As the Wolf Howls

by Michael Linford

  The path they were following ended abruptly in front of them and instead there were just a few remaining rocks sticking out from the mountains like stepping stones, and on the other side was a small path leading up to a flat sheltered area. Grey Moon hadn’t revealed whether he’d been here before but Black Wolf assumed he had, as he seemed to know so much about the mountains and where the plateau was.

  Although he was old, Grey Moon moved swiftly even in such treacherous conditions as the face of the mountain, and it was no surprise to Black Wolf when his friend appeared to skip easily across the small steps and make it to the other side, leaving Amelia to try to traverse it next.

  ‘Be careful, child, it’s not easy. Just concentrate on your grip and don’t look down.’ Grey Moon offered Amelia some support as he stood on the ledge waiting for her.

  Amelia looked at the steps nervously; all this was such a different world to the one she’d run from in Orgent and she was certain she wouldn’t manage much more. Every bone in her body ached and she just longed to be back home in the comfort of the palace instead of risking her life out here on the mountains.

  Trying to put all thoughts of the danger out of her mind, she reached across and lifted one foot up onto the first step. As she lifted her other foot, she couldn’t help but glance down; the huge drop terrified her. Panicking, she tried to step further but slipped, losing her grip and falling backwards, away from Grey Moon’s outstretched hand.

  Quickly, Black Wolf leapt to the first step and managed to catch her as she fell, pulling her into him and pinning her against the mountain as the cold winds buffeted his back. The shock had made her feel faint, but Black Wolf’s body held her upright.

  ‘Thank you, Black Wolf,’ she said breathlessly, her vision meeting his. He stared deep into her eyes and his gaze seemed even more intense than before.

  ‘I won’t let any harm come to you, Princess, I promise,’ he replied, his lips so close to hers that they were almost touching. Amelia somehow knew that his words were true and as they stood pressed together, she could feel his heartbeat strongly through her chest and again she longed to be held by this enigmatic stranger.

  As she recovered her calmness, Black Wolf helped her climb across the steps until she was able to reach Grey Moon’s hand and step to safety. Before long all three had made it safely to the other side and were ready to continue their trek.

  They walked up the small path and Grey Moon was right; they found themselves on a small plateau, well-sheltered from the wind and with a shallow cave for extra cover.

  ‘You need to rest for a while, Princess. We should all eat to help us keep up our strength, and I need to light a fire.’ Grey Moon was rummaging around in his sack, pulling out some food for all of them and all other manner of strange powders and pastes.

  Amelia laid out the blankets she’d had tied round her, so they could sit down, whilst Black Wolf separated the food up so they each had some. Grey Moon was gathering bits of dry leaf and sticks, building a small fire in the entrance to the cave.

  ‘I don’t think we’ll get much heat from that,’ Black Wolf said as he watched his friend light the tiny fire.

  Grey Moon laughed loudly and it echoed round the cave before he responded. ‘No, my child, you have it all wrong. This is not for heat, this is for directions.’ And he sat down mixing powders before throwing them into the fire.

  ‘Directions? I don’t understand…’ As he spoke, Black Wolf’s sentence was cut short by the patterns that seemed to appear out of the fire before him.

  Where the flame lapped towards the sky, he saw the figure of a wolf emerge, heading straight up before disappearing into the smoke, then what looked like a figure sat round a small fire appeared before him and then vanished.

  ‘How are these directions though, Grey Moon? We need more than visions,’ said Black Wolf.

  ‘My child, sometimes all you need is an open heart and mind,’ Grey Moon replied, before their conversation was disturbed by a piercing wolf howl coming from behind them.

  Black Wolf turned quickly and at the end of the plateau was a beautiful but ghostly looking wolf, sitting still and facing directly up the mountains, as if he was waiting for them to follow him. Black Wolf moved to follow, but Grey Moon caught his arm, stopping him.

