As the Wolf Howls

by Michael Linford

  Outside Orgent, it was even darker. The lack of lights and the cover from the trees created vast black areas at the foot of the city’s walls. Under the cover of this darkness there was an even blacker gathering. One large mass split into many, first just a few but before long, hundreds. These dark figures moved without a sound, always remaining hidden. The shapes continued to change, from small to large, human forms became animals and back again. Directly in front of the gates, stood beneath a huge tree, completely cloaked in darkness, was the largest of the shadowy figures. In a voice that hissed out of him like cold air, he spoke one sentence.

  ‘It is time.’

  CHAPTER 12

  Black Wolf and Grey Moon had reached the river where they had fished previously. On their journey, they had watched as the sky had grown darker above them. The once blue sky was now nearly black and they knew it wouldn’t be long before they’d have to stop for the night. Beneath the dark sky, the river looked much wider than it had done in daylight. Pockets of shadow scattered around and made it difficult to see what was earth and what was water. Black Wolf had put down his sack and was refreshing himself by splashing the cool water of the river on his face and neck. In the darkness, he couldn’t rely on just his sight, so his other senses were working twice as hard to make him aware of his surroundings. He could hear every twig snap and every rustle of leaves as all the animals in the woods went about their lives, and he could smell the rich fragrances of all the different vegetation around him.

  As he dried his hands on his cloak, he felt a cool chill appear from nowhere and blow through him. He shivered and turned towards where Grey Moon stood, looking grave.

  ‘Do you feel how cold it is getting? Why do I feel like something’s changed?’

  Grey Moon nodded silently in agreement. ‘The darkness is upon us, child. It seems everything is moving quicker than I expected. That cold is born of the evil that hopes to choke the life out of us all. You feel this and it unsettles you, for you are the centre of all our lives. I fear we may not have much time, my child. We need to cross the river tonight and get to the mountains before nightfall tomorrow.’

  Black Wolf wrapped his cloak tighter around him and stared into the waters of the river. On a hot day he would gladly dive into it and enjoy the cool water washing over him, but he wasn’t sure he could even manage to stand in it if this cold wind kept blowing through.

  ‘I’ve never been beyond this riverbank before, Grey Moon. Can we even cross it? It’s so wide and must be deep…’

  ‘Trust me, I’ve crossed this river many times, my child. It will be warmer than you think, for it is only the air that is chilled by the evil surrounding us. If you walk through the water with your arms held high, your chest will be above the water level and everything you have packed will stay dry. The bed is very smooth so you have little fear of tripping. I will go first, if you wish? Follow my path and we will soon be on the other side.’

  Black Wolf watched as Grey Moon held his small bag high above his head and stepped into the river. The water did stop at his chest and he seemed to have no problem walking across to the other side.

  ‘The water is actually warmer than the air. Follow me and we can soon find a place to stop and get dry.’

  Grey Moon had called over his shoulder without stopping. Steadily, he carried on walking across without any distraction at all. In the light reflecting off the water, Grey Moon had an almost silver glow around him and Black Wolf thought that he looked every bit the magical man he was rumoured to be. It made him wonder just how much Grey Moon already knew about these events. Shaking the daydreams from his head, he picked up his sack and held it high in the air as he too stepped into the dark waters. Despite the cold air, which was still inexplicably chilling him to the core, he found the temperature of the water quite bearable. He wouldn’t have said it was warm, but it certainly wasn’t as cold as he had originally feared. Grey Moon had already made it to the other side and was doing his best to wring out any water from his clothing. He was stood in quite a large clearing between the forest and the river, big enough for a small fire, and he decided that was exactly what they needed.

  ‘Keep moving steadily, Wolf. I think we should stop for a short while. I will light a fire so we can both dry out properly before moving on.’

  Black Wolf liked the sound of being warm and dry again, and had to stop himself from running through the water for fear of tripping and falling in completely. He knew he couldn’t afford to get any of his belongings wet, so he carried on moving slowly.

  ‘Please do, Grey Moon, I look forward to being dry again and to be warm as well would be very welcome. I won’t be much longer.’

