Wolfsbane

by M. H. Bonham

  In retrospect, having Luna at my side while I took on crazed creatures might be advantageous in many ways, but my constant worry for her safety precluded me from asking her to come with me. Those were my thoughts as she grasped my shoulders with her werewolf claws and pulled me up to a shaky standing position. She threw my arm over her shoulders to support me as she walked and I wobbled towards my bedroom.

  Luna tossed me into bed rather than have me collapse into it. As I surmised, the Tiny House had taken care of the blood and gore and we were left with clean sheets and bedding. I fell deeply asleep before I could thank her.

  ~ * ~

  I awoke to my smartphone with an urgent message binging on my nightstand. My room normally has one-way picture windows with what amounts to blackout curtains—and no, I can’t explain how the Tiny House does that—but today, the curtains were wide open. The sun streamed through the window onto the end of the bed where Luna had curled up in her full wolf form. She looked up at me and wordlessly nudged me back down.

  “Hey, there’s a message from work.” I struggled and tried to get up.

  You are not going anywhere. You are lucky to be alive. She glowered at me with her brass eyes and for a moment, I was reminded of Fenrir. She had some of his expressions, if not his coat color.

  I glanced at my smartphone. “Shit! It’s Monday?”

  Yeah, you slept through the whole day trying to restore the blood you lost. She touched my nose with hers and gave me a tentative lick.

  I stared at the message on my smartphone. “Damn, they want to know where I am. They scheduled me for orientation into DWTF today.”

  Tell them the truth. That you’ve been sick from a fight with a venomous snake.

  “I don’t think they’d buy that.”

  Try them.

  I sighed and knew she was right. I entered the number the text message said and laid back against the pillow. A text message wouldn’t cut it.

  “Winter.” The voice of the cop I despised most answered the line.

  “Uh, I could’ve sworn we passed the spring equinox.”

  “Har, har, Cabbage. Where the fuck are you?” Frank Winter sounded pissed.

  “In bed recovering from a venous feathered serpent’s bite. How about you?”

  “Waiting for your sorry ass to show up. Did you just take a trip to Bolivia?”

  “Actually feathered serpents come from Mexico and Central America,” I replied, knowing it would piss him off further, but didn’t care.

  “What the fuck were you doing there?”

  I thought about it. If I told the truth, he wouldn’t believe me. So I improvised. “I wasn’t there. It came here and attacked me.”

  I have pictures of the wounds if he wants proof, Luna said.

  You did? Smart girl. I smiled at her. “My girlfriend took pics of the injuries, if you want to see them.”

  “I don’t give a flying fuck what you do in bed. Get your ass down here tomorrow for your first real day. Eight am sharp. And if you screw up again, I’ll have you cleaning pixie dust out of the toilets. Get it?” I could imagine Winter turning purple.

  “Yes, sir.” I took a deep breath. That left me with today to find Fenrir before starting work in DWTF. “Eight o’clock.”

  “Don’t fuck up.” He hung up the phone.

  “What’s his problem?” I wondered.

  Luna nuzzled me. Look at the news.

  “Good idea,” I thumbed through my smartphone to the local news. The headline on 9News made me blink: Scandal in DWTF: Sgt. Winter Claims Stopping Gas Attack but Witnesses Say Otherwise.

  Wow, he just got his dick chewed on by a wyvern, Luna remarked after I read the headline. Not unexpected. That asshat has been claiming your work.

  Secretly, I was pleased, but I wondered who stepped up and told 9News the truth. I read further until I stopped at the following lines:

  Both the vampire community and the werewolf packs claim that the man responsible for stopping the toxic gas is Officer Robert Ironspell-Cabbage, as we reported earlier…

  “It’s Cabas,” I grumbled.

  Luna gave me a wolfy smirk, seeing as she was in full wolf form. She had pressed her head against mine to read it along with me. I looked up at her and she gave me a quick lick. You’ve got friends, she remarked.

  “But vampires? I’ve done nothing for the fangbangers, as far as I can see.”

  Didn’t St. Clair give you the Vorpal blade?

  “Yeah, he did. I wonder why, other than he didn’t want his food source taken away.”

