Blood for Wolves

by Taft, Nicole

  “Marianne. How are you?”

  She stared back the way we’d come. Probably looking for wolves. “I’m all right. I’m thirsty though.”

  “I can relate to that,” Alex managed.

  “We’ll have to find a creek or a river,” I said. “We don’t have any water left.”

  I opened Wolf’s coat, forgetting that I no longer had a shirt on underneath it. Just my sports bra. I hoped one of the werewolves choked on that shirt.

  “What happened back there anyway? With the wolves?” Alex said.

  I pulled out the old map from one of the pockets, then buttoned up the coat again. I unfolded the map to see if there were any waterways drawn on it. “That was the pack from when you were asleep.” I paused, trying to figure out how to explain it. “Wolves and werewolves don’t get along. Whatever is going on, the wolves aren’t party to it.”

  “Can we be sure?”

  I knew who he meant by that. I pushed myself up. Marianne inched closer to me on the log. I examined the map.

  “You saw them fighting, didn’t you? Besides, Wolf isn’t a full.” A tiny chill went through me. “For all we know, he’s an aspiring werewolf.”

  I pushed the thoughts away. The map had a few thin lines running through the land. They might represent sources of water. Then I realized I had no idea where we were. I rubbed my face, wishing I knew landmarks and had my compass. Wishing that I had a gun or bear spray at least. I’d long since tossed the crossbow and quiver; no sense in keeping the weight if I couldn’t use them.

  “Is that were we came from?” Marianne asked, pointing at a small building on the map. It sat beside the sea, at the edge of the forest just like the fortress.

  I blinked. “Maybe.”

  The three of us studied the map.

  “Is that a castle?” Alex asked, pointing at another building deep in the woods.

  “That’s the Kingdom of Red,” Marianne said.

  “That’s where we want to go,” I said.

  “What about Marianne’s village?” Alex peered at me.

  I shook my head. “We need some serious help now. The Sentries come from the Kingdom. I don’t want them to kill off the wolves, but they’ll be better able to handle the werewolves. Besides, we can’t lead that kind of stuff into her village.”

  “Yeah. Right. Sorry.” Alex rubbed at his eyes and heaved a sigh.

  I gazed at the sun through the trees for a moment. “Okay. Assuming when we left the fortress, we ran in this direction,” I traced my finger over the map, “because we’re not anywhere near the ocean anymore. We need to head this way to get up to the castle. On the way we’ll bump into a few streams. The first one shouldn’t be too far from here.”

  “Hell, sis, we could miss that castle by five miles or more.”

  “Do you have a better plan?”

  He remained silent.

  “Besides, there aren’t any settlements listed on this map. We might run into some on the way. We hit two on the way down here.”

  “And I’m good at climbing,” Marianne suddenly piped up. We both looked at her.

  “Climbing?” Alex said.

  “You know, up a tree?” She glanced back and forth between us before making a disgusted face. “You can see farther up there, you know.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. Sometimes kids were so much smarter than adults. I gave her a one-armed hug.

  “You’re right. That is a good idea. Are you really that good of a climber?”

  She gave me a tiny smile. “I’ve always loved to climb trees.”

  “That sounds like a plan then.”

  After a few more minutes, we set off again. Marianne walked between us, one of her small hands in mine. No one spoke. What was there to say? We certainly looked a haggard group. Me in nothing but shorts, a fancy brown stained with blood, a rapier at my side, and sad-looking daypack hanging from my shoulders. Marianne in her somehow still miraculously blue dress, though her hair was definitely mussed and her face and hands smudged with dirt. Alex in his Wyatt Earp getup, minus the hat, a crossbow instead of a gun, and only three bolts left in the quiver. I smirked a little. He’d never looked—or been—so badass. His dad would probably be proud.

  For a long time we trudged through the forest, keeping a sharp eye out for werewolves and regular wolves, though by this point we kept an eye out for anyone. At length we finally came upon a stream, happily burbling along through the greenery of the forest.

  “Thank God,” Alex sighed.

  I tilted my head. Something didn’t sound right.