  Black Wolf carried on moving towards the other side as his friend went about collecting wood for the fire. By the time he had made it to the other side the fire was already burning brightly. Grey Moon sat next to it, watching the steam rise from his clothing as it slowly dried.

  ‘What took you so long, child?’ Grey Moon chuckled to himself as he witnessed the look of surprise on Black Wolf’s face.

  ‘You never fail to amaze me, Grey Moon. Not only have you managed to gather wood for a fire, but you already have it burning and are drying out, whilst I’m here soaking wet.’

  It was true, the speed with which Grey Moon was able to do things often surprised Black Wolf. He could only hope that by spending more time together, he too could learn to be so skilled.

  ‘It’s always nice to surprise people. Come, sit and dry out, we have much walking to do before we stop tonight.’

  Grey Moon looked quite pleased at impressing Black Wolf. He started planning the next stages of their journey in his head.

  Black Wolf sat down and opened his sack. He was starting to feel hungry and figured he’d better eat now as they probably wouldn’t be stopping again soon. As he delved into his sack to find some food, he spotted a faint reddish glow coming from inside. Nervously, he found the source of the light: it was the box Grey Moon had given him. Quickly, he removed the box and placed it by the fire, between the two of them.

  Black Wolf looked on with wonder; one of the four carvings, the picture of a rock, was glowing brightly. It was a deep, reddish brown colour and was seemingly lit from nowhere.

  ‘Grey Moon, look. What’s happening to the box you gave me? It’s glowing, how is this possible?’

  Grey Moon smiled to himself as he answered. ‘Many truths are brought to life by the power of our mother herself, child. Nature can hide truths but it can also reveal them. It seems now is the time for you to learn more — she has spoken.’

  Black Wolf sat silently, desperate to learn more about everything that was happening around him.

  ‘As I told you before, my child, that box has been with me for years. Before that, it was with my own tribe’s elders for years, and the same before that. It has always been our duty to look after it until its rightful owners appeared. On the box is the marking of our mother, the eye that sees all and watches over us. In the four corners are the symbols of her four main special children, the powerful ones that I have spoken of before. The stories tell that only the box can truly reveal who those four are and it will show them by illuminating that symbol, to help them see. It glows for you, my child; you are one of the four. The rock, our mother’s most loyal son. Born of the earth and born to lead the Earth. It is you, my child.’

  Black Wolf traced his finger over the carving; the glow was strongest when he touched the box. ‘What am I to do with the box though? Where are the others?’

  ‘You will guard the box, child. When the four are together, you will know what to do with it. This journey we are making must unite all four of you, or I fear it will all be too late. Trust your instincts; we are on the right path.’

  Everything Grey Moon said made sense to Black Wolf, even though part of him didn’t want to believe it. He carefully placed the box back in the sack and moved closer to the fire. Soon steam was filling the air as they both dried out.

  �
�I am ready when you are, Black Wolf.’

  Grey Moon got to his feet and stretched out ready for their long trek. Whilst he waited for Black Wolf, he picked up a thick branch and lit the end, giving them a torch for their journey into the forest.

  ‘Let’s get going then. I am ready too.’

  Grey Moon held out his hand and pulled Black Wolf to his feet, where he then hoisted his sack onto his back and stamped out the remainder of the fire. Once they were ready, the two men began walking towards the thick forest and the darkness beyond.

  The walk through the forest was made a lot easier by the glowing embers of the branch that Grey Moon carried, but it was still awkward to manoeuvre in such tight spaces. The woods surrounding their camp had been thinned out by the natives when collecting firewood but the woodland here was left untouched, making it very dense and tricky to move through. Grey Moon was being careful not to set the forest alight, whilst Black Wolf used a knife to clear an easier path for them. During their trek, Black Wolf’s mind was thinking about everything the last few days had brought him. He had always wished to be more than just another of the natives, going through their lives without excitement, but he wasn’t sure if all this hope and faith in him wasn’t misguided. How could anyone follow him when he had no idea where he was meant to go?

