As the Wolf Howls

by Michael Linford

  ‘Don’t worry, Princess, I have one or two tricks left, trust me,’ he replied. He then looked towards Black Wolf, a tear in his eye. ‘You are a true leader, my child.’

  And slowly the lights made their way up the path, heading to save Orgent.

  CHAPTER 34

  The group had made camp a short walk away from the gates of Orgent, tucked into the edge of the forest. On the journey, Black Wolf had discussed his own fears with Grey Moon about being seen before they had a chance to attack, but Grey Moon had assured him that the last ritual he’d performed would keep them invisible from the evil — if they stayed in the Great Mother’s woods.

  Satisfied that he wasn’t leading all of them to an immediate death, Black Wolf had found a spacious area in the forest nearby, where they could be concealed by the trees but have enough room to plan their next move. In typical tribesman style, they had already lit a few small fires and were cooking more food, whilst the original group of travellers were sat together.

  Black Wolf watched across the fire as Amelia and Tallulah chatted with each other, laughing and joking like a proper family. Although it was lovely to see them so close, there was still a heaviness in Black Wolf’s heart that he couldn’t seem to shake.

  ‘Are you okay, my child?’ Grey Moon said to him quietly.

  ‘I don’t know, Grey Moon. I’m really struggling to come to terms with how I feel about everything. It seems like another age that we were sat in our home talking about dreams, and now these people are here, different but alive, in my world. I have all these feelings but I’m confused; that was then and I don’t know what to do about now.’ Black Wolf’s mind was racing whenever he thought about it, but it felt good to talk to his wise friend.

  ‘You’ve had an awful lot to discover and work through, my child. The only thing I can say to you is that the links to the past are important, but it’s what you want in this life that matters. Tallulah will always look up to you as a father figure, but in this life she isn’t your child. You can make a different sort of life with her; it will happen naturally, given time.’ Grey Moon put his hand on Black Wolf’s shoulder to offer him some comfort.

  ‘What about Amelia though?’ he asked, watching her smile as she spoke to Lone Wolf.

  Grey Moon smiled broadly as he spoke. ‘Aaahh, the princess, now that is different, my child. Forget the past and live now. I may be an old man, but I’m not a fool, I can see how you feel about her. Maybe once this is over you can close that chapter of the past and then you can tell her what she needs to hear. Let our Great Mother guide you, child; it will all work out as it’s meant to, trust me. First you need to lead your men though.’

  ‘Thank you, Grey Moon. You are always such a great help to me. I will make you proud, I promise,’ he said, getting up and heading to the tribesmen.

  ‘You always have, my child,’ Grey Moon said wistfully to himself, rubbing the tears out of his eyes, unaware that Amelia was watching him curiously across the campfire.

  ‘I need you to join me, Lone Wolf. We’ve got work to do, to get our men ready,’ Black Wolf called out over his shoulder.

  Lone Wolf excused himself from the group and went to join his friend. ‘I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier, but thank you for giving me such an important part in your tribe. It means a lot to me.’

  ‘You are the perfect man for the job, Lone Wolf,’ Black Wolf replied. ‘We need to get these men into an order where they’ll be ready for battle, and I know you can do that.’

  ‘We’ll get them ready and this time tomorrow we can sit and feast after a hard-fought victory.’

  ‘I hope so, but remember that during the battle it’s your job to guard Tallulah and Amelia. Let the other men wage the war; you three are the most important.’

  ‘What if I let you down though?’ Lone Wolf said, still worrying about his place in all this.

  ‘You won’t, warrior. I have faith in you,’ Black Wolf said, patting his friend on the back.

  As they reached the tribesmen, they expected to find them either eating or resting. Instead, they were already practising for battle and getting weapons ready. As Black Wolf watched quietly from the cover of the trees, he turned to Lone Wolf and spoke. ‘This might be easier than we thought.’

  After a long time planning strategies and practising their fighting with weapons, the tribesmen were eventually allowed back to their camp, to rest for the night. Black Wolf had been impressed by their abilities and the way that Lone Wolf had taken control of them.