  ‘We have time, Black Wolf. We need to eat and make sure the princess has recovered enough to continue — it was quite a shock she had on the mountain. I don’t think we have much farther to go now, our guide will wait for us.’

  ‘It all seems to be about waiting though and I don’t understand what’s happening. I cannot even touch Amelia without feeling sad and my head showing me all sorts of strange visions. I need to know more.’ Black Wolf was starting to become impatient and could no longer hold his frustration in.

  ‘I promise you it will all make sense soon enough, my child. You have come a long way on your own personal journey and I will tell you more once we get to our next destination. Do not fear the feelings or visions, open your heart to them and you will answer your own questions.’ Then, changing the subject instantly, he turned to Black Wolf and said, ‘Let us eat now. We need to start moving again before too long.’

  Grey Moon guided Black Wolf over to where Amelia was sitting and although he knew he would have to reveal more soon, he knew that now was not the time.

  The three of them ate quickly, sitting in their own little worlds, and hardly a word was spoken. Eventually, their silence was broken by another loud wolf howl and Grey Moon smiled to himself as if he was expecting it all along. Having finished his food, he reached into Black Wolf’s sack and removed the box, placing it in front of them.

  They all looked at the box and saw both symbols that were already lit up, now joined by a third glowing symbol. The symbol was fiery red and shaped like a flame, and before Amelia or Black Wolf could say anything, Grey Moon got to his feet and spoke, ‘We must go now, we are very close.’

  Once again, Black Wolf and Amelia both followed him, heading on the next part of their strange journey. The only difference was that this time they were following a ghostly looking wolf who led the way further up the mountains.

  CHAPTER 19

  Lone Wolf sat quietly in his cave, awaiting the visitors that his fire meditations had shown him. The ghostly wolf had disappeared and not returned but he was sure that it wouldn’t be very long before it came back again, and he had the feeling that once it did, his life would never be the same again.

  As he sat staring into his fire, he thought about his life high up in the mountains and how long it had been since he’d had the company of others. Although it had been years, he could remember his time amongst his tribe as if it was yesterday, but whenever his mind turned to those days, the heavy feelings of loss returned.

  In those days, there were many small tribes living separately throughout the land and they were always at war with each other, all desperately trying to be the one major force that could rule the area. Despite being one of his tribe’s youngest members, he had learnt the ancient arts and customs quickly, rising to be a prominent figure amongst his people, especially in battle, and he was a natural at it.

  Gazing into the flames, he saw the familiar faces of his mother and father appear. He thought of them often, full of regret, wishing he could talk to them again. He remembered the day he had lost them so vividly that every time he thought of it, he had to deal with all the raw emotions again. He recalled that morning with ease, as he’d said goodbye to his parents and led his tribe out on a hunt, desperate to secure both food and safety for his people. After a long day’s hunting, his tribe had returned home to find their camp totally destroyed. It appeared as if something had blown through the area, devouring everything in its path and then disappeared without a trace. Without any thought of their own safety, all the returning tribesmen had rushed straight to what was left of their homes and found bodies littering the area. Lone Wolf had run straight to his hut and found the charred bodies of his parents lying next to e
ach other by their fire. A series of emotions had quickly risen up inside him, starting with fear, then shock, before a painful anger caused him to roar towards the sky, with tears flowing down his face. Ignoring the others, he had carried their bodies deep into the forest and laid them to rest in an opening by the stream where they had always loved to walk together. He had said his goodbyes to them and left nature to slowly cover them as their religion wished, hoping they could find peace at last in such violent times. Once he had finished his sad goodbye, he had slowly walked away from the tribe and all the fighting, never once stopping to look back.

  It had taken time for Lone Wolf to get used to living alone, but eventually he had found a peace that he’d never felt before and his self-imposed isolation had served him well. He still used his old teachings to keep up with the tribe’s customs but hadn’t felt the need to surround himself with others again. The art he indulged in most was fire meditation, and through it he had learnt a lot about himself and what was happening in the land around him. The time of war had long since gone and the tribes had all finally found peace as one, but still the scars of his parents’ death went unhealed and he vowed one day he would discover the truth and take revenge. As the sky above him began to darken, Lone Wolf loaded more wood onto the fire and watched the flames rise high into the sky. In the distance, he heard a howl, and he waited.