  Luna shrugged. Maybe that’s all the reason he needed.

  A knock on the door interrupted us. “Hey Ironspell, how are you doing?” I heard Nana’s voice.

  I grabbed some clean clothes the Tiny House had thoughtfully laid out for me. Apparently it had heard about the rooms in Mengloth and was trying to impress me. “Fine. Let me get decent.”

  You’re more than decent. Luna flashed her teeth.

  Knock it off, I replied.

  She laughed silently, holding her jaws open and waggling her head comically.

  “Come in,” I announced after I got my pants on.

  Nana walked in. “Child, I’ve seen you in your birthday suit. There isn’t anything new there.”

  Humans can be prudish. You wouldn’t believe what a prude Kira was right after she was bitten. You’d think a son of a hippie would be less modest. Luna smirked.

  I sighed. “What’s up?”

  “I’d have you take off your pants again so I can see the wound, but I’m guessing it’s healed by the way you’re standing on it.” Nana considered me. “The others have been filling me in on the Enchanted Forest and I’ve made a trip or two there, myself. How in the gods’ names did those feathered serpents injure you?”

  I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

  “Well, if they injured Fenrir, he’s hurting. We have to find him and get him back to Asgard before the other gods find him.” She looked at my expression. “You don’t want to take him back, do you?”

  I sighed. “Not exactly.”

  “Child, he’ll start Ragnarok.”

  I pulled on my shirt and groaned as my muscles protested. “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about how to keep him from doing that.”

  “Really?” Her arched Elven eyebrow raised. Rather Spock-like.

  “Yeah.” I glanced down at the t-shirt. It was a Warren Zevon shirt that said, Werewolves of London. A gift from Luna. “I think I have a way, but we’ve got to find him first.” I glanced at Luna.

  Luna shook her head. I don’t know where he is.

  He thinks otherwise. We’ll talk later. Our conversation was private, but I felt Nana’s mental touch as we spoke. “Yeah, and if he’s wounded, all the more reason for us to care for him.”

  Nana nodded, satisfied. “Just keep me informed.”

  “I will. In the meantime, we’ll have to find a place for the entire Ironspell brood.”

  “Why not here?” Nana asked. “You said the Tiny House makes rooms as required.”

  Oh, that would be awesome! Like another pack! Luna wagged her tail furiously.

  “Uh…uh…” I began.

  I was saved from my response because that’s when the attack began.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Boom!

  A large explosion shook the Tiny House, throwing me to the floor. “What the fuck…?” I started when another explosion rocked the house. This time, I managed to stay on all fours instead of hitting the ground.

  My bedroom door opened and Tuzren whizzed in. “Hey, somebody’s lobbing fireballs at us.”

  I stumbled out of my room, Luna and Nana at my heels. Sigrún, Li’alla, and Elryn were there along with Tuzren and me. “Hey where’s Duncan and Salazar?”

  “They left for work yesterday.” The Valkyrie looked less than pleased. “Some creatures I haven’t seen before are attacking us.”

  “Hmm. How did anyone find us?” I glanced at Nana.

  Nana shoo
k her head. “They must be more powerful than I am.”

  I stumbled down the stairs between attacks and ran to the nearest window. The others were close behind me. I looked out the window, ready for anything.

  Except that.

  What I could see through the window was several strange monsters, most out of different mythologies. Japanese Oni and Tengu, Ancient Greek Harpies and Hydra, and creatures I guessed were actual Judeo-Christian demons or Watchers. Snow was still falling and had covered the parking lot with about eight inches of snow. Their attempts at taking out the house had been ineffective, but it had created a gigantic puddle that would no doubt freeze once they left and would become a huge ice rink.

  The Japanese Oni towered over my house at about fifteen feet tall. Their red skin and orange eyes glowed hot as they glared at the Tiny House. A fireball would appear between their massive four fingered claws and they hurled fireballs at the house, only to have the Tiny House’s shields take the brunt of their magic. But the force was such that the impact rocked the house. One Oni slammed its fists into the shield, trying to break it, but with each pound, the Tiny House’s force field dissipated the blows, flashing blue and silver beneath the claws. The Oni screamed, showing its huge tusks as the house’s defenses kicked in. Blue fire spread from the house to the Oni’s black mane and caused it to flee in panic. It rolled in the snow nearby, extinguishing the flames. Looking at the other three Oni with it, I could see they had burn marks on their skin and their manes looked in sad shape.