  ‘I’m going to get some rest now, Black Wolf. Thank you for your help. Tallulah can come and sleep near me if she wishes and I can guard her. Just tell her to come and find me; I will save a space for her.’

  ‘I will, Lone Wolf. Sleep well and I’ll see you in the morning,’ Black Wolf said, heading back to the campfire.

  When he got back, none of the others were there, so he got his book out of his sack and started to write down everything he had witnessed in his voyages into the night world since he’d last written.

  ‘What are you writing, Black Wolf?’ Amelia said, returning to the fire and sitting next to him.

  ‘Grey Moon gave me this book before all this started and told me to write down all my dreams and visions…’

  ‘I’d like to read it someday, if you don’t mind? It’d be interesting to learn more about our old life.’ She didn’t want to pry into Black Wolf’s privacy, but was curious to know as much as she could about their history.

  ‘You can read it if you like, Amelia, but they are no more than campfire stories. It’s now that matters,’ he said, smiling at her.

  ‘Well, you’d better not take too long writing and come and join me then,’ she replied. ‘I’m going to lie down and would enjoy your company when you are finished.’ Then she kissed him on the cheek and headed off to settle down for the night.

  ‘I’ll be there soon,’ he called, watching her walk away.

  ‘That is the smile of a soul full of all things good,’ said Grey Moon out of nowhere, as he joined his friend at the fire.

  ‘Hello, Grey Moon. I wondered where you’d gone.’

  ‘Not far, my child. I just walked Tallulah over to Lone Wolf’s camp for the night; I knew you’d want her safe and secure. How are you?’ he asked, sounding concerned.

  ‘I’m worried about what will happen when we reach Orgent. I’ve become the leader of our people so quickly — what if I’m not good enough?’

  ‘You must have faith, my child. I told you back at camp, when we started on this journey, that this was your destiny. I told you once you had learnt more about your path, then you would stand at the head of our people with great power. This prophecy is slowly coming true, and you will lead us like no other. I believe in you.’

  ‘I will try, Grey Moon,’ Black Wolf replied doubtfully.

  ‘What else is really troubling you?’

  ‘I don’t know. I just feel like something is missing but I cannot understand what. I’ve been writing my dreams down like you said, but there are still pieces that don’t make sense to me. It’s like I cannot see everything yet.’

  ‘That’s natural, my child. Your journey has only just begun in some ways. You still have lots to discover, but you will. That is all for another time.’ Grey Moon put his hand on Black Wolf’s shoulder and a strange spark ignited in both of them. Grey Moon quickly stood up and started to walk away, saying, ‘I must rest now and so should you. It will be a long day tomorrow. Goodnight, my child.’

  Black Wolf sat by the fire a little longer, thinking, before he too got up and went to join Amelia. All the time his mind was working hard, trying to fill in the missing pieces. He knew he needed rest; tomorrow would be hard. However, as he lay down, curling himself around Amelia, he kept thinking of the spark he received when Grey Moon had touched him.

  As he drifted off to sleep he wanted to know why he’d seen the tree stump again, only this time he recognised the stranger with the kind face. It was Grey Moon.


  CHAPTER 35

  Everything was eerily quiet behind the temple’s doors. Majila and Kaliam had been walking down corridors for a long time, but there was no sign of life. Although the temple looked big from the outside, it was even bigger within the confines of the great white walls.

  Eventually they reached an area where the corridor widened and rooms branched off from both sides of the walls. As they walked along, they looked into the separate rooms; each had a beautifully carved door that was wide open and inside they could see all the riches of the palace decorating the walls, with huge woven rugs and cushions on the floor. Majila was taken aback by the beauty of the rooms, but his hopes were fading fast at finding Esmee; all of these rooms were completely empty.

  Kaliam spoke as if reading Majila’s mind. ‘These are the rooms for prayers and teaching the children. The largest is at the end of this passageway, it’s not that far.’

  They carried on searching until the corridor turned a sharp corner; when they reached it Kaliam held his hand up, motioning for them to stop, and signalled that they needed to speak quietly.