  Alex strode toward it eagerly, Marianne skipping after him. I tried to listen closer. What is that? It sounds like…

  Alex and Marianne knelt and dipped their cupped hands into the water.

  “NO! Don’t!”

  The two stared at me like I’d gone unhinged. I heard it as clear as a bell now. The stream sang:

  A fearsome beast thee will be,

  Should thee choose to drink from me.

  “It’s cursed. That spring is cursed. That woman must have done it. If you drink from it, you’ll turn into,” I paused, uncertain, “something bad. We’ll have to find another one.”

  Alex dumped the water back into the stream and hung his head with a huge sigh. He mumbled about being thirsty, coupled with a few swear words. Marianne stood up, a dejected look on her face. I put my hand on her head.

  “Don’t worry, she can’t have gotten to all of them,” I said.

  I pulled out the map again. There were at least three more waterways in our path before we reached the castle. Surely one of them had to be safe. I made a mental note of the area we were most likely to be in before slipping the map back into a pocket.

  A few hours went by as we trekked through the forest, occasionally hiking up and down a few gullies. Alex and I—more accustomed to hiking long distances—carried Marianne piggyback once and a while to ease her tired little legs. But after the day’s excitement, even we were starting to wind down. I hoped not too many of the wolves got hurt during the werewolf fight. So far I assumed they’d done a good job; nothing was tracking us yet. Probably why the stream was cursed.

  Finally we came to the second creek. Marianne slid from Alex’s shoulders and the two ran toward it, lured by the happy burbling of the clear water over the rocks. I listened carefully.

  “What do you say Caroline?” Alex asked, his cupped hands full of water.

  For a second I heard nothing, and I was about to nod when it came through:

  Ruled by the seasons thee will be

  Should thee choose to drink from me.

  “Stop.”

  Alex halted, the water almost at his lips.

  I shook my head sadly. “This one too.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “It sounds like it turns you into a tree.”

  He flung the water back into the stream, swearing. “There’s got to be somewhere we can get some water.”

  “We just have to keep going I guess.” I felt like a broken record. “I don’t see how she could get every single water source. Other people would notice it.”

  “Big fucking deal,” Alex muttered.

  I crouched. Marianne, tiredly rubbing her eyes and wiping away a few tears in doing so, climbed on my back again. I stood, feeling like she looked, but doing my best not to show it.

  “Come on,” I said to Alex, keeping my voice calm. “People can go for a few days without water. We’ll just have to deal with it until we find some.”

  He nodded, giving in.

  Our progress was slow. Usually, the two of us could hike along and cover several miles in an hour. But now I thought we would be lucky just to make a few. The sun slowly shifted into a burning orange ball as it sank closer to the horizon.

  After a long time of seemingly endless hiking, we stopped at a fallen log. My feet screamed for fresh air. My hiking boots looked like they’d been put through hell and back. I pulled them off, closing my eyes and tilting my head
back. I wanted to sleep, or nap at least.

  “You hear anything, Care?” Alex said behind me.

  I didn’t move. “Nope.”

  “You sure?”

  What the hell was he talking about?

  “Fuck it. Drink up kid.”

  My eyes flew open. There is no way he is that stupid! I scrambled over the log in time to see Alex and Marianne drinking from a stream ten feet away.

  “No! No, no, no!”

  I didn’t see it earlier because the setting sun cast it in shadow. For one heart stopping moment, I thought perhaps it might be okay, that maybe we’d outstripped the werewoman’s influence.

  Then, over the gentle murmur of the stream, the faintest of whispers wafted through the air.

  Drink from me

  And thy true self and purpose thee shall be.

  I stared at them on my hands and knees, horrified. For a moment nothing happened and the two looked content despite my warnings. Then their smiles faded, and their mouths opened as if locked in silent screams. They fell back, and the moment they hit the forest floor, a violent flash of light blinded me—and then they were gone.

  At least, Marianne was nowhere to be seen, but in Alex’s place stood a massive buck, or what I assumed a buck looked like in this place. The kind Alex would have squealed like a girl over if he bagged it. Its antlers were huge, regal, astonishing. White fur circled its eyes and then arched down its face and neck into its white chest. It was like a mix between a stag and an antelope. It blinked and looked around like it had no idea how it got there. Then its gaze fell on me.