  ‘The trick is not to think too much, my child. You have more questions than answers I know, but trust me, it will come together and then you will face a decision.’

  Grey Moon’s voice had broken the silence and again he seemed to know what Black Wolf was thinking.

  ‘How do you do that, Grey Moon? It’s like you can hear my thoughts.’ Black Wolf wanted to know if this was another skill he could learn or whether it was something that only Grey Moon could do, like many of his talents appeared to be.

  ‘I’ve spent a long time watching, listening and speaking to people. Over time you realise that most things are easy to see with a bit of awareness. It is no trick or magic that I use; I have merely learnt how people think. With age you will learn so much, my friend, and you will see what I see. Your worries are loud enough for the whole forest to hear, but I assure you it is nothing to fear. When the time is right, you will know what to do.’

  Despite any doubts, Black Wolf found Grey Moon’s faith in him reassuring. He trusted Grey Moon completely and that gave him the strength he needed to follow his path, wherever it led.

  They had been trekking for quite some time when Black Wolf noticed how much the forest had thinned out. In the flickering light of the burning embers, he saw glimpses of grey through the trees.

  ‘We are nearly there, child — the mountains are within reach. We should find shelter at the foot of their huge frame and then early tomorrow we must move on.’

  Black Wolf was glad they were stopping soon. He hadn’t travelled so far before and was feeling both hungry and tired. As they walked, he watched the forest slowly fall away until they made it to an open plain. Behind the plain stood the foot of the huge mountains; looking up, they were so tall that Black Wolf couldn’t even see the top. The dark night sky seemed to swallow the rock face halfway up and hide the rest from view. It was a spectacular sight and Black Wolf knew that looking at it in the morning would be a moment he’d never forget.

  ‘There’s a shallow cave at the bottom over there that we can use to rest tonight, Wolf. In the morning we will need to move fast; we don’t know exactly how much time we have. If you collect some wood we can have a fire and warm ourselves before we settle down for the night.’

  Grey Moon walked over to the cliff face while Black Wolf collected some fallen branches from the edge of the forest. He was desperate to get warm again and then rest before continuing tomorrow. As he stood at the edge of the forest, he once again heard the noises of all the animals around him. Each tiny sound reminded him that life goes on, regardless of everything happening around it.

  Black Wolf had a heavy load of wood and dropped it at the foot of the mountains where Grey Moon was waiting for him. The cave was big enough for the two of them to sleep in but had room for little else. He didn’t care though, as long as he had warmth and shelter. Grey Moon arranged the wood for a fire and packed dry leaves he’d found underneath the pile. Then with a touch of his smouldering branch, it caught light and started to burn away. Within minutes they could both feel the heat starting to rise and were settled down next to it, letting the warmth seep into their aching bodies.

  ‘You need to sleep soon, my child. Tomorrow we must make it up the mountains. We will find another there who can help us. If we move quickly when it’s light then we can be there before half the day is gone.’

  Black Wolf watched as Grey Moon spread the blankets inside the opening of the cave. He had left Black Wolf’s sack open when he’d removed the blankets, and once again there was a glow illuminating from within.

  ‘Can we leave the fire burning, Grey Moon? Or do we need to put it out?’ Black Wolf was worried about attracting any unwanted attention before they reached their destination and he knew that they could easily be attacked whilst they slept.

  ‘Leave it to burn out, Wolf. The evil will not come to us; in fact, it is waiting for us to go to it. We are safe here.’

  Grey Moon settled down in his blankets, searching for the radiance that had caught his eye before. Black Wolf noticed his friend’s interest and pulled the box out of the bag, expecting to see the rock symbol still glowing. He gasped as he noticed that, while the symbol was indeed still lit, it had now been joined by another glimmer. This time the symbol representing wind was glowing blue. However, it was not a steady source of light like the symbol for rock; it was flickering.

  ‘It’s another symbol, Grey Moon. The wind! Why is it glowing like that though? It’s different, what does that mean?’