  Farther down the mountain, the group continued to follow the ghostly wolf. It was starting to get dark and Black Wolf was worried that they might end up stranded on the mountain before they reached their destination, but Grey Moon continued to trek with determination.

  Not wanting to involve Amelia, Black Wolf caught up with Grey Moon and spoke quietly to him as they walked. ‘You know I’d follow you anywhere, Grey Moon, but I’m going to need answers soon. I need to understand all these dreams and the feelings I’ve been having, I’m struggling to keep going with all this dragging me down.’

  Grey Moon could see how heavy this all weighed on Black Wolf’s shoulders and wanted to help, but knew that the time wasn’t quite right. ‘You need to trust me, child. I promise you I will reveal everything as soon as I can, but this is bigger than just you or me. We haven’t got far to go now and then I will tell you everything I can.’

  As Grey Moon carried on walking, Black Wolf waited for Amelia to catch up. He didn’t understand his need to be close to her but he knew in his heart that this must all mean something and he trusted Grey Moon enough to know eventually it would all make sense.

  ‘Grey Moon said it’s not much farther, Amelia, and then we can rest.’ He held his hand out for her, helping her climb the path so she was standing level with him and as their hands touched they both felt the strange energy again.

  ‘Thank you,’ was all she said as she stood facing him, their eyes burning deeply into each other’s.

  Black Wolf moved closer to her, brushing twigs out of her hair, letting his hand linger longer than was necessary. There was so much he wanted to say to her. Unbeknownst to him, Amelia felt the same. She held his hand against her face, tracing his rough fingers gently with hers and slowly leant towards him until they were almost kissing.

  ‘Amelia,’ Black Wolf said breathlessly, and he leant in closer until a voice broke the tense silence between them.

  ‘We are here, I can see the fire,’ Grey Moon called out over his shoulder and it provided enough of a distraction to break them apart quickly and follow the sound of his voice. As they climbed the last part of the path, there was another loud wolf howl, the piercing cry mirroring the strange longing in their hearts.

  The ghostly wolf reappeared from over the closest rise to Lone Wolf’s cave and ran into the fire, disappearing without a trace in front of him. He got to his feet and walked forward, watching as an elderly native appeared before him, closely followed by a younger, stronger looking native, and finally a beautiful looking woman who wore a torn dress but still looked like no one he had ever seen before. The three strangers stood together facing him, the roaring fire between them reflecting in their eyes as the flames continued to leap towards the sky.

  ‘Greetings, I’ve been expecting you,’ said Lone Wolf, not moving from his spot.

  ‘Greetings to you, my friend. I am Grey Moon and this is Black Wolf, we are from the tribe that lives in the lowlands, and this is Amelia, she is from Orgent.’

  Grey Moon bowed to Lone Wolf and held out some food as an offering to their host. ‘I know who you are, Grey Moon, it is an honour to meet you. I am Lone Wolf. If you are here with the princess from the great walled city then I imagine this is even more important than I thought? Please, come sit, I think we have lots to discuss.’ Lone Wolf motioned for them to sit round the fire and the travellers couldn’t wait to rest and finally learn more about these extraordinary happenings.

  The group had been talking for a while as they ate. The fire was still roaring as they had discussed their journey up the mountain and where they had come from. Grey Moon had made Amelia describe events at Orgent, and when she had finished they all sat in ominous silence, each with their own thoughts and questions that needed answering. Eventually it was Grey Moon who broke the silence by addressing the group.

  ‘I’m sure you all have many questions for me and I’m not surprised. I will answer everything and tell you what you want to know, but first I need to tell you what is happening in Orgent, and that’s a story with deep roots in the history of our land.’ Grey Moon made himself more comfortable and spoke slowly.