  “Alex?”

  The buck opened its mouth and bellowed, a bizarre cross between a regular deer and an elk. It abruptly stopped, a confused look on its face.

  “Oh my God.” I quickly crawled forward, searching for Marianne. I expected to find a bluebell flower. Instead I found a large brassy key with a blue string running through it. I stared at the key, unable to grasp what had just happened. My stepbrother had turned into a stag. Marianne into a key. Their true selves. Their true purposes. I picked up the key. What a weird curse.

  I sat down hard and drew my knees into my chest and put my forehead on them. Wolf had betrayed me. My brother was a deer. Marianne was a key. We were being chased by werewolves. I was tired, thirsty, hungry, and the worst Guardian in the history of guardians. I squeezed my eyes shut as a wave of dizziness swept over me. It felt like the entire week had caught up with me and punched me across the face. I curled my fingers into my hair and tried to keep my exhaustion at bay. The sun slipped over the edge of the world, leaving us in dimly lit darkness.

  Alex nudged my shoulder. I sniffed and wiped my nose on the coat sleeve.

  “Can you still understand me?” I asked, my voice wavering.

  He snorted in answer. I put my arm around his neck.

  “I’m so sorry I dragged you into this,” I said through uneven breaths. “This whole thing is a mess.”

  Alex let out a small grunt and nibbled on my sleeve. I took up the crossbow and quiver of bolts Alex had dropped on the ground before drinking. Then I crawled back to my boots and laced them up. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. We had to keep going. We had werewolves on our trail. We needed to reach the castle. Perhaps there someone had the power to change Marianne and Alex back. At the very least, we’d be protected by the Sentries.

  “All right,” I said with one last deep breath, “let’s go.”

  I slouched my way through the forest, one hand on Alex and the other rubbing fiercely at my eyes. We’d walked all night and all the next day. The sun disappeared over the horizon again and the darkness grew deeper. Alex could see much better in the dark with his deer eyes. It seemed like transforming into a buck gave him renewed energy. But I wanted to lie down. I wanted to sleep for a million years and wake up on a beach in an orange-red-yellow bikini with a huge strawberry margarita next to me. The key—Marianne—was heavy around my neck. Every muscle in my body seemed to ache. I tripped over roots, got caught up in viney undergrowth. If we didn’t keep going, the werewoman would find us. They would drag us back. Kill Alex. Imprison Marianne for the rest of time. Imprison me as well. For the rest of Wolf’s life. He’d have to look at me as the war between humans and wolves began, lasted, ended. And he probably wouldn’t care. I’d be his trophy. A frozen glass doll.

  I fell to my knees. Exhaustion swept over me. Alex snorted and nudged my shoulder. I closed my eyes, reaching blindly up to touch his nose.

  “If I ride you, I’ll just fall off,” I said.

  Maybe it would be safe to stop. The other wolves had done a fine job of keeping the werewolves away so far. Before her war started, the werewolves would have to deal with the regular wolves and half-wolves first. The thought eased me slightly. Alex lay down beside me. He made an impressive buck with his massive rack of antlers and flawless hide. I patted his side in what I hoped was a reassuring way.

  “Just a little bit,” I told him.

  And then I passed out.

  I knew it was a dream the same way all people know they’re in a dream.

  I sat in the prison cell of the fortress, except the cell was outside, in the forest and without doors. Outside, howls came from all directions. I tried to howl back, but only succeeded in crying pitifully. Then I looked at the ground.

  Two pulsing chunks of meat lay there, blood oozing out around them. My heart, torn in two. I picked up the pieces, one in each hand, and watched the blood drip around my fingers.

  I set them down again and turned around. Behind me in the cell wall was a roaring hearth. I took up a hammer and pulled two bands of metal from the fire, red and glowing. Then I struck them with all my might. I smashed them and forged them and bent them to my will. When they were ready, I picked up my heart again and put it back together. It beat harder than before. I held it in place as I pieced together the metal bands. The muscle sizzled and seared under their heat. Pain stabbed into my chest but I ignored it. I held the bands in place until they fused together. Eventually they cooled, and I examined my work. It would do.