  Not the brightest bulbs in the pack.

  One hydra with nine snake-like heads reared up and spat venom at the house. The shield glowed blue and the poison dissipated on it. In frustration, the hydra screamed and one of the heads tried to bite the shield. The shield sizzled hot and literally fried the head off so it couldn’t grow another head. The rest of the heads shrieked and it fell back, unsure what to do. The harpies flew around and shitted on the shield, trying to damage it, but failing miserably. The Tengu and demons hovered nearby, watching the antics of the others and trying to assess what to do.

  “Well, fuck,” I said, looking at the others, who made it down the stairs after me. “I’m guessing they think we have Fenrir.”

  “Why attack us?” Li’alla asked. “We don’t have him.”

  “Word must’ve gotten out that I’m looking for him.” I paused and stared at the creatures. “With the exception of the Watchers up there, none of these pantheons have an eschatology myth.”

  Elryn had dressed in her armor—black leather with protection runes inscribed all over it. Where she got it, I had no idea, but I didn’t ask her. She shook her head. “Maybe it’s more of they don’t want the world to end.”

  “Well, I think we’re in agreement there. Only I don’t think we need to hand Fenrir back to Odin.”

  “But that was the agreement we made with Odin.” Elryn glowered at me, her moody gray eyes growing dark.

  “Yeah, well, we may be changing that agreement.” At that point, I told them my plan. “But it all hinges on finding the wolf before anyone else.”

  The Tiny House shook again. “They aren’t letting up,” Sigrún observed.

  “Want to come out with me and talk to them?” I asked the Valkyrie as Luna came back downstairs, holding my Vorpal blade in its scabbard in her mouth.

  Sigrún snickered. “You think you’ll have a chance convincing them to go away?”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. But I’ll have a freakin’ Valkyrie at my back,” I said.

  ~ * ~

  I walked out of the Tiny House with Tuzren on my shoulder and Sigrún and Elryn at either side. The Oni were looking annoyed as their fire did nothing but fizzle on the shield and shake the house. I ignored them as well as the hydras and looked up in the sky at the demons and the Tengu.

  The Tengu are creatures from the Japanese pantheons. These Tengu—called karasu-Tengu—stood about as tall as a human. All five had raven or crow heads, wings, tails, and feet with the body of a human. They wore samurai armor and carried katana and wakizashi swords tied in the traditional samurai style. Two of them carried naginata—a traditional samurai polearm. These creatures were notorious tricksters with martial arts skills that rivaled the best sensei. I didn’t want to get into a fight with these creatures, because even with a Vorpal blade, I was pretty sure I’d lose.

  Upon seeing me, the two Watchers flew down and sat on a couple of cars in the parking lot. By the snow amount on them, I guessed the cars had been there for some time. One was a ratted out red Ford Bronco with peeling paint and rust in the wheel wells; the other was a long-in-the-tooth black Chevy Blazer with a primer gray front fender, mostly caked in snow. The Watcher who sat on the Bronco had pale, almost translucent skin, white hair, and pale blue eyes. His angular face held scars from battle, which marred a perfect visage. He wore nondescript camouflage that could’ve been a uniform from a number of different countries, and his black, bat-like wings folded behind his back. He also carried an Uzi.

  The other Watcher wore the same type of uniform and had dark hair and dark eyes. His skin was like that of the other Watcher: white to the point of translucent. His face had no scars, but he did sport a nose that had obviously been broken more than once and set incorrectly. White scars etched his black wings and he was missing parts of the membrane. He held a sword that he laid flat against his thighs. My wizard’s sight told me that it had magic by the strange aura around it.

  Although it was Monday, it appeared that the students and faculty were nowhere in sight. Most likely because of the alchemical toxins, the school was probably shut down for at least a week until they could assess the damage on their staff and their students. That was probably for the best because I didn’t want any civilians getting in the Supernatural crossfire.

