Deacon

by Nicholas Bella

  “What a fuss you are making,” Winston growled. “Just go, you will get dirty as you search for herbs anyway. Stop wasting time.”

  “Yes, Sir,” I said. I tied my long hair with a strip of leather, then began to dress in my breeches and tunic. I slipped on my boots and quickly gathered my satchel and knife before heading out into the forest. A year had passed since I had been ordered by the Alpha to return to Winston. I wondered if I’d still be beholden to Winston once I became a full wolf? If I was to be an Omega no longer, what would I be? Would I be able to refuse him? I knew better than to ask such questions of my Alpha. It was best to wait until the moment presented itself.

  The sun was starting to set as I gathered many herbs and berries. My stomach growled a little in anticipation of a decent supper, which was really the only thing Winston did that I enjoyed. I stuffed the last bit of herbs I’d found into my satchel and before I turned to leave, I got a sense that I was not alone. My senses were heightened over a regular human, but nowhere on par with that of a wolf, yet I knew someone was approaching me.

  “Do not move,” I heard a man say, his Italian accent thick with warning.

  I turned anyway to see who had managed to sneak up on me.

  “Show your hands!” he commanded.

  I slowly raised my hands as I looked at the three men who surrounded me, their arrows aimed at my extremities. “I am no threat. I am only picking herbs,” I confessed.

  “We will determine if you are a threat,” one of the men said.

  “Who are you?” I asked.

  “Hunters.”

  “Well, I am no deer,” I stated.

  “We do not hunt deer,” another man said.

  One of the men approached me and removed my knife from my hand, then he patted me down to search for more weapons. He found nothing else, as I’d only been searching the forest for food. They’d caught me at a disadvantage. Winston had trained me well, but I still had to play this smart as I was outmanned and without weapons when they had plenty.

  “Please, do not kill me. I have done nothing wrong. I have no money on my person,” I said.

  One of the men laughed. “Have you seen any wolves around here, lad?”

  Wolves? They were hunting for wolves. “Not for a while,” I said.

  “We came across fresh wolf tracks and it led us to you,” the one who spoke the most said, and I reckoned he was the leader of this group of hunters. His brown eyes narrowed as he looked at me and he never lowered his bow and arrow, which was aimed at my heart.

  “I did not come across a wolf, sir,” I said, then pointed to a plant I’d just taken the herbs from. “I am just gathering sage and berries.”

  The leader slowly lowered his weapon, then stepped up to me. “Ahhh, but this wolf can turn into a man.”

  So, they knew of my kind and had managed to find their way to my doorstep. I had heard stories of humans who knew of wolves, dragons, and vampires. Who hunted us or who sought to become like us. Wolves were hidden more so than vampires and dragons, but some humans still found out about our existence. I wondered if these hunters had ever killed a werewolf before?

  I laughed. “Are you insane? There is no wolf that can turn into man.”

  “Let us find out if you are one,” the leader said.

  I looked at the other two men who were with him. Their faces were still and as unforgiving as stone. Their eyes keen as they watched my every move. If I had the ability of a werewolf, I might be able to take them, but I didn’t. I had to use my wits, at least to get back to Winston.

  “I am not, I assure you. There is no such thing,” I protested.

  The leader pulled out a coin, one that bared the head of a wolf on one side and when he flipped it over between his fingers, I saw the other was that of a man. “Do you know what this is?” he asked me.

  “A coin of foreign origin,” I said.

  He smirked. “This is pure silver. Something we know harms these creatures you swear do not exist,” he said.

  I knew if they were to place the silver to my flesh, it would burn me. Not as severely as it would if I were a full wolf, but my skin would redden and blister. I couldn’t let that happen. “Wait!”

  “Wait?” he asked.

  “I… I know the creature you speak of,” I confessed.

  “Is it you?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I have seen this wolfman that you speak of.”

  The leader placed his silver coin back into his pocket and pulled out his knife, placing it against my throat. “Are you telling the truth?”