  ‘In an age where our world was created, the Great Mother bore a child that shared her immense powers. She hoped that these powers would be used for good and left her child to find his own way, but sadly human emotions proved a stronger temptation for he who held these powers than she had expected. It wasn’t long before he became tired of not being allowed to use these powers and then somewhere far back in time, one of the purest hearts turned dark and started dabbling with ancient magic in order to control the lands. This lack of knowledge and ability to control these powers unleashed an even darker force within him, which he lost control of, and this bad feeling seeped into our people, causing all our tribes to start fighting with each other. Many people have fought this evil before but only those who hold the original Mother’s powers in them can banish it. Every time the evil is banished, people think it has gone for good, but all it ever does is lie in wait for another chance to strengthen and then attack again. This is the dark force that has taken control of the great walled city, Princess. These are dark times for us all and it is up to us to save your people.’ Grey Moon stopped talking and took a drink, knowing there would be lots of questions.

  Amelia was the first to leap in and talk. ‘Why attack Orgent though? My people are peaceful and never looked for trouble anywhere. What can we do to save them?’

  ‘There are four parts to our Great Mother’s power, Princess, and these parts have been separated over the years by the magic of the elders, at our Great Mother’s wishes. If one person held the power and was defeated, then we would forever be in darkness, but this way there are four separate chances for the good souls to defeat the evil, and if any of these good souls are killed, then their power comes back in the next life. This is why the evil has to hide and wait; once it can gather all the good souls together then it has a chance to defeat it for good and rule over us all. It has traced one of the four to Orgent and it knows the others will join there to try to defeat it. It never allowed for that one to escape before it closed its walls though.’ Grey Moon looked at Amelia and his eyes said everything she needed to know.

  ‘Surely you don’t mean me? I’ve never even ventured outside the walls of Orgent until now. There’s nothing special about me, I promise you.’ Amelia struggled to understand what Grey Moon meant.

  ‘You haven’t left Orgent in this life, Princess, but in your past you were as native as the rest of us. Your father tried to protect you and your people by stopping journeys to the night world, but sadly this has caused more harm t
han good. I will show you, if you wish?’

  Amelia looked at Black Wolf sat quietly next to her. There was something about him and the fire nearby that was affecting her deeply but she didn’t know why. ‘What’s my father got to do with this?’

  ‘If you had been able to dream, you would have seen what was coming for you, Princess, and learned more of your own history. The medicine made it hard for the power to get to you but also stopped you being prepared for its arrival.’ Grey Moon spoke solemnly; it was hard for him to reveal things to such an innocent as Amelia, but she needed to know the truth.

  ‘I remember dreaming the night I escaped, wild dreams full of fire and sadness. I didn’t realise then, but I do now, that I cannot remember dreaming before then. Please, show me what you can.’

  Grey Moon had started mixing some herbs from his bag whilst they’d been speaking and had made some into a sticky paste. With his finger, he drew a line down her forehead and sprinkled some drier herbs into the fire, awaiting the magic.

  Suddenly, everything but the fire seemed to disappear from Amelia’s view, replaced instead by a vast camp of tents in a forest opening. There was a beautiful green-eyed child sat on her lap, playing with her hair. She was smiling and the happiness she radiated was infectious. Looking up from her lap into the distance, she saw a muscular tribesman with long hair walking towards them. He sat down with them and the girl immediately held out her arms for him to hold her. ‘My beautiful Esmee, I’ve missed you,’ he said, before turning towards her and putting his hand gently on her cheek. ‘Aalym, you are certainly a sight for sore eyes. I hope our little one hasn’t been causing you too much trouble?’ He smiled at her and kissed her passionately on the lips.

  ‘No more trouble than her father is,’ she replied. ‘I’ve missed you, Majila, and longed to feel you close.’ She kissed him again and then everything turned a beautiful bright white.