The Anvil (The Dragon Guardian)

by I Heaton

  Tom reread the second note as they walked towards the council chamber. The two waited as a guard announced them then walked in. The messenger bowed and handed the baron the letter.

  The baron took the letter and said “Thank you, is there anything you would like to say? If not I will have a guard escort you to a room where you may rest from your travels.” the man shook his head and a guard led him out.

  The baron read the letter and the rest watched as his face turned white. Tom walked over to Alex and tapped his shoulder then motioned for him to follow. They went to the hall “My brother is missing I have to help find him. I would like to leave as soon as possible with your permission, even if I don't have your permission I will go.” Tom said and he handed Alex the note.

  Alex read it “You may go but try to send notifications of where you are. Leave now and be back as soon as possible, if I need to I will come find you in about six weeks.” he told him after a moment of thought. Tom ran to his room and Alex returned as the baron explained what was happening.

  Tom entered his room and grabbed the needed items, food, his shield, axe, canteen, and other small items. He ran out of the castle with his pack and flew south.

  It took him two days to reach Pine Grove, he had rested briefly a few times to eat and rest for half an hour on the way. He landed in the back yard and went into the house. His mother sat at the table worried. Tom quickly put his stuff in his room then flew out to the surrounding forest to search. When the sun began to set he flew back to the house.

  As Tom lay awake that night he had two thoughts. Maybe Caleb wanted to see him and went to Blangto or he might have gone even farther south to join the army and defend the country.

  Eventually he fell asleep and woke the next morning late. He ran downstairs and ate breakfast then ran out to find a messenger to tell Alex he was in Pine Grove and was headed to Blangto. He found one, gave him the message and paid him. He went back home and grabbed his pack he told his mother where he was headed then left. He flew slowly watching the ground for movement that might be Caleb.

  The day passed uneventfully and Tom camped in a small clearing. He found a small hollow at the base of a large tree and camped inside it. He left a hole large enough for smoke to go out and fresh air to come in but covered the rest. He ate a small dinner then went to sleep after casting a spell to keep the fire going and not let it get out of control.

  Chapter 18

  Tom woke to the sound of collapsing dirt. A pale man jumped down into the hole and looked red in the fire light. Tom didn't change his breathing at all, which he had learned from Alex to trick people into thinking he was asleep. Some other pale men and women jumped into the hole and the first motioned for them to search the hollow.

  Tom suddenly jumped up at the nearest one, a woman with long black hair, and held her with a knife to her throat. Some raised their crossbows at him but the leader waved them down then the man smiled. “You don't know what we are do you? Well let me fill you in. We are vampires, so if that little knife slits her throat it will not kill her.” he said.

  Tom made a piece of flaming wood fly into his hand replacing the knife “No I guess not, but this will.” he replied. The vampire edged closer but Tom stopped him “Come any closer and she dies.” then after a moment of thought “Again. Or can you really die if you're a vampire cause you are already dead.” he finished.

  The vampires thought for a moment, he had learned this trick from Alex too, and Tom made his move. He threw the vampire he was holding at the others and threw the wood after her then grabbed his bag and tried to get away, but the vampires were too fast.

  They grabbed his feet as he launched into the air and pulled him back. They put him on the ground and held him there then the one he had held grabbed a piece of wood from the fire, careful to avoid the flames, and walked over to him slowly.

  As she prepared to burn him a knife flew from the shadows and got buried in the vampire's heart. She grabbed uselessly at the knife then fell on the ground and burst into flames. The vampires looked around scared then saw a tall man at the edge of the light, the man held two more knives in both hands, ready to throw. Tom recognized him quickly, he was the strange warrior he saw at his training.

  He couldn't see his face as it was covered in shadows, but could see the bulky build and other things such as the weapons he had, a large bow, a quiver, two large swords with black handles and silver sheaths, along with other smaller weapons. “Now I give you vampires two options, finally die or help this boy find his brother.” the strange man said with a large, deep, booming voice. The vampires quickly agreed to help Tom find his brother.

  Obviously they knew this strange man, or at least knew of him. Tom slept the rest of the night then in the morning he started to set out. He noticed the vampires seemed to be avoiding the sun, then he remembered stories about how vampires burned in the sun.

  He was about to say that when one of them stepped out into the sun. Obviously they didn't burn in the sun, so he said “Okay here is the plan we stay within hearing distance of each other but fan out and watch the ground.” They launched into the air after the tall man mounted a white horse with black markings.

  He had said he would meet them when the sun set, but Tom doubted a horse could keep up with them when they were flying. They flew for a few hours then they landed and they all ate, the vampires laughed at him when he asked why they were eating, because in stories they only drank blood to sustain themselves.

  “Blood is needed for us to survive, but those stories exaggerate. We must eat for energy, could you survive if there was only blood in your veins and nothing else was being taken in?” one said, making Tom feel foolish.

  The rest of the day went quickly with nothing interesting happening. Surprisingly the man was waiting for them when they landed. After setting up the camp Tom spread out a map on the ground and started finding where they were and where the nearest town was. It was time he sent a message to Alex.

