The Werewolves of Nottinghill

by J. J. Thompson

  “Good luck, Chao,” Aiden said seriously. “If you learn anything, please let us know immediately. We could use some good news right now.”

  Chapter 19

  Ellas found the perfect spot for an ambush. About a third of the distance between where the giants first made landfall and Nottinghill Castle was a tall hill that overlooked the sea. It was almost a hundred feet high, with a flattened top where only a few bushes and tall grasses grew. It bordered the path that the monsters were taking along the shoreline and would force the creatures to pass between it and the water.

  Once the sprite had reported on the location to Tamara, all of the Council plus the elven Elders Gated to the spot to check it out.

  “Amazing that such a place exists,” Sylvie said to her sister as they stood on the high hill looking out to sea. “You can just see the line of the coast on the other side of the channel. This should give us a height advantage over the giants, which is an odd thing to say.”

  “A vital advantage for us,” Malcolm told her.

  He was standing on the sisters' left side and Aiden stood beside him. All of the group's members were lined up shoulder to shoulder, looking out over the channel or down at the base of the steep hill. A stiff breeze ruffled their clothing and whistled as it passed by them, making conversation difficult.

  Tamara looked from Dianis to Chase.

  “If we assume that those two monsters are about seventy to eighty feet tall, at this distance will your archers be able to hit them, especially with this wind?”

  The elven captain nodded emphatically.

  “The wind will have no impact on our attack, lady,” she assured the mage. “Our archers are very skilled and can deal with all weather conditions. Wind is a very minor concern.”

  “And ours?” Tamara asked, looking down the line at Malcolm and Aiden.

  “I don't see a problem,” Aiden replied. “I doubt that our archers are as skilled as the elves, but the people that we've chosen are very good. And let's remember that their targets are very big and slow moving. They'll manage, Tamara.”

  “Good. Good. As for myself and my fellow mages...”

  She looked from her brother to Sylvie and Veronique.

  “Wind certainly has no effect on magic, so we'll be fine. Barnaby and the other junior mages should remain at the castle. I don't want to leave Nottinghill without any magical defenders, just in case something else threatens it while we are gone.”

  “Good thinking,” Sebastian agreed. “And we're only bringing two dozen archers with us. The castle guard will still be at almost full strength.”

  “I wouldn't leave our home defenseless,” Malcolm assured them. “We'll still have some archers on duty, as well as all of the ballistae crews. If any dragon shows its face, it won't find us unprepared.”

  Dianis had been listening to the exchange and looked at Tamara curiously.

  “Do you really expect an attack on the castle during your short absence? Isn't that a little, forgive me, paranoid?”

  Tamara and the others smiled at the question, and Malcolm had to chuckle.

  “Excuse our reaction, Elder,” Tamara replied hurriedly. “But the only reason that we've survived this long on this inhospitable world is by being slightly paranoid, as you call it. This attack by the giants might just be a huge distraction, if you will excuse the pun. The Dark gods want us all dead. It would be just like them to introduce the threat of those giants while simultaneously attacking us while our forces are divided. We are simply being proactive about our defenses.”

  The Elder nodded slowly as she digested the explanation.

  “Interesting,” she said. “I am not a tactician, obviously, and such a thing had not occurred to me. I assumed that your high walls offered a sufficient amount of safety for your people.”

  “They do, of course,” Tamara assured her. “That's why our ancestors built castles in the first place. But they were trying to keep other humans out, not monsters and especially not flying monsters. That's why we were grateful for the dwarves' gift of ballistae. They've been a life-saver.”

  “The dwarves. Yes.”

  Dianis looked annoyed and turned to look off across the channel.

  The humans exchanged looks, but no one said anything, not wanting to pry. The other Elders and Chase remained silent as well.

  Not surprisingly, the first person to break the silence was Malcolm.

  “The elves and the dwarves have a long history, don't they?” he asked the Elder.

  Dianis gave him a hard look, but saw only his honest expression of curiosity. She sighed and adjusted the sleeves on her robe as she answered slowly.

  “Yes, that is true. In ancient times, we were allies, if you can believe it. And Ethmira, the one-time leader of our Council, worked with the dwarven king to battle the dragons. But there will always be a distrust between us lying just below the surface. We may cover it up with polite words and good manners, but it runs deep and I doubt that it will ever truly fade away.”

  “Why is that, Elder, if I may ask?” Tamara said. “If I'm not prying.”

  “You are not. Amongst ourselves, we rarely speak of it, but I can understand the curiosity of a young race such as yours.”

  Dianis looked at Shendal. The oldest elf smiled gently at her unspoken request and began to speak.

  “This is neither the time nor the place to discuss the past,” he told the group. “Perhaps once we are out of danger, I will speak of it if any of you are still curious. All I will say for now is that, long ago, one race betrayed the other and they were almost wiped out. Who did what is a very contentious subject. Some believe that the dwarves did it. Others believe that a rogue elvish faction was the guilty party. It was so long ago that no one can say for sure. All that we do know is that bitter feelings grew between the two races; feelings that remain to this day. If the circumstances dictate, we can and will work with the dwarves, but we will never trust them again. And I daresay that they feel the same way.”