  ‘Around this corner is a small walkway and the largest room that I mentioned,’ he whispered, before crouching close to the floor and sliding his sword slowly past the edge of the wall. Majila crouched next to him and together they looked at the blade that reflected the view from down the hallway.

  In the reflection, they could see one guard stood at the doorway, facing down towards them. He was standing still, like the others had been, holding his sword across his chest, standing guard over the room. Beyond him, the door was open and they could just make out a large amount of children all sat cross-legged on the floor. They were all silent, but Majila could see from some of the reflected faces that this was out of fear.

  ‘I have a plan, my friend,’ Kaliam whispered to Majila before carefully pulling his sword back. ‘It’ll be safer if I distract him. They know you, but I am just another of the city’s inhabitants. Be ready to act when the guard moves.’ He stepped back and then walked round the corner, in the opposite direction of the guard.

  Majila heard a shout but waited, pressed against the wall, until the guard hurried by, in pursuit of Kaliam. Pulling his sword out from its sheath, Majila bounded forward, silently grabbing the guard and slitting his throat from behind. The blood spurted and flew at the wall, painting a wide arc of crimson against the pure white stone, his body slamming loudly to the floor. Kaliam walked back from the doorway he was headed for and joined Majila, kicking the guard’s body out of his way after taking his sword.

  ‘Well done, my friend. That was easier than I thought. We must move now though; we need to find Esmee.’

  Together they ran along the hallway and entered the room. It was full of children, all sitting silently; they didn’t appear hurt but they were all terrified. Majila scanned the faces in front of him, then he froze as the realisation hit him: Esmee was nowhere to be seen.

  ‘Esmee’s not here, Kaliam! All the children seem to be here but she’s not. It’s too late, they must have got her.’ Majila was beside himself with worry and Kaliam had to grab him by the shoulders, holding him firmly until he appeared to calm.

  ‘Then we carry on further and keep searching until we find her. Do not give up hope — maybe she escaped? If she is still in the temple then we will find her, you have my word.’

  Kaliam moved past Majila, starting to head towards the door at the end of the hallway. Majila stopped him by putting his arm in front of him, and Kaliam noticed the intensity in his friend’s eyes.

  ‘This is my battle now, my friend,’ Majila said. ‘You have done enough. I will find Esmee, but I need you to get these children out of here and find them safety. I cannot have anyone else die in my name, so please take them and go.’

  Kaliam could see that there was no point in arguing with Majila, no matter how much he wanted to stay by his side. He looked back at the faces of the children and knew his friend was right. He looked Majila in the eyes as he spoke, matching his friend’s intensity. ‘I will get the children to safety and then I will come back for you. I won’t let you do this alone.’

  ‘That door leads to a balcony. Follow it to the end you’ll find one last set of steps leading up to the main temple room. That is the only place we haven’t searched. I will take the children out and down the steps to safety, then I will return to you there.’ Kaliam started to herd the children back down the long hallway they had searched along earlier. Once all the children were moving, he followed behind them, speaking to Majila one last time. ‘You are a true warrior, Majila. Somehow, I fear for your enemies more than I do for you. That fire inside you, may it burn eternally. I will see you again soon, my friend.’ Kaliam bowed his head to Majila before walking away, after the children.

  ‘I won’t forget you, Kaliam,’ was all Majila said before heading out through the door and onto the balcony. The cold air hitting him was a huge contrast to the warmth inside the temple walls. He smiled as he took one last look back at his friend leading the children to safety, but his concentration was soon brought flooding back when he heard Esmee’s cry echoing further along the balcony.

  Moving quickly but quietly, Majila raced along the walkway until he saw the steps Kaliam had spoken of. There were two guards visible, one stood at the bottom of the steps and the other was struggling to climb them. As he watched, he saw the guard was struggling because he was pulling Esmee along with him by her arms, which were tied together at the wrists. She was appearing to drag her feet and pull him back but his strength was overwhelming her, and bit by bit she was slowly being pulled up the steps.