  He looked over his shoulder as he heard footsteps. The tall man sat near him and pointed at where they were, then to the nearest town “We need to travel south-west from here.” He said.

  Tom looked at him, as far as he could figure the man was right. “Who are you? I saw you once before, when I was training in the forest. You helped me battle the bandits my master created.” Tom asked, the man sighed “You're right I was there, my name and my official title is Lord Joshua of Grealin, commander of the sixth regiment, keeper of the eternal flame, and high master of fire. But you can call me Josh.” he answered.

  Tom's eyes widened as he said all of his titles. “I have never heard of the eternal flame. What is it?” Tom asked, Josh shook his head “The eternal flame represents hope for humans, it is at the city Ponticallo. As keeper of the flame I must watch over the greatest right hope of humans. If the hope is for something evil, like conquering others, I don't look after it, but if the hope is pure, like repelling invaders from your country, I watch over it and help it. That often means looking out for certain humans.” he answered.

  “I haven't heard of the city Ponticallo. And you speak as if you aren’t human.” Tom paused for a moment as he realized something, Josh was very tall, strong and surrounded by many other mysteries “You aren't human are you? You are an Immortal.” Josh simply nodded “And as you might guess my horse isn't a normal horse. It is a pegasus.” he added.

  The next day at about noon they found the town, Josh had stayed with them, flying on his pegasus. The vampires went to buy supplies, Tom to send a letter to Alex, and Josh to send a report to his leaders. They met at the inn later and got some rooms.

  The next day they obviously attracted many looks, a group of a teenager, an immortal, a pegasus, and six vampires. Josh had uncovered his crests, which were of immortals, that were on his various weapons and clothes. Tom also had the bronze dragon claw around his neck which people only noticed if they were close.

  They walked out of the town just as a man came running up to the
town. He was trying to get people's attention, he got up on a box and starting yelling “Help me! My son has been taken! Please help me!” Tom and Josh looked at each other and walked over. “What happened?” Tom asked, the man looked at him “My son was taken, I think by werewolves. We heard a noise outside our house and he went to look. We heard some yelling and fighting. When we went out he was gone.” the man explained.

  The group listened and agreed to help, they thought that if one young man was taken maybe others were also, like Caleb.

  The man led them to his farm, which took two days, showed them the tracks and they left. They made much slower progress than before as they needed to follow the tracks. They soon had a routine, travel for most the day, sleep as soon as Tom couldn't see and wake when it was light.

  Tom had the worst night vision of the group as the vampires naturally had night vision to hunt at night and immortals had better night vision than humans. After two days of following the tracks they saw very fresh embers, they could see the moisture in the ground from the water used to put it out.

  About a day after that they finally caught up the the group they were tracking. They saw a circle of about ten tents with a large area in the middle. In the center was a dying fire and the shapes of people sleeping.

  They crawled away from the clearing and one vampire, Ponterial, went to spy on the camp. The rest set up their camp and waited. When Ponterial returned he looked worried. “I saw how many werewolves there are and how many of the kidnapped people can help fight. Not only are there kidnapped young men, but young women also ages ranging from about twenty-three to about ten. Few look strong enough to fight, but those who do look very strong. The werewolves number at about twenty, so we will be outnumbered about four to one.” he reported, and quickly the group started thinking of strategies.

  After what seemed like hours but really only half an hour they decided on a plan. Tom and two of the vampires sneaked into the camp and hid. Josh and the other two vampires stayed near their camp. As Tom slipped into his cover he quickly scanned the prisoners, he recognized his brother after a moment. Once he had been very healthy, but you could see it but now you could see he had been underfed and didn't get much sleep. Tom sent the signal, a series of gusts, and the attack was about to start.

  Chapter 18

  Suddenly Josh and the two vampires with him appeared in the air flying as fast as possible towards the camp. The werewolf watchmen responded how they had wanted, shouting and pointing at the approaching trio.

  The sleeping ones ran out of their tents, some with weapons and some simply changing form. They prepared and didn't notice Tom and the two vampires until they started attacking. Josh and the others landed and Tom ran over to the prisoners and released them. Some ran to grab weapons and help, some ran and hid, and still others curled up and laid there.

  Caleb was one who ran to get a weapon, Tom just finished cutting the ropes on the final prisoner he looked over where Caleb was trying to fight off a particularly large werewolf, the werewolf had changed into the full form, which often meant he had changed himself into a mindless killing machine, Tom ran over and jumped in the way of the werewolf's swipe and blocked it with his shield.

  He slammed his shield into its nose and turned to make sure Caleb was alright. “Are you alright, brother?” Tom said, and the large werewolf heard and smiled.

  Changing slightly back into human form, he said “So that's why you chased us down, we kidnapped your brother, I am the one who wanted to take him and I am the one who has been taking care of him. I will make sure both of you die.” Tom looked the large man in the eye with determination “I really doubt that, as I am going to make sure you die.” he replied then jumped to attack.

  He spread his wings just in time to stop himself in mid air and kick the man in the face. Tom and the werewolf didn't notice as fighting went on all around them, they only saw their opponent.