  Grey Moon settled down under his blankets and closed his eyes, his breath even as he spoke calmly. ‘You need to sleep now, child. That is the second of the special ones. The flickering can only mean one thing: she is coming.’

  CHAPTER 13

  Whilst Black Wolf and Grey Moon had been on their journey, Orgent had been alive like never before. The celebrations had been going all night, with the population making the most of the event their emperor had created for them. It had all started quite quietly with a large feast. All the people had sat down and waited for the arrival of the emperor and his daughter, Princess Amelia. When they had finally descended the steep steps of the temple and entered the courtyard, all the people stood to welcome them and looked on in awe. The emperor looked immaculate in his finest robes, the gold edgings just adding to the authority that he already had. His daughter Amelia followed closely behind and drew gasps from everyone watching. She was wearing the most beautiful dress, as blue as a summer sky and shimmering under the night-lights. The dress made her eyes look bluer than usual and a combination of the two made her look like an angel who had flown down to light up Orgent like never before. Some of the older people amongst the population realised that the dress had once been her mother’s and were stunned that Amelia could eclipse her mother’s beauty so easily, but she did. She truly was a princess and they felt honoured just to be in her company.

  The emperor had been shocked when he saw Amelia’s choice of outfit for the party but had always known deep down that the day would come when his daughter took his wife’s place as the most beautiful lady in Orgent. He had been quite emotional when he saw her but had given his full blessing and was proud of the woman she had become. During the feast, the emperor had lost himself in memories. Seeing Amelia in his wife’s dress had brought many daydreams flooding back and he struggled to maintain any conversation whilst being so deep in thought. Amelia had spent the meal chatting excitedly to Elspeth about the fireworks and music that would signal the main part of the celebrations, but was troubled by the faraway look in her father’s eyes. She assumed that, despite his blessing, it was because of her outfit and hoped she hadn’t caused him any pain by choosing it. Once the feast was eate
n, the servants hurried to clear all the tables before more men came and folded them away, leaving the whole courtyard open for the dancing that was next to start.

  The emperor had cornered his head guard and discussed the plan regarding the fireworks and opening of Orgent’s gates.

  ‘Everything is in place, Emperor. When the music ends we will open the gates and the fireworks will be lit, then when finished we will close the gates and clear up in daylight.’

  The emperor had so many thoughts running through his head and barely heard his guard.

  ‘I’ve changed my mind — I want the fireworks before the end. I have decided we will have the royal dance, then the fireworks and then finish with more music for all the people to dance to.’

  Surprised by the sudden change of plan, the guard’s anxiety suddenly increased. ‘But we aren’t prepared for that, Emperor… My men have it all planned for the end of the celebrations.’

  ‘I suggest you change the plan quickly then. I have people to talk to and cannot stand around here all night discussing this. When the first part of the dancing ends, I will give you a signal and will be expecting the fireworks. If you need to consult with your men then do it now, but do it quickly; the dancing and music will be starting soon.’

  The emperor turned abruptly and headed back to the festivities, leaving the head guard standing alone. He felt a surge of anger at the emperor’s sharp reaction and was shocked at the sudden change of plan. For all his years working for the emperor, he had never known him to be anything but courteous and very methodical in his planning, yet tonight he seemed agitated and troubled. The head guard marched off to his men. He had a plan to alter — and fast.

  Whilst her father had been busy with the head guard, Amelia had been mixing with the population of Orgent. Looking like a princess but acting like every other person was something that came naturally to her. The position she held within the city had never rested easily on her shoulders, and she preferred to be one of the people and be free to talk naturally rather than have any authority. Nights like this were the perfect opportunity for her to feel normal and be relaxed enough to talk to anyone on an equal level. The only thing that caused any problems for her was how she was dressed; she would’ve preferred to blend in far more. Amelia had arranged a solution to this though, and with Elspeth’s help she had hidden a sack containing a dark, hooded cape near the main doors of Orgent. She could slip it over her dress later and be free to mingle with the crowds, happily looking a lot more like a normal person. As Amelia wandered through the crowd, she caught sight of her father walking sternly away from the head guard and managed to catch up with him.