by B. J. Smash
Two wolves charged the tree I sat in, and started to climb it. This seemed rather uncharacteristic of any wolf I’d ever seen. But there was something else about them…the way they moved. Their legs arched in the wrong places.
One of the wolves slid back down the tree leaving deep claw marks in the bark. Lucian wrestled him to the ground and broke his jaw. The other was smooth and steady as he climbed. When he reached me, I couldn’t move. I was in shock at the way his head shook with fury…it seemed to vibrate. The moment was so unreal. He grabbed my bow with his unnaturally large mouth and let it fall to the forest floor. It wasn’t until he went for my leg that I snapped out of it. I kicked his head with such force that he flew back into another tree, and slid down the trunk. He was either dead or unconscious.
Another was headed for Solstice, and as the wolf lunged at his back, I jumped from the tree and tackled him mid-air. I growled like some wild animal from the jungle. Grabbing fistfuls of hair, I head butted him as we landed on the hard ground. We rolled around and I used all of my strength to hold his mighty jaw away from my throat. Finally, I was on top, and I held his head to the ground, but his claws scratched my legs, ripping my leather pants. There was no way I could hold him for long – not with my upper body strength. I had to involve my legs somehow. He scratched my chest, and my arms – deep gashes formed, and they burned like acid had been poured over them. Soon, we were both on our sides.
I shifted my position, and used my abdominal strength to pull my legs up, and I wrapped them around his neck and squeezed. And then…SNAP. His neck was broken. As I left him behind, I could hear something crackling, like it was decomposing fast. The smell was horrific, like rotten vegetables, but I didn’t have time to look back.
They continued to show up – more and more. I managed to gather my bow and arrows, and then did a somersault and landed on my feet. I assessed the situation. A wolf was on Solstice’s back, and one clung to Lucian’s arm with his teeth.
Whipping my arrows out, I put two at the bow. In the past, this would have been tricky. However, Drumm made me practice with arrows almost daily. I mentally focused on the path that I wanted both arrows to take. It was like drawing an imaginary line from me to the target. I pulled back and both arrows traveled at top speed. They separated and each went their own way and plunged into the hearts of both targets. Exactly where I had mentally aimed them. Drumm could do this with up to four arrows, but I hadn’t managed to pull that one off yet.
I loaded the bow again, and was about to hit two more of the enemy, but was interrupted with a bang, bang, bang, as shots were fired. This was our saving grace. I suddenly felt weak, and dropped my bow to the ground, and prepared to relax. Big mistake. One of the wolves came out of nowhere, and picked it up with its frothy white mouth and hightailed it to the forest. I wanted to go after him, but I was too injured, too weak, and too shocked. The rest of the wolves fled into the forest, yipping and howling as they retreated.
“Great. Now I don’t have a bow,” I said aloud.
I fell to the ground on my knees, and breathed heavily. Many areas of my body burned and stung. Blood dripped from my numerous wounds, and all I could taste was iron. I felt lightheaded. Lucian ran to me, and knelt beside me. He scanned my body for wounds, and then he picked me up, and carried me to a great oak tree.
“Ivy. Listen up. You are bleeding badly. You need to do that thing that you do – use the trees energy to heal yourself.” He took off his ripped shirt and held it to my chest. Blood oozed from the gash.
I noticed that he too had wounds; one on his leg and a big gash to the arm. But he was a hellhound. His wounds were already healing up on their own. He probably wouldn’t even need my assistance.
Tears fell from my eyes as I thought of the death of the wolves. I couldn’t believe that they had attacked us in this manner. Wolves just didn’t do that. Something was off kilter.
Voices could be heard coming our way. Foul language. “Those bloody bastards got what they deserved. I’d like to have shot a few more! Stupid bastards.” Tom was yelling and screaming.
“I will rip their throats out if they come back again,” William tried to sound tough.
“Yeah right. Maybe next time you won’t hide behind that girl,” Tom said.
“Whatever Tom,” William grunted and swore.
When they arrived, Tom said, “Shhh William. We have a lady present now. No more swearin’.”
William straightened up. “Oh.”
They stared at me momentarily, and I tried to focus on Tom, but I was weak and my breath labored. I had to align my back to the tree and begin the healing now, or I would pass out.
Forcing myself to sit upright, I pushed my back to the trunk. Instantly, the tree’s energy pulled me in. We were now one as our energies mingled together. Warm currents encompassed my body, and my toes felt as though they were being held over a fire. I must have been hurt pretty badly, and I would have to remain here all night.
Finally, Tom spoke but he sounded far away. “She doesn’t look too good. Poor girl. I tried to get here sooner, but we’s fighting them off ourselves. I had me a silver hatchet swinging every which way. Man they hate those suckers. Then I shot some with my gun. Silver bullets is worse than a silver hatchet any day.”
“I killed me two,” said William. “With some help from Ella.”
“Silver bullets?” I managed to say.
“What did she say?” Tom asked. “Oh yes, silver bullets. We brought some with us. Me mam always makes us carry silver bullets. That’s all we own is the silver kind. She’s seen one, too many crazy things in her time.” His beady eyes, looked me up and down. I could tell by his scrunched up face that my wounds were bad.