  Majila could wait no more; filled with anger, he raced at the lone guard with his sword drawn. The guard didn’t hear the footsteps until it was too late and, just as he turned to look, Majila caught him across the side of his head with the heavy base of the sword’s handle. The guard’s legs buckled and he overbalanced, sending his flailing body over the small wall and hurtling to the stone floor far below, at the base of the temple.

  The guard with Esmee reacted by pulling her harder until they reached the huge doors at the top of the steps.

  ‘Give me my daughter and I won’t harm you, you have my word.’ Majila stood facing the guard, his eyes full of anger and burning like fire.

  ‘You have no power here, native. All you have are your threats and a sword. If you want your precious daughter then come and get her.’ The guard held Esmee by the throat, pulling her backwards through the doors.

  Without thinking, Majila rushed up the stairs after her, crying out as he lost sight of her disappearing through the huge doors. ‘Esmee!’ The name echoed around the stone walls and as Majila reached the door, he felt something solid strike him heavily against the side of his head, and then everything went black.

  CHAPTER 36

  The loud crack of thunder and bright flash of lightning woke the group instantly. Tallulah clung to Lone Wolf, scared by the noise. Black Wolf sat up next to Amelia, alert, sensing that something was wrong.

  ‘This is his doing,’ Grey Moon said, suddenly appearing next to his friend. ‘He has grown even more powerful than I imagined — we must move soon.’

  Another huge crack of thunder stopped Black Wolf from replying, and then a voice boomed out around the forest where they were camped.

  ‘I know you are out there, Princess, and I know you can hear me. My patience has worn thin with your games; come to Orgent and surrender. I’ll make it very simple for you: give yourself up now, or you’ll die and so will all of your people. Starting with your beloved father.’ The stranger’s voice was so loud that some of the tribesmen were searching the forest around them, sure that he must have been hiding nearby.

  Enraged by his threat and panicking for her people, Amelia grabbed Black Wolf and pleaded with him. ‘We must go now — we can stop anyone else from getting hurt, please, Black Wolf.’

  ‘That is what he wants, Princess, trust me,’ Grey Moon assured her. ‘He cannot k
now we’re here because of our Great Mother’s powers. He is trying to get you to react, so then he has us all exactly where he wants us.’

  ‘But we cannot sit here and do nothing,’ she replied desperately.

  ‘We won’t,’ Black Wolf said, his eyes fixated on the top of the path. ‘We will keep him as blind as we can and then we will attack. If he feels we ignored his challenge he will be shocked and forced to make a new plan. That is when we will appear. Tallulah, Grey Moon, didn’t you say about faery charm and their links to nature?’

  ‘Yes, Black Wolf, that is true,’ replied Grey Moon.

  ‘Then make it rain; we need the cover.’

  Tallulah and Grey Moon sat down by the campfire and performed a ritual, which mixed his native traditions and her faery rites, whilst the others watched quietly. As another shard of lighting cut across the sky above Orgent, the rain started to fall, slowly at first, and then it started to pour down from the sky.

  ‘Men, follow my lead,’ Black Wolf ordered, and he used the wet mud around them, painting his cheeks and his forehead first, and then his arms. ‘You said the magic would work if we stayed under cover of nature didn’t you, Grey Moon?’ he asked.

  ‘Yes…’ answered Grey Moon, slightly confused.

  ‘Earth is the heart of our Great Mother’s land; there is no purer form of nature.’

  ‘I hadn’t thought of that,’ Grey Moon replied, smiling. ‘Yes, you are right. That will get you to the city without being seen.’

  ‘Won’t the rain wash the mud away and leave us visible?’ Amelia asked.

  ‘It doesn’t matter, Amelia. We’ll already be there.’

  ‘He needs to see the princess coming alone. That will create a bigger distraction for you,’ Grey Moon said.

  ‘No, it’s too dangerous,’ Black Wolf replied. ‘I won’t put her in danger.’

  ‘They already know I’m coming,’ Amelia said firmly. ‘Grey Moon told me so with his vision — and they’re my people. I want to do this.’