  The Oni, upon seeing me, the Elf, and the Valkyrie attacked the shield and got seriously zapped for their troubles. I snickered as I saw them leap back on fire and roll in the snow. They weren’t the brains of the outfit. I was guessing the Watchers and the Tengu were.

  “Listen,” I shouted so they could hear me. “I don’t know why you’re here but you have the wrong place. Go back to wherever you’ve come from.”

  “Are you Ironspell?” The white-haired Watcher asked.

  “Who is inquiring?” I crossed my arms. The Tiny House had loads of defenses that made my wards look anemic. Which made me wonder why it allowed people to steal it. Maybe it found that amusing.

  “I am called Samyaza, and my partner is Azazel.” The fallen angel considered me thoughtfully. “We’re looking for the wolf.”

  “Which wolf?” I asked.

  “The Wolf. The Wolf of Ragnarok.” Samyaza glowered at me. “Are you Ironspell? We know you talked with The Wolf while you were in the Enchanted Forest.”

  “News travels fast,” I remarked. “And yeah, I’m Ironspell, but I don’t have Fenrir and I don’t know where he is.”

  The Watcher rolled his shoulders and stood up, aiming the Uzi at me. “Give us the Wolf.”

  “Are you deaf? I don’t have him.”

  “I don’t believe you.” With that, he fired round after round of bullets at me. The Tiny House’s shield flared with each round, but it held fast. After emptying an entire magazine into the shield, he glared at me. “You will hand over the Wolf, now.”

  “Or what? You’ll waste more ammo or singe your Oni some more?” I sneered.

  One of the Tengu flew down and stood in front of the shield and met my gaze. “Look, none of us want Ragnarok to happen. If you give us the Wolf, we’ll ensure it won’t.”

  I facepalmed. “Are you deaf? I said I don’t have the Wolf.”

  “Swear on your power.”

  “Easy-peasy. I swear on my power I don’t have Fenrir and I don’t know where he is.” I looked at Elryn and Sigrún, who both nodded.

  “Well shit.” The Tengu shook his head. “We knew you helped him, but he didn’t tell you where he was?”

  I shook my head. “Nope.
He thought there were too many ears. I can see he was right.”

  Samyaza lowered the Uzi and stood up. He dusted the snow from his camouflage and glanced at the Tengu. “Come on, birdbrain. Let’s go.”

  The Tengu clacked his beak together. “I think not. I think we should make an example of him.”

  With that, all hell broke loose. Literally.

  Suddenly, we were surrounded by fallen angels, Tengu, Oni, and other assorted creatures from various pantheons. Of course, these were the monsters the pantheons: the red caps, the banshees, chimeras, the Cerberus-like three headed hounds, basilisks, Yeth hounds, and other nasties.

  “Oh shit.” I drew my Vorpal blade and wondered if now was the time to start calling in favors. Elryn and Sigrún had drawn their blades.

  “Let’s party,” the Valkyrie said.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Zaphkiel…Oww!” I began, and Sigrún punched me in the shoulder.

  “We don’t need him.” The Valkyrie glared at me.

  “Excuse me, but I beg to differ,” I said, rubbing my arm where she punched me. “We’re totally outgunned here.”

  “Listen to the Valkyrie, Ironspell.” Elryn looked up in the sky. I followed her gaze. For a second, all I saw was a large flock of ravens flying, chased by a few hawks. Nothing unusual, except, usually it was the ravens who chased the raptors. Then, I blinked. The numbers of birds grew exponentially. Then, they began looking less like birds…

  Valkyries. Thousands of them. And suddenly Sigrún was no longer next to me. Instead, she was in the sky with her people—all of them wielding flaming swords. Valkyries swarmed and attacked the fallen angels. The Tengu attacked, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. Even with their legendary skills, they were beaten back.

  I remember reading on the Internet back before the Enchanted Forest that Valkyries simply chose the slain and didn’t fight. Well, that’s bullshit. Oh sure, they choose the slain, but who do you think rides with Odin and the Einherjar at Ragnarok? Yep, the Valkyries. There’s a reason why the goddess, Freyja, gets first pick of the slain. She and her warriors fight alongside Odin in that last battle.