  “Speaking of the dwarves,” Chase interjected. “Are you not in contact with them anymore? I know that they helped your people not that long ago.”

  Tamara shook head head.

  “Unfortunately not. When the magic faded from the world with the death of the original dragons, we lost contact with the dwarves. The drilling machines that they use to move through the earth are powered by magic, as are their communication devices, so they were effectively cut off from the surface. And since the new primals returned and brought the magical energy back with them, we have heard nothing. Some of my people have reportedly had dreams in which they've seen the dwarves engaged in a civil war. Perhaps these are messages from the gods. Who can say? I truly hope that they are wrong though. They were stout allies against the dragon queen and her spawn. If it hadn't been for both the dwarves and your people,” she nodded at Chase, “we probably wouldn't have survived.”

  “If we don't stop those giants, we might not survive much longer,” Sebastian reminded his sister. “Daylight's burning, sis. Maybe we can tell stories some other time?”

  Tamara looked irritated by his interruption, but before she could reply, Ellas popped into view just a few feet away, startling everyone.

  “What are you silly people doing?” she asked sharply as she hovered sparkling in the sunshine. “There are two very large monsters stomping up the coast and you are just standing here having a little chat? You have no more than an hour to get your forces set up, so you'd better get on with it.”

  “An hour?”

  The group immediately began getting organized. Each of the mages Gated one or more of the others back to the castle while Ellas zipped away again to follow the giants. Time was running out for all of them.

  It was close, but the giants were just coming into view from the top of the hill by the time the defenders had gotten their forces set up and ready to attack.

  The bulk of the combatants, thirty elven archers, stood in two disciplined rows in the center of the flat
rise. To their left were the two dozen human archers, also split into two lines. This would allow one row to shoot while the second row was reloading.

  Tamara and Sebastian stood next to their archers while Sylvie and Veronique had moved to stand to the right of the elven formation. There was very little chatter. Everyone knew what to do and what the stakes were.

  Malcolm and Aiden had gotten their people arranged and were now anchoring both lines. Each man could use a bow as well as they could use any other weapon. The ability was a part of their Change and felt very natural to them. Malcolm preferred swinging a sword, but he had to agree that attacking the giants at a distance was their best chance of defeating them.

  “How close are those things going to get to our position, sir?” one of the archers asked him nervously.

  Malcolm smiled at her.

  “Not that close, Anna,” he reassured her. “They do need to get near enough for us to hit them though. If they're further away than a hundred yards, our arrows will fall short. Not to worry though. A blind enemy is a lot easier to deal with than a sighted one. So remember, all of you,” he added loudly, so that all of the archers could hear him. “Your target is the giants' eyes. Blind them and we'll finish them off later. Our immediate goal is to stop them from reaching Nottinghill. Got it?”

  “Yes sir!” the squad responded in one voice.

  Malcolm nodded in satisfaction as Aiden looked over his shoulder at him. He was standing in the first line of archers, directly in front of his partner.

  Aiden grinned at the big man and Malcolm winked back. Both of them got excited before a battle and even the unknown dangers that they were facing now couldn't quench that anticipation.

  Tamara was standing to the left of the human archers. She was twirling her glowing wand between her fingers as she watched the giants moving heavily along the edge of the sea. She was wearing a bright blue robe and her blond hair was flowing around her face from the wind off of the water.

  Sebastian stood shoulder to shoulder with his sister. His robe was dark red and his hands were empty. Tamara was the only mage who wielded a wand, which she claimed was a gift from the gods. It increased the strength of her spells significantly.

  Aiden couldn't see Sylvie and Veronique from where he was standing, but he was sure that the sister mages were as ready for battle as Tamara and her brother appeared to be.

  The giants got closer as the minutes passed. It was late in the day now and the sun would be setting within the hour. If the battle wasn't joined soon, the attackers would have to wait until daylight to engage them, and no one wanted to do that. The monsters would be dangerously close to the castle by then.

  The ambushers began to feel the rumble of the giants' footsteps through the ground under their feet. The pair of huge humanoids were walking one behind the other, stomping along in unison. The sound of their heavy steps could be heard from the top of the hill and the giants were now only a few hundred yards away. Even with their slow walking pace, their long strides were covering ground at an amazing speed.

  “Archers, get ready,” Chase ordered, shouting to be heard over the shrieking wind.

  All of the bowmen, elf and human both, took their cue from her and set arrows to bows, ready to shoot. It had been agreed that Chase should give the order to fire for all of them. She was the most experienced and skilled archer of the group and Malcolm and Aiden had acknowledged her expertise and let her take command of the ambush.

  Tamara and the other mages took their cues from Chase as well and Malcolm could hear her and Sebastian begin to mutter under their breaths, preparing their spells.

  “Focus your attacks on the first giant,” Chase called out. “We'll take them down one at a time. Again, remember to shoot for the eyes only! Don't waste your shots on any other part of their bodies. Prepare to fire on my mark!”