“She’ll be alright,” Lucian said.
“What is she ah….doing? At the tree?” Tom asked.
“She’s elven, duh, Tom. She can heal herself using the tree. Some of them have that gift you know,” William explained for me. I don’t know how he knew this, but I figured his “mam” must have told him. I couldn’t help but wonder how much she knew about the elven.
My mind was still on the other subject. “Tom. What do you mean by silver bullets? Why silver?” I asked.
“Um…Ivy. Take a look.” Lucian moved aside so that I could see past his big bulky body. The sight before me was not what I expected to see, and I leaned over and vomited. Twice.
The bodies on the wet, dank ground were not those of wolves. They were human bodies.
“Werewolves,” Tom simply explained.
“Werewolves.” William nodded his head in agreement.
Lucian turned back to me and took my head in his hands. His big brown eyes failed to calm me. “You didn’t know. You did not know they were humans. And they tried to kill us. Don’t you dare…even for one second…blame yourself.”
I tried to nod my head but it wouldn’t move. Instead, I leaned it back on the tree and closed my eyes. I tried to pretend this wasn’t real and that it was all a dream. But I could smell the blood, and the ripped flesh caused a great stench to fill the air.
No. This was not a dream. And I would never be the same again.
***
The next morning, I awoke at the base of the great oak. The birds were singing and the sun was rising in beautiful pink clouds with a tinge of orange at the edges. Everything was peaceful and pleasant; almost like I was on a camping trip with my dad or something. It was almost as if nothing bad ever happened last night. Glancing around… I saw no bodies.
I must have passed out while Tom and William were here. They must have cleaned up the dead bodies and hopefully buried them. I almost wanted to see them again, just to make sure they were real. Because what I had fought last night, had not been human at all.
“Good morning.” Lucian walked up to the small fire he had built. On top of the wood was a borrowed pan with a fish sizzling in the center. Next to the fire sat a portable sterno stove with a coffee pot over the top.
“Tom and William though
t you might like to have a real breakfast. They lent me their pan, and a can of sterno cooking fuel.” His face lit up with amusement. “They are really worried about you but I explained to them that you’re pretty tough.”
I didn’t feel tough. I felt like I wanted to crawl back home and hide in the branches of one of my own trees.
“I don’t like it here,” I said. But what good would it do to complain? Why had I even just voiced my opinion? It was plain and clear that Izadora knew dang well that I’d be put into this situation. Thinking back…it was me that she told to be careful. She hadn’t said it to Drumm. She must have known I’d be coming in here without him. I wanted to punch something, but instead a tear escaped my eye.
I reached up and swiped it away before Lucian could see it.
As I thought it over, I realized something—it wasn’t Izadora’s fault that I decided to let the pixie’s go free. That had been my own decision. Even Drumm had been reluctant to help me. He just didn’t want me to do it alone. Regardless, I am glad we set them free. I would do it all over again.
“There is not much I can do about that. I don’t like it here either, but I will make sure you get out of here alive,” Lucian said. His wounds were healing up nicely. They were nothing but giant scratches. He brought me a cup of coffee, and a piece of fish on a paper plate.
“How do Tom and William carry all of this stuff? They have coffee pots, a pan, and paper plates?” I said.
“William has a bag full of goodies. I have no idea what else is in there. Probably chocolate bars,” Lucian laughed. It was apparent that he got a kick out of those two men. He sat down next to me with a cup of coffee. “Your wounds have healed quite a bit. Probably won’t even have a scar.”
“I can’t feel any more pain or stinging. I’m a bit stiff but that’s it.” I looked down at my chest and noticed the gash really had been healing up fast. My white tank top had been torn to shreds, and I tied the bottom in a knot exposing my stomach. I hadn’t brought another shirt. My suede pants were ripped at the knee and the thigh, but I didn’t have any other pants either.
“So…what did you do with the bodies?” I nibbled at the fish. I wasn’t hungry but I knew that I had to eat something to keep my strength.
“We buried them. Out that way…”and he pointed behind me, “there is a small field.”
I put the fish on the paper plate and set it down. “How did you dig the holes? William has a shovel too?” I asked incredulously.
“You always seem to underestimate me. I’m a hellhound, remember? I dug the holes within thirty minutes.” He picked up my paper plate and handed it to me. “Eat this.”
Taking the plate of fish from him, I forced myself to eat three more bites. “What did the bodies look like?”
“Are you sure you want me to answer that?” he asked.
“I need to know.”
“There were two women and the rest men. The bodies were already decomposing fast. And let’s see…nah that’s about it. Just dead bodies.”
“Just dead bodies? They used to be real people,” I said, getting mad.
“They were trying to kill you. It was either you, me and Solstice…or them. Get that through your head,” he said a bit harshly, but I knew why he said it that way. It was the only way he was going to get me to understand his point.
“Okay,” I said.
“Tom says that they will probably be back, and we should all stick close by each other. That way we can help each other out,” Lucian explained.
“I suppose that makes sense,” I said.
“He also said that only silver can kill them. Cut their heads off with a silver hatchet, or shoot them with a silver bullet. Or silver arrow tips. Like yours.”