  I nodded slowly, as I felt the blade of his knife biting into my flesh. “I am.”

  “Why lie?” one of his men asked.

  “Because I was afraid.”

  “Have you seen him?”

  I nodded. “He keeps me as his prisoner. I fear that he will kill me one day. I was to gather herbs for his supper.”

  “Why not run away?” asked the man who’d been the most silent.

  “Because he found me. The last time I escaped, he found me and threated to kill me if I ever ran away again. I’ve been trapped by him for years,” I said, then I broke down crying. I fell to my knees on the forest floor, sobbing as a child would. I wanted them to believe my plight and to think I was as helpless as I proclaimed. A broken young man with a broken spirit. If they believed that I was vulnerable, I could save myself from their attack.

  “What has he done to you, lad?” the leader asked.

  “He’s… done unspeakable things to me,” I confessed, because it was true.

  “We don’t know if he’s one of them or not. Test him!” snapped one of his companions.

  I held my hand up to the leader, palm exposed. “Cut me, I bleed. My wounds will not heal like those of the wolfman,” I said. I needed for him to use the blade and not the silver to prove me an innocent human trapped by a vicious, murderous beast.

  He grabbed my hand and sliced my palm with a shallow wound, just enough to see if I bled and if my wound would immediately heal. I winced from the pain, but didn’t pull my hand away. I wanted him to see that I was human. They all looked and when I didn’t heal, he released my hand and I covered my wound with the hem of my tunic.

  “Where is this creature?” the leader asked.

  I shook my head. “He will kill you. If you attack him, he will kill you. You are not the first to attack him,” I lied. I had never seen Winston take on hunters, but that wasn’t to say it had never happened. Still, I was painting a narrative, one to my benefit. I needed to survive this encounter and I didn’t care if they did or didn’t.

  “He isn’t our first monster. We have killed over a dozen of his kind,” the leader said.

  Well, that was impressive. I wondered how. “How?” I asked.

  “We have silver weapons. Our arrows are silver and dipped in wolfsbane, aikinite, which is a poison to his kind. It will weaken him until we take his head. Our knives are also coated in wolfsbane,” he said.

  I could sense that much. It wasn’t lethal to me, but the wolfsbane on the blade he’d cut me with left my wound feeling numb after the slight burning sensation faded. I was glad that they didn’t see any reaction to the wolfsbane when he’d cut me. And thank goodness his blade wasn’t made of silver.

  “We also have a net,” the leader said, then gestured toward one of his men, who patted a sack that was slung over his shoulder. “Pure silver, it will render the beast helpless.”

  I was learning a lot about just how dangerous humans could be to our kind and for us to not underestimate them. “I… I can take you to him, but he may know you are coming. He may hear you or smell you,” I said.

  “Our clothes and skin are soaked in wolfsbane, he will not be able to scent us. It is how we are able to approach these creatures close enough to kill them. If you want your freedom, young man, you will take us to this beast and then get out of our way,” the leader stated.

  Fascinating, I was not aware that wolfsbane could mask scent. I su
pposed that was a lesson I would learn after I’d become a full wolf. I had to make sure I lived long enough to learn more about my kind. These humans were a danger to me, but more importantly, they were an opportunity. If they could, in fact, kill Winston, I would be free of him. I had to play this without error.

  I wiped the tears from my eyes and rose to my feet. “I… I will take you. But he is powerful… it will be dangerous.”

  “We are dangerous,” the leader said. “How old are you?”

  “I am nineteen, Sir.”

  “Old enough to fight for your freedom,” he said, then he reached into his belt satchel and removed a blade. “If by chance we are overtaken by this beast and you have the opportunity, save yourself.” He thrust the blade into my hand.

  “Marcel, can we trust the boy?” one of his men asked as he objected to me being armed.

  So, that was the leader’s name, Marcel. Matched his Italian accent. “I want to be free of him,” I said.

  “No human should be the slave of these beasts. You are not the first human we have come across that needed to be set free. These beasts like to hunt humans, feed on them, rape them. If we survive this, you should join us. Fight for our cause,” Marcel said.