  Some just stopped fighting and watched as the two fought like they were dancing a deadly dance, one misstep, one mistake could cost them their life. Tom's axe a shining blur and the man's claws and teeth shining evilly in the light of the embers. Suddenly as Tom smashed down with his axe the werewolf jumped out of the way and at Caleb.

  He grabbed Caleb and changed to a man with a dagger which he held against Caleb's throat. “Now I shall make my final offering to the great god Wonla!” and he changed half into a wolf and bit deep into Caleb's shoulder.

  He dropped Caleb and Caleb crumpled. Tom raised his axe and threw it straight as the werewolf, the axe flew end over end then with a dull thud stopped in the chest of the werewolf. Tom ran straight to Caleb and Josh walked over and knelt by him. “There are two ways one can become a werewolf. Being born as one or being bitten by one.” Josh said.

  “On the next full moon Caleb will be forced to change forms and become a mindless killing machine. And every full moon after that also. But when there is no moon he will be able to change and still control himself.” he continued, Tom just looked at his brother and started crying. His brother was a werewolf.

  After a while Tom started to move and they set up camp. In the morning they decided that they would escort those kidnapped to the nearest town then return home, the travel was much slower on the way back as most were on foot.

  Caleb had recovered enough to walk most the time, but sometimes someone would have to carry him. The next night Tom looked at the moon and realized it was almost full. The next morning he mentioned this to Josh “I have been thinking and I think I have something that will help him not lose his mind completely. It is a mixture of various herbs and liquids. If it doesn't work it will not harm Caleb. It can only help.” he had answered.

  That night they gave Caleb the potion, who gagged on it but swallowed. After they gave him the potion Josh also gave him a sleeping potion, and finally tied him to a log after making him comfortable. Tom waited a safe distance and watched the moon come up.

  Josh had wanted him to go to his tent but he wanted to stay, Josh of course was staying to see if his potion worked. Tom watched as the moon rose and it's light fell onto Caleb.

  Suddenly Caleb let out a yell as he started to change. He grew larger and hairier soon his teeth and nails grew and sharpened. His face grew longer and soon he was a wolf. He was covered with white fur with a wolf's face, claws on his padded feet and hands and he lay somewhat curled.

  Tom could see in his eyes the worry and pain and he thought Josh's potion helped him. Suddenly his eyes went blank and he howled long and loud. Tom covered his ears as he watched him strain against the ropes.

  Tom eventually went to his tent and slept, trusting the ones on watch to wake him if anything happened. The next morning Tom quickly went over to where Caleb lay. Caleb's shirt and pants were torn and the ropes holding him looked like he had tried to bite through.

  Tom untied him and they went to get breakfast. The next two nights went about the same as the moon stayed full. Josh tried two different mixtures neither of which worked. They reached the town a day after the final full moon. The morning they were going to leave the town they sat eating breakfast at the town inn, a dull, smoke filled, unclean place, but it had good food. The day before they had talked to the local town watch and militia about getting the kidnapped ones home.

  They found the quickest way back to Pine Grove. About lunch one of the vampires brought up the subject of what the vampires were going to do. “We could go back to robbing, but I doubt you would like us to do that. We usually aren't very well accepted in towns either.” one said, they discussed it for a while until they decided they would come to Pine Grove and if they were rejected there they would join the army. They continued and Caleb experimented with his new ability.

  That night Josh explained how werewolves were created and how they changed. “A werewolf bite contains a kind of magical virus. When it goes into your body it spreads everywhere and when the moon or mind triggers a change it will change the size and shape of the muscles, bones, and all th
e other things. It is somewhat like how the Dragon Guardians change, at first they have to magically add and take away various parts, but after a while those parts will only have to be triggered by the mind and they change. Tom which is easier changing your skin or getting wings?” he explained “Well it is easier to get wings.” Tom answered “And Caleb how easy is it to change part of your body after you know how to trigger the change?” Josh asked “Once I know how it is very easy.” Caleb answered, the next morning they continued to Pine Grove, Caleb riding with Josh on Josh's pegasus.

  They landed outside of Pine Grove the next day as the sun set. Caleb changed fully into a wolf and the group walked into town. As you can expect that attracted a large amount of stares, a wolf, an immortal, four vampires, and armed teenager. They went to Tom's and Caleb's house and walked in, they walked into the kitchen where their mother was cooking she turned around and jumped throwing the bowl of water she was carrying.

  She started to grab a knife but Tom stepped forward and she relaxed. She walked over and gave him a hug, Caleb walked around her slowly and growled. She looked nervously at him and he changed into a human and laughed. “Caleb! What happened to you? How did you turn into a wolf?” she asked quickly, Caleb's smile faded and he explained how he had been walking home from a friend's house when suddenly he was attacked and dragged into the forest, then described his capture and finally he said “So during the fight the werewolves' leader grabbed me and bit me. So now I am a werewolf.” his mother began crying and that is when his father came into the room.

  His father ran to Caleb and hugged him, then throughout the rest of the day Caleb told his family about him becoming a werewolf. Tom send a report back to Alex that they had found Caleb and he would be staying in Pine Grove until he received a message back telling where Alex was. Josh and the vampires helped Tom train during the time he stayed in Pine Grove, Tom also spend a large amount of his time with his friends and family.