“Drumm always puts silver tips on the ends of the arrows. He never travels without them. Now I know why….” I paused and scowled. I didn’t have a bow anymore. My arrows were of no use to me now.
“Just in case you run into werewolves,” Lucian finished my thought.
Izadora nor Drumm informed me there’d be werewolves and I had no doubt that Izadora somehow knew about them.
“It amazes me. Why don’t they ever tell me these things? Even Ian said there were no such things as werewolves, and then he changed his mind. They always keep things from me!”
“I know you haven’t realized it yet, but it’s because they all want you to live in a fantasy world. They don’t want to burden you with the heavy stuff. They tell you things on a need to know basis,” Lucian said.
“Well I hate it,” I whispered. I was sick of it. Ian, Izadora, and Drumm treated me like a little child. Plus, they put my life at risk.
“I know why they do it. And in a way, I understand. But I promise you this…I will tell you things. I will never keep anything from you. I have faith in you, and I know you can handle stuff. They don’t give you the credit you deserve,” he said plainly.
He stood, walked to the fire and kicked dirt over it to smother the flames. As I watched him, I realized that Lucian really did respect me; and I respected him too. Wasn’t that supposed to be one of the key ingredients to a perfect relationship?
Chapter Thirteen
We rode Solstice about four miles through the forest. Some parts were thick with trees and swampy areas, and certain areas had wide open fields full of wildflowers. We made our way over and around many steep hills filled with thorn bushes, and this is what caused the traveling to be slow and tedious. Now and then, Lucian would have to walk before us, breaking the branches and whacking them with his knife. When the sun was right above us, we came to a field full of red tulips. Row after row of the most beautiful ruby red flowers, as far as the eye could see.
“Wow,” I said quietly.
“This is amazing. This is a tulip farm…someone planted these here,” Lucian said. He slid down from Solstice and picked one and handed it to me. “Put this behind that pretty elven ear.”
I laughed, and did what he said, putting it behind my right ear.
We walked on between the slender rows of tulips. Occasionally Solstice would trample some to the ground, but it couldn’t be helped. He was too large to miss them all. I suggested that we head back into the woods before he killed anymore flowers, and we made our way into the forest. I checked the sun and the sky to make sure we were still heading north.
On and on we went, only stopping once at a peaceful stream so that the horse could drink and rest. We both ate a jackfruit chip, and continued. After about another four miles, we came to an impasse. A giant rock wall stood before us, and a steep cliff to the right of us.
“Looks like we have to back track, and go west in order to get around this mess,” Lucian said.
“It seems like we are never going to reach our destination,” I said. “And what if someone else gets there before us?” My patience had been growing thin over the past couple of hours, and the need to get there fast was starting to obsess me. I felt on edge, and Lucian was getting the brunt of my bad attitude.
“It’s not like we’re dilly-dallying. No one is getting through here fast. And since we’re not allowed to fly, our best bet is to take it easy and travel cautiously. Unless of course, you’d like to fall to your death over one of these cliffs?”
“I suppose your right,” I said.
He had a good point. Nobody could possibly be getting through here any faster than we were. We were probably ahead of everyone else anyway. Still, I had a feeling we should make haste.
“You know, before Drumm and I left, Izadora mentioned something about Gemini. She had been staring up at the stars, and I think she was trying to hint at something. But for some reason, she could not tell me outright what she was talking about.”
“Gemini, huh? The constellation?” he asked.
“Yup,” I said.
“Well, the queen told us to head north. So, we know which way we need to go. Maybe Izadora was trying to tell you what direction to take by looking at the stars? I don’t know why she’d say that. She’s a st
range old lady sometimes but don’t tell her I said that,” he said while looking around him.
“Izadora was acting strange that night. It was almost as if she was afraid that someone was watching us…spying on us. Maybe it was Izaill? But whomever it was, she did not want to speak to me. That is why I am so clueless. I don’t know anything about this race, other than I am to get a djinn bottle, and head north. Do you see why I get sick and tired of Izadora? There is always a secret. Something she can’t tell me.”
“I get it. But what if she really was being watched, and if she told you the secret…the person listening would hear, too.” He walked beside me as I rode Solstice. “I guess my point is this…maybe you underestimate Izadora. She must think you are smart enough to figure out what she was talking about. She must think that you are capable of getting the djinn bottle. Maybe she shelters you sometimes, but perhaps this time, she wasn’t sheltering you after all. Maybe she couldn’t tell you.”
He had a point. But who could have been watching her?
“Did Ian say anything to you about the race?” I asked.
“Nope. He doesn’t remember the page he ripped or spilling coffee on his book, either. He said Izadora was the last one to have that book. He just told me I would be winging it,” Lucian said.
It didn’t surprise me that Izadora had had the book last. She might have been the one to rip the page. But why?
We backtracked about a mile and went west to get around the cliffs. While we were traveling in a ravine, we came across another member of the race. The heavy man with the whip.
I couldn’t stop my teeth from grinding together.
“I swore if I met up with this man – I would take that whip that he uses so freely,” I said. “That horses behind must be getting sore.”
