The Forest of Aisling: Dream of the Shapeshifter (The Willow Series Book 1)

by D. S. Elstad

  “Dad, it’s ok, I need to go, please keep yourself safe.” I sent the thought into his head.

  “Willow? How are you talking to me?” he asked, looking around as if I was throwing my voice or something.

  “It’s one of my abilities. Bram says their car is dead so I’m pretty sure yours is too. I need to go. You stay here.” I had locked onto his eyes and held firm.

  Dad just stared at me but was then jolted back into consciousness when a huge bolt of lightning hit right outside our balcony.

  “I should go with you, you could use my help!”

  “Not really, Dad, I need to stay focused. If you went I would just be worried about you. Please!” I was screaming within my own thoughts now.

  His shoulders sagged as he nodded his head. “Ok,” he said aloud, “but I’m going to go to the hospital and check on Conor.”

  I knew there was no way I could prevent him from going there to do what he needed to do. He wanted to be there for his father and part of me agreed it was a good idea.

  I ran down the corridor with Dad to the frightened stares of the other hotel guests gathering in the hallway. The sirens had them all looking for answers and now here I was, a wolf, running right in the middle of them. As we passed, Dad told them to get back into their rooms.

  We stepped out into the madness of the night. There was a mix of hail and snow along with sheets of rain. The wind was whipping the trees and bushes into a frenzy, stripping them of their remaining leaves and tossing them everywhere. Dad ran to the car, insisting on trying it. It didn’t turn over. The hospital was about five miles away and the thought of Dad trying to get there in this storm wasn’t sitting well with me. I locked into his thoughts.

  “Dad, get on my back,” I ordered.

  “NO, you’re not that big! I can get there. Go do what you need to!”

  I thought about Grandma and asked her to help me. My mind flashed on the gray wolf of my dreams, the wolf Grandma had become. As I stared at the image in my head, the wolf grew larger. She was sending me a message. Without even thinking I lowered my head and focused all my energy on growth. I let out a small howl and felt myself shift again. Only this time, it didn’t feel as though I was transforming; it felt like I was growing. When I opened my eyes Dad had that frightened expression once more and was now staring up at me, way up.

  I was pretty sure my plan had worked. I looked down at my feet and saw that my two front paws had grown from the size of large dog feet to that of an elephant’s. They were huge. When I approached my Dad I was towering over him. I lowered myself. “Get on,” I ordered telepathically.

  Without any hesitation he pulled himself onto my back. I felt him grip tightly around my neck. Once I felt like he was secure I rose. The rain was pounding down, blinding me with its nonstop torrents. I channeled my hearing to the hospital and made my way there against the storm. The streetlights were all out and most of the buildings along the way were dark.

  I shook my head, dislodging the rain from my face and took off running as fast as I could. I stayed tuned into the hospital but had a hard time connecting to Grandpa’s room. The place was in chaos. The generators were both out and patients were in dire straits. I made no mention of it to Dad; I just needed to get him there and let him do what he could to help out.

  I rounded the curve leading to the hospital entrance when suddenly something connected to my right side, sending me rolling over and over. I landed on my side and shook my head, clearing my eyes. I saw Dad laying about ten feet away, not moving. Above him, standing at least fifteen feet high from head to toe, was the shape of a man. The darkness hid its features but I knew it was a Fomorian. Its hunched-over form was bulky and monstrous and in its hand it carried a gigantic club, the size of a tree.

  It reached down and took hold of Dad’s arm. I lunged towards it and saw its awful features in the lightning flashing from above. Its one eye, bugling and encrusted with Lord only knows what, was focused squarely on Dad. I shot up on my rear legs and opened my mouth wide, taking aim at its sagging neck. I pierced the loose skin with my teeth and clamped down as hard as I could before I felt an awful pain on my back. The club he had been wielding was now pounding onto my body. We both fell to the ground. I released his neck and saw Dad rise and run towards the hospital entrance. That allowed me to launch another attack without worrying about where Dad was.