  Someone snorted, and I looked up to see Wolf standing in the open doorway. He stared hungrily at my heart.

  “Let me have some of that.”

  I stared back at him, unmoving. “I’ve already given you enough.”

  Around us the air moved, yet it didn’t. Not wind, words. The old witch.

  “Reach so high until you are burning up. Burning so brightly as you reach for the stars.”

  This was my heart. Broken, but still strong. And I wasn’t going to hide in the dark, waiting for someone to look for me.

  “You will reach for the stars. You will try so long and so hard, you will forget all those around you. And you will burn up once you touch them.”

  Yes. I will burn.

  Chapter 19

  I awoke with a start, kicking up a few leaves as I bolted upright.

  “Calm down dear, it’s just a dream.”

  It took my brain several seconds to register what was in front of my face. A fire burned between me and an old woman. Alex lay docilely beside me, unperturbed by the woman’s presence. It took a few moments for my brain to register that she was the old witch who gave me the necklace and Alex his Sentry uniform. She prodded at the fire, sending a shower of orange sparks into the air.

  “That’s what Henry did,” she said.

  “Who?” was all I could manage.

  “Henry. The servant to Prince Gerald, long ago when the Prince was transformed into a frog.”

  I closed my eyes for a moment. My head pounded. How long had I slept?

  “I’m sorry,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “What did he do?”

  “When Prince Gerald was cursed to become a frog, his manservant Henry was so distraught he had to band his heart so it wouldn’t break.”

  I warmed myself by the fire, but kept my eyes on the old woman. Strange. She didn’t seem quite as old as before.

  “Who are you?” I finally a
sked.

  She gave me a grandmotherly smile. “Now that is a good question.”

  I waited. She continued to poke at the fire. It reminded me of Wolf. I quickly banished the thought from my mind.

  “Well?”

  “Wolves were not always bad.”

  Okay, not an answer to my question. But I let her go on. I didn’t have the energy or the desire to try arguing with a witch.

  “In fact, there was great peace between them and the people here. True, the occasional sheep or cow would go missing, but there was never any cause for worry. The people and the wolves were great friends and often enjoyed one another’s company. After a time, it came to be that both men and maids fell in love with those of wolf packs, and likewise wolves fell in love with humans.

  “Finally, when many could bear the strain no longer—for wolves mate for life, as you know, and being unable to be close to their mate can break their hearts—a pack of wolves came together, male and female alike, to seek out a way to be with the humans they loved and who loved them in return. Together they traveled the long, hard road to the next kingdom where lived the most skilled sorceress in all the lands. It was very difficult for them, climbing over the mountains through the cold and the snow, but they were determined, and they made it.

  “They beseeched the sorceress to grant them human bodies, and the sorceress’s gentle heart saw the love the wolves had for their humans and granted their request. But there was one thing she could not change. Though they would appear as human, their hearts would remain as wolves’ hearts and they would keep their tails as a reminder of their former lives. They agreed and were changed and returned to their beloved humans.”

  An uncomfortable chill danced down my spine. I got the feeling that like the Red Riding Hood story, this wasn’t going to have a happy ending.

  “All was well for many decades. Many half-wolves were born, and more full wolves went to the sorceress and begged for her secret, which she granted them before she died.

  “But then came a day when two sisters fell in love with a wolf. He only desired the younger of the two. They married and lived happily while the eldest grew angry and filled with jealousy that her love should be turned away. To the detriment of all wolves, she knew the art of sorcery, and used her magic in her rage to curse all the changed wolves in the land, opening their hearts to the deceit and lust and greed of human hearts. She delivered upon full wolves the desire to hunt sheep and cattle instead of deer and elk, and filled them with a bloodlust for young maids and human flesh. She tried all she could to take away their human form, but her rage and life were consumed in her magic and her spell was incomplete and she died the night of a full moon.”