  “To kill other beasts like him?” I asked.

  He nodded. “There are so many like him in this world. Some live in packs while others are lone wolves. They are the easiest to kill.”

  I tightened my grip around the blade he’d given me. This would surely be a weapon I’d like to keep. “Is this blade pure silver?” I asked.

  He nodded. “It’s not as strong as steel, breaks easily, but if you have the opportunity to finish this monster off, I suggest you take it,” Marcel said. “It is also very expensive, so please, be careful.”

  “If so, why give it to me and not keep it for yourself?”

  “Because you are untrained and need every advantage. Now, lead the way,” Marcel stated.

  I finally understood why he had given it to me. I was grateful this wasn’t the knife he’d used to test whether or not I was human. I nodded at the men. Time to play my part. “To catch him off guard, take me as your prisoner. It will still his hand as he will want me alive,” I said.

  Marcel studied me for a few seconds, then he nodded. “So, you will join us?”

  I nodded. “To be free of this monster, to see his blood run cold, I will move heaven and earth.” The words that flowed from me were not a lie, and probably the most honest thing I’d ever said.

  “Such passion, conviction.” He nodded. “Very well, let us go before the night is completely upon us. These beasts get stronger at night.”

  Of course, I knew that to be false, as werewolves were strong no matter what time of day. The only time their strength increased was when they were transformed or on full moon nights. Their half-wolf forms were the strongest of their three forms. Human and wolf being the other two each with their own advantages and disadvantages. I led them back to the cottage where I was sure Winston was either sleeping off the pleasures he’d taken from my body or preparing supper. Either way, he would not be ready for what was coming.

  Before I entered the cottage, Marcel grabbed me from behind, his blade going to my throat again. “Hide your knife until you see opportunity to use it,” he whispered in my ear.

  I tucked it in my breeches, making sure it didn’t touch my flesh, and when one of the men opened the door, the rooms were illuminated with a few candles here and there and the large fireplace in the middle of the great room. “Please, please don’t hurt me,” I whined, because I knew Winston would hear me.

  “Where is he?” Marcel asked. He nodded at one of his men to go searching.

  Before he could carry out his task, there was a blur that shot through the room and I knew Winston was about to kill them all. Their human eyes were not fast enough to see his every movement. They may have killed wolves in the past, but I was willing to doubt those wolves had been over eight centuries old.

  “Where is he?!” Marcel yelled. “Move again and I will slay the human! Be still, beast!”

  I could hear his breathing increasing as the pounding in his chest grew stronger against my back. I had warned them Winston was powerful.

  “You got yourself in a predicament, boy,” Winston said from the shadows.

  “Show yourself, beast!” Marcel yelled.

  I looked at the other two, their arrows aimed in the direction of Winston’s voice. One of them men fired off an arrow and quickly reloaded his bow, ready to attack again. I was impressed by his precision. Again, there was a flash of Winston running and the hunter closest to the fireplace cried out. I turned to see him fall to his knees, blood gushing from the gaping wound in his neck.

  That was when Marcel pushed me to the floor and pulled out a bottle of what I figured was wolfsbane. He uncapped it and when Winston appeared again, he threw the contents of the bottle in his direction, but it missed him. Still, it was spread on the floor and something Winston would have to avoid. More arrows were shot off in all directions as Winston ran around the hunters faster then they could see.

  “Gah!” gurgled the other hunter right before his head rolled off his shoulders. Blood squirted like a geyser from the gaping wound right before the body fell to the floor.

  Now, all that was left was Marcel, and he had his arrow aimed as he made his way around the cottage, looking for Winston. “Come out, coward!” he challenged.

  Winston stepped from the shadows, his face illuminated in the flame of the nearest candle. “You thought you could kill me?”

  Marcel turned to face him and shot the arrow, to which Winston caught.

  “Ow!” Winston dropped the arrow and shook his hand as his skin sizzled.