  I stepped back and bared my teeth as the giant pulled himself up slowly. I felt an instinctive need for survival and allowed myself to get lost in it, knowing that was how I would survive…to let the wolf in me take over.

  The giant let out an angry groan and raised his club over his head. He walked slowly towards me, rattling the very ground with each step.

  A low, threatening growl emanated from deep inside of me. My teeth were still bared and I became aware of the buildup of saliva along with an intense desire to attack. He paused for a second, then lowered his club and started to run. I wasn’t frightened at all; I welcomed the challenge. I lowered my head and inhaled a deep breath, then thrust myself forward. I knew the monster was directly in front of me so, without even opening my eyes, I aimed myself at the pungent stink of his body and opened my mouth, clasping hard onto his right ankle. I heard a snap followed by a painful wail. I held tight even after he slammed the mighty club onto my side, loosening but not releasing my grip.

  I lost my footing after the hit but quickly regained control. I clamped down tighter still, choking back the metallic taste of the creatures blood. He raised his foot and was able to lift me off the ground. He tried kicking me off but that only caused him to lose his balance and fall back.

  The earth shook as he hit the pavement, followed by a deafening roar. He had hit his head with the fall and was now bleeding from the back of his skull. He reached for his club that had slid just out of reach. The pounding rain forced his enormous eye closed which enabled me to lunge forward one more time, unchallenged. I sank my teeth into his jugular vein and held firm. One more desperate moan, followed by a long exhalation let me know I had done him in.

  I pulled back and jumped off the enormous chest, shaking my head, trying to get rid of the awful taste in my mouth. I raised my head high and an uncontrollable howl shot forth from my diaphragm. I had killed. A feeling of exhilaration took over me. I’d always been the kind of person who had a problem with even killing an insect. Growing up with Mom and being raised to respect all living things, I found myself having a tough time dealing with my feelings. The human part of me felt like I had done something wrong by killing the monster, but the wolf part of me was energized by the battle. That part of me recognized the monster as nothing more than a threat to my own survival. It was a case of kill or be killed, and I came to terms with that reality quickly, knowing there was going to be more death along the way.

  I stood next to the giant, shuddering at what had just happened, when suddenly his body grew transparent and he slowly lifted into the air until he was just above me. A whirling mist encircled him and pulled and twisted at his body, transforming it into something unrecognizable; in an instant, he was gone. It was just like the claw that had disappeared in the hotel room. All that remained was his massive club. I went to retrieve the club when I heard Dad from behind me. I spun around quickly to see him running my way.

  “Willow! That was unbelievable,” he yelled in an effort to be heard over the thunder.

  I went over to him and nudged his arm. He grabbed me around my neck and hugged me. “I love you. Go do what you need to do. Be careful! I’ll be right here.”

  I tried to mindspeak with him but wasn’t able to get my thoughts through. I decided it must be because of the energy I had just used in the battle. I simply nuzzled him and whimpered, sure that he knew what I meant. I then turned, grabbed hold of the club, and ran along the darkened streets, making my way to Bram and Quinn.

  “You’re huuuuuge!” Quinn shouted, as he grabbed hold of my front leg, raising my paw, like he was trying to make me shake hands. “H
ow did you get so big?”

  I focused my energy on resizing and within a few minutes stood before him, my normal size and self. I smoothed back my hair and wiped my mouth with my jacket sleeve, hoping there were no traces of blood.

  “I know, it’s crazy! And look at this…” I kicked at the giants club that now lay at my feet.

  “What the bloody…!” he began, as he bent over and tried to pick up the huge weapon. He could only lift the handle end and even that took some effort.

  “I killed a Cyclops and that’s its club,” I stated, feeling more than a little proud of myself.

  While we stood outside in the sanctuary of his patio I outlined to Quinn all the gory details of my encounter with the Cyclops. I’d finally been able to mindspeak with Bram and we decided that I should go and pick up Quinn. We needed to be together and I had so much to tell them about the attack from the Fomorian.

