. Eiph nodded, reaching into his back pocket and taking out what appeared to be a piece of parchment.

  “We were hired to, among other things, deliver this message to you.” Eiph cleared his throat. ”Dear Ms. Trice, it may come to as a surprise to you, but there is a war brewing. It seems that, for reasons that I am currently unaware of, you are at the center. First, let me ask your forgiveness. I must remain anonymous for my own safety. I have sent Dr. Eiph and Mrs. Nyugen to deliver this message, because I needed to be sure of its arrival. Please forgive any unorthodox methods they may use to ensure that you receive it.

  In this coming war, I want you to know that I am on neither side. Merely an interested third party. You may find that there comes a time wh
en your interests do not align with either side. In that case, I am offering my services and help to you. Thank you for your time.”

  Dr. Eiph rolled the parchment closed, burning it to cinders in his hand.

  “Now then, I believe our business is concluded,” he said, taking off his hat with a bow. Just then, there was a crash from downstairs.

  “Amber! Amber, are you here?!”

  Eiph and Nguyen, eyed each other.

  “Well then, dearie, it looks like we finished just in time. It’s a good thing I wore blue! Goodbye, now.”

  There was stomping up the stairs, and Amber felt sure she heard a snarl and sniffing. As the door kicked open, she woke.

  Vance had followed Amber’s scent to what appeared to be an abandoned home in the suburbs just outside the city. The house looked like it had burned down.

  The freshest scent of cherry pie leaving the café led here. Vance approached the front door, finding it open. Normally, he’d be more cautious but, as time went on, he imagined worse and worse scenarios for his brother. Poor, stupid Thomas, he though. Ever since they were kids, Thomas had always gotten over his head. In the end, saving Thomas had cost Vance nearly everything. When Thomas was kicked out of the pack, Vance had left with him, giving up a shot as leader and mating rites with the most fit she-wolves. But he was Vance’s brother, and as far as Vance was concerned, that was that.

  Vance pushed open the door, entering the home. Char and mouse droppings lined the floor, and large burn marks lined the walls. Going up the stairs was Ambers strong, feminine scent. He thought he heard her voice, upstairs.

  “Amber, Amber are you here?!” he shouted. Running up the stairs, he barely maintained his form, hovering on the precipice of full wolf-hood, just in case.

  He burst into the upstairs room, Amber screaming in shock, her eyes red as if from a long rest. She blinked, looking around.

  “Where did they go?” she said. Vance tore her binds off easily, throwing her over his shoulder.

  “It’s alright now,” he whispered.

  He noticed a small white card on the chair where she had been sitting. It read: An interested third party. Tie red sash around phone and dial 888-888-8888. He picked up the card. The back was blank.

  Chapter Seven

  As Vance dashed back to Big Momma’s house, Amber on his back sleeping, he thought. The old woman hadn’t told him everything, that was for sure. Originally he’d been okay with that, figuring his involvement with the entire business would be short. In return for help finding and rescuing his brother, she had given Vance a specified amount of time in which to keep Amber safe. Three days. Even following every lead and digging up some old world connections that would be faster than Vance could find Thomas. If she delivered that was. If.

  There was something else, however. It was the card. What exactly was meant by “third party”. It implied there was a first and second party. It was also clear that Vance had been foolish to assume the job would be easy. This was only the first day of it, and Amber had already been kidnapped. Big Momma’s place should be safe, however.

  Yet, there was another problem. Why not just keep Amber there the three days. If she was powerful enough to find Thomas despite his being kept by entities that wanted him hidden, she was surely powerful enough to protect Amber for three days. Too many questions, Vance. Stay focused. When you’re distracted, that’s when the trouble happens. Besides, there’d be plenty of time to ask Big Momma when they arrived back.

  Vance felt Amber stir to consciousness.

  “Keep your eyes closed!” he shouted over the wind rushing past him as he ran. If she saw him switching worlds, switching forms, she would very like jump right off of him. He couldn’t blame her after her day.

  “What were those things?” she asked.

  “What things?” he said, shifting from a plain that dead ended in a cliff to a derelict shopping mall without a pause.

  “My kidnappers. They weren’t…human.”

  Vance dashed along the interstate, pushing himself to the limit. Shifting more towards the wolf. He hopped Amber would suppress it, opting for a more believable perceived reality the way most normal people did.

  “Well neither am I, while we’re on the subject,” he said. We might as well get that much out of the way, he thought.

  He slowed, turning back to his human form completely. They were about a mile from Big Momma’s, and he needed to rest.

  Amber climbed off of his back as he sat in the grass, heaving slightly.

  “And you? You’re a werewolf?” she asked. Looks like she opened her eyes, mused Vance to himself.

  “Not exactly. I am what the story of the werewolf is based on,” he explained.

  “What’s the difference?” she asked, sitting on the grass next to him, but being sure not to sit too close.

  Vance thought a moment. Werewolf was a common term used for people like him, but it wasn’t really accurate.

  “A werewolf is first a man, then a wolf,” he began. “In older tales, he is a wolf in the disguise of a man. I am neither man nor a wolf, but rather the idea of wolf imbedded within a man. I am wolf incarnate,” he explained.

  He stopped, gauging her reaction.

  “Alright, ‘wolf incarnate’,” she said, thinking. “You change from a man to a wolf, then back. Us humans call that a werewolf,” she finished, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

  “It’s not the same, I can assure you,” he said. “A werewolf is a mythological creature that started as a man or a wolf, and becomes the other at times. A werewolf can only be one or the other at a time, and at his core he is always just the one. At my core I am both the wolf and the man. And unlike the so-called werewolf, I can be both at the same time if need be - having the appearance of one and the attributes of the other as required.”

  Amber thought she understood. That was why he could run so fast as a human, and could speak while he was a wolf. When she was on his back, she’d had trouble distinguishing whether she was on his smooth back with her arms around his neck or on his large coat of fur, grabbing onto tufts of it for dear life. That was because she’d been doing both. It was a lot for her to wrap her head around, but she felt like she was beginning to understand.

  Vance started sniffing the air suddenly, and Amber could swear she saw his ears perk. He seemed alarmed. Something was wrong.

  “What is it, Vance?” she asked, tensing up and expecting the worst.

  “Your grandmother’s house. There is trouble there. We must hurry.”

  And they did, the smell of burnt rubber growing stronger as they approached.