  Marcel fired off several more arrows, but this time, Winston dodged them even as he moved closer to Marcel. The hunter drew his dagger, preparing for the close combat. Winston was on him, stopping the hunter from shoving the blade in his chest.

  Winston laughed. “How many of my kind have you killed to give you the false belief that you could ever kill a wolf of my stature?”

  “Over a dozen of your kind have fallen at my feet!” the hunter growled out.

  “I will dine on your heart tonight,” Winston said, then he turned the blade of the knife with ease, as the human was no match for his strength.

  Marcel struggled, using both hands to stop Winston from killing him. I saw my chance. I jumped up, taking the blade from my breeches. As Winston slowly slid the blade into Marcel’s heart, I came up behind him, stabbing my wolfsbane-coated silver dagger into Winston’s back between his shoulder blades. Winston cried out, his arm swinging and striking me hard across the face, knocking me down. I rolled several times until I hit the table. My mouth filled with blood, but I smiled anyway as I watched Winston fall to his knees. He turned to me, his eyes wide with fury from my betrayal.

  I stood up and walked over to him, taking the knife from Marcel’s chest. The hunter staggered to the floor and held his wound as he watched what happened next. I took the blade and plunged it deeply in Winston’s chest and he cried out again.

  “For my mother and father. May you burn in hell,” I growled out. When I saw the light go out of his eyes, I’d never felt such elation. My cock was actually hard as I watched Winston take his final breath. He died on his knees and I kicked him over, leaving the blades embedded in his chest and back.

  “You… you did… well,” Marcel said.

  I turned to see him lying on his side, the wound bleeding steadily. I didn’t know if it was deep enough to kill him, but he was incapacitated enough for me to do what I needed to do. I needed to cover up my part in Winston’s death. Wolves would be able to sent my hand on the blade that took his life. I knew that fire was the only way I could completely get rid of any evidence against me. Still, I needed to show that I fought for my pack. That I didn’t let Winston die without supporting him. I walked over to Marcel and lifted him from under his arms and dragged him out of the cot
tage.

  “What… what… what are you doing?” he asked, then groaned.

  “Making sure I survive, as always,” I said, then I took back my knife he’d originally taken from me and I plunged it into his chest, finishing what Winston had started. Marcel’s eyes bulged as the blade penetrated his heart and blood bubbled up from his mouth as he arched from the pain. I twisted the blade and his body jerked before falling limp. His chest heaved no longer, and I left my blade in his body to claim my kill.

  I took a minute to take in everything that had happened. Winston and Marcel were the second and third men I’d killed. And to my surprise, it was easier than I thought it would be. Perhaps, because I had dreamed of taking Winston’s life for so long, the satisfaction outweighed any trauma I might have had. And with Marcel, I didn’t know him and his death meant my survival. To me, that was most important.

  After I took a few more moments of reflection, I walked back into the cottage and looked at Winston’s corpse. His blood was pooling beneath him and his skin looked hard like leather. The man who’d so brutally taken my parents away from me was finally dead and they had been avenged. I was able to keep my promise to make them whole with his death. I spit on his corpse, then walked over to the fireplace. I took one of the torches off the wall and lit it. I went through the entire cottage, setting fire to draperies, the bedding, the table and the bodies, basically anything that would burn.

  I stood in the doorway afterwards, watching as Winston’s body was consumed by the flames, the fire burning the handles of the blades and even melting the silver. When the blaze became too much for me to take, I was forced to stand back. I had dragged Marcel’s body far enough away from the cottage, so it would still be there to take credit for Winston’s death and my heroism. One more thing I had to do was make my tracks fresh. I walked back into the forest, walking around as if I’d been looking for herbs still. No doubt, any wolf who would come out here would want to track where the hunters had come from. I couldn’t risk them tying us together. Of course, he said they were covered in wolfsbane, but I refused to take chances. Once I backtracked back to the cottage, I dropped my satchel full of herbs and berries on the ground. I needed to set the scene to make it look as though the fire had taken me by surprise and I’d caught the culprit trying to escape.