  I shifted once again and urged Quinn to get on my back. He happily obliged. As I ran through the darkness, with the rain and snow and sleet pounding on us, all I heard was his excited laugh and an occasional curse word when I went through puddles.

  In no time we were at Bram’s front door. I’d shifted back and marveled at how easy it was becoming to do so. Aaron appeared at the door before Bram and pulled us both in. Bram was in his father’s office lighting candles and motioned for us to join him. I walked up close to him and grabbed his arm. I told him all about the Cyclops in mindspeak and while I did, he passed the story on to Aaron.

  Aaron came over to where we stood, “Are you ok, Willow, did you get hurt?” he asked worriedly.

  “I’m fine, he did knock me around a little bit but I feel fine. I noticed that after the fight was over I was unable to mindspeak or shift or anything for a while. It lasted about five minutes, kind of like how it was when we were here practicing.”

  “I’m sure that’s how it will be with each of you after an attack. Your powers will need to regenerate, so get yourself to safety if possible until you feel recharged.” Aaron looked very nervous. A clap of thunder caused him to jump. Bram patted his Dad on the back and raised his eyebrows at Aaron.

  “I’m ok,” Aaron assured Bram.

  “Quinn, how did you get away from your parents, or did you tell them?” I wondered.

  “Naw, I didn’t tell them, but I will, after all this blows over. They were fast asleep when I came home last night so I haven’t even seen them. But for now, Kelleigh will help by telling them I stayed over here at Bram’s. Your Dad was ok when you told him what we were going to have to be doing?” Quinn asked.

  “He saw the Cyclops. He’s got a pretty good idea of what we’re up against.”

  A strong burst of hail pelted the window of Aaron’s office, making us all jump.

  “What do we do now?” Quinn asked, verbalizing the question for all of us.

  “We need to get to the Causeway, to prevent the connection of the four corners. The Fomorians are gaining strength by draining all the electricity from the cities. Once they become strong enough they will channel that energy into the lightning we saw on the ancient cloth and try and join the four corners. If that happens…” Aaron stammered as he looked up at the ceiling.

  “If that happens, we’re dead.” Quinn finished.

  “Well, no, hopefully not,” Aaron continued slowly, still staring at the ceiling. “If that happens then we’ll need to try and call to Lugh using the power of the Triquetra, something I’m not sure how to do.”

  Aaron looked to the ceiling once more, “Do you all hear that?” he asked, his chin raised up.

  I looked up and channeled my hearing but could only get static. “Is that an attic up there?” I questioned.

  “Yes,” Aaron and Bram said simultaneously.

  Bram stood beneath the area Aaron was staring at and focused his sight on the ceiling. After a few seconds I could tell he was in the attic visually and whatever he was seeing shocked him. He quickly jolted himself back to where we were and grabbed his father’s arm, pulling him aside. He motioned for Quinn and me to follow him as he left the office and made his way into the living room.

  “They’re here,” he mouthed silently.

  We all stared up at the ceiling of the house, wondering just what it was that Bram had seen. I knew it couldn’t be the Cyclops. If they were up in the attic, well, there would no longer be an attic.

  Aaron began signing questions to Bram about what he saw. He told us that there were four man-sized creatures with greenish bodies, lizard like heads, and clawed feet. He was able to see a large hole in the roof which was obviously how they got in.

  Aaron rubbed his chin while his eyes darted from the ceiling to Bram. He swallowed hard and pulled us all in close around him in a huddle.

  “We must get to the Causeway,” Aaron repeated. “They’re going to try to prevent us from getting there. For now, the most important thing is to get Quinn to the water. If Cyclops and Lizardmen are making appearances, then we can be sure that the Mer-creatures will too.

  “Quinn, you’ve barely had a chance to work with your powers. You need to stay focused and concentrate all you energy on your echolocation. Once we get you to the water, if you have an opportunity, practice it on random objects,” Aaron said in a low voice.

  Quinn was struggling to keep interpreting for Bram and also hold his emotion in check. His face was flushed and his eyes were watery, almost as if he were ready to cry.