  The entire group grew still and the tension among them rose as they awaited Chase's signal. Except for the wail of the wind and the steady rumble of the approaching giants, the hilltop was silent.

  Aiden watched as the massive creatures lumbered toward them. Their pale watery eyes stared blankly forward and he was reminded again of mindless robots following some sort of program. Was there any intelligence inside of them at all? It did not seem so.

  Boom! The ground under their feet shuddered now with every heavy footfall. Malcolm found himself slowly counting between the steps.

  “...three, four, five,” he muttered.

  Boom!

  “Draw your bows!” Chase called out.

  All of the archers pulled back their bowstrings and held their collective breaths. Malcolm focused on the glazed eyes of the first giant as it approached the hill. One more step would put it into range. And even though the humans and elves were in plain sight of the monster and only a few dozen feet higher than the top of its head, it seemed not to see them.

  Boom!

  “Fire!”

  The first line of archers fired in unison, humans and elves both. A wave of arrows ripped through the air toward the leading giant. At the same time, the four mages invoked their offensive spells and bolts of magical energy and a jagged, eye-searing flash of lightning slammed into the monster's face just as the missiles hit it.

  The results of the attack were impressive. The giant not only stopped in its tracks, it staggered backwards and slammed into the monster behind it.

  Both of them toppled over and hit the beach. The heavy impact lifted everyone on the hill several inches off of the ground and a few of them lost their balance and fell to their knees.

  “Wow,” Malcolm exclaimed with a wide grin. “That worked like a charm!”

  Tamara glanced over at him, looking very pleased.

  “Why are you so surprised?” she teased. “Nothing can be hit with that kind of a focused attack and shrug it off. Now we just have to deal with the second monster.”

  “Hang on!” Aiden said loudly as he watched the two giants struggle to untangle themselves.

  He was standing on the edge of the hilltop and peering down at the monsters.

  “What is it?” Malcolm asked as he moved forward to join him.

  “Look at them. They aren't reacting, at all. They're just getting back to their feet as if nothing happened!”

  He was right. The first giant, its eyes wide open even though there were dozens of arrows sticking out of their watery surface, was slowly standing up again. There was no expression on its horrible face, no sign of pain or any emotion whatsoever. And it appeared that the mages' spells had not injured the monster in the slightest.

  As it regained its feet, the second monster trundled upright as well, as emotionless as the first. After a long moment, the pair began stomping forward again on their original course.

  “Oh my God,” Tamara said, her voice strained. “They're like machines. There is no way that the first one isn't at least partially blind, but it's just continuing on as if it knows exactly where it is going. And it shrugged off our spells entirely.”

  “Perhaps it does know where it's going,” Dianis said as she hurried over to join Tamara, followed by Shendal and Myklen.

  The Elders had stood behind the archers and observed during the ambush.

  “It is possible that the dark gods have set one primary goal in those giants' minds,” the Elder continued. “To attack your home. I doubt that they have enough intelligence to even acknowledge pain. They are juggernauts created to destroy you, my friends. And obviously blinding them won't turn them aside.”

  “Then what can we do?” Tamara asked as she looked around at the others. “Does anyone have any suggestions?”

  “Could the combined power of all of the mages, both those here and the others back at the castle, bring them down?” Chase asked. “I do not know the limits of your powers, but perhaps if you all acted in unison?”

  Tamara shook her head and pointed at the first giant as it plodded by the hill, ignoring them entirely.

  “We can obviously do physical dama
ge to them, even if it doesn't seem to hurt them, but our spells just bounced off. I don't think that magic is the answer here. We'll have to think of something else.”

  Malcolm tapped Aiden on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow. They walked away from the leaders as Tamara and the Elders discussed their options.

  “What's up?” Aiden asked quietly when they had moved a dozen yards away from the group.

  “I just had an idea,” Malcolm told him.

  “Uh-oh,” the smaller man said with a grin. “Not one of your ideas.”

  Malcolm didn't return his smile and Aiden's expression changed.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Go ahead. I'm listening.”

  “Those giants are resistant to magic, but not to physical damage,” the big man said. “Right? I don't care that they can't feel pain. What would happen to them if they were hamstrung?”

  Aiden stared at Malcolm in surprise.

  “Cripple them? How? I mean, I assume that their legs work pretty much the same way that ours do, but look at the size of them! How could anyone hamstring those monstrosities?”

  “We could,” Malcolm told him. “Or rather our alter-egos could.”

  Aiden began to protest and then caught himself. Malcolm was obviously serious and his suggestion deserved some honest consideration.

  “Mal, we don't really know how powerful our werewolf forms are. We may be able to control them now, but we haven't put them to the test. It may be just a waste of time for us to attack those things.”

  Malcolm shrugged.

  “Do you have anything better to do at the moment?” he asked with the hint of a smile. “Aiden, we have to try to stop them here, before they get any closer to Nottinghill. If we don't and no one else comes up with a plan to turn them aside, they'll tear apart the castle like its made of tissue paper. We can't allow that to happen without at least trying to stop them ourselves, can we?”