  “Yeah, mate, your echolocation is your weapon. Use it like a gun, aim it, and then shoot. It must be that you scan an area after you’ve discovered its exact location–”

  “Then concentrate all my energy on sending my sonar out to it, then BAM! Destroyed! That has to be how it works, right?” Quinn asked excitedly, channeling his inner video game geek.

  Bram smiled and nodded, grabbing Quinn’s shoulder. “You’ll be great!”

  “And I’ll stay in touch with you, Quinn,” I said, tapping my forehead, hoping to add to his confidence.

  As we stood there trying to pump each other up, a series of lightning strikes hit, one after another adding an eerie glow to the living room. Our washed-out, bluish faces took on a frightening appearance with each strike as it illuminated our features.

  A clap of thunder followed by a huge crash drew us all to the living room window. Standing about twenty feet away from the house we could make out the unmistakable silhouette of another Cyclops. It was towering over the neighbor’s once-beautiful ash tree that had miraculously survived the storm from earlier but was no longer so fortunate. The giant threw his club aside after having, in one fell swoop, brought the tree to the ground. He grabbed hold of its twenty-foot-tall trunk, took aim at the house, and, with a sickeningly loud bellow, threw it directly at where we stood.

  “Move!!” Aaron shouted as he took hold of Quinn’s arm. Bram grabbed me and dove behind the sofa with the four of us making it there before the window, which we’d been peering out of just seconds earlier, shattered into a million pieces.

  While we pulled ourselves up, I could hear the pounding sound of the giant’s footsteps as it made its way to the house. Before we even had a chance to say or do anything, another crash sounded in Aaron’s office in the next room. We all turned our heads that way and were shocked to see, standing in the doorway, the gruesome face of the Lizardman that Bram told us about, its slithering tongue lashing in and out of its mouth, tasting the air.

  A low, “Oh my God,” came from Aaron as he tried to pull us all close to himself.

  I looked out the broken window and saw the giant closing in on us. Without hesitation I pulled away from Aaron, ran over to the window and jumped out. I lowered my head and could hear the fiendish laugh of the giant as he saw me. I concentrated on my shift and immediately felt myself change. One more burst of concentration and I had grown. I looked back into the house but was unable to see the guys or the Lizardmen. When I turned, right in front of me was the ugly, smiling face of the Cyclops.

  With a forward sw
ing he brought down his club and landed it on my left side, which sent me sailing across the front yard. I crashed into another tree and felt stunned for a moment. I felt the ground rumble and knew he was heading towards me. I stood up and stretched my hind legs, one after another, and prepared for a lunge. As I was mid-air he leaned and avoided my attack, lowering himself to his knees. I landed a few feet from him and leaped again, jumped on his back, and pinned him to the ground.

  A burp came from his mouth and filled the air with a putrid smell. He tried to raise his head but I held it down with my jaw. It was almost like he was trying to speak but I really wasn’t interested in anything he might have to say.

  He suddenly lay there very quiet which made me wonder if he was dead. I released his head and jumped off his back and sniffed his face. The disgusting creature opened his mouth and belched again, then laughed in my face. He had hold of the nape of my neck before I knew it, and was lifting himself and me at the same time. I was unable to move, he had such a tight grip.

  He held me up in the air like I was some kind of a rag doll and shook me, laughing all the while. His breath alone was enough to make me pass out. He was definitely stronger than the first Cyclops. With a swing backwards he pitched me across the driveway into the cluster of pine trees growing there. Luckily I landed on top of the trees which broke my fall; then I began dropping to the ground as their branches gave way under my weight.

  The rain was picking up again and blowing sideways, making visibility next to impossible. I shook my head and narrowed my eyes just in time to make out the shadowy figure of the Cyclops inching his way to the front door of the house. On top of the roof I could see, reflecting in the flashes of lightning, the shape of another Lizardman jumping down into the hole in the roof. My mindspeak went to Bram.

  “Are you ok, Bram? Another lizard is coming through the roof,” I warned, hoping for a quick reply.