CHAPTER FOUR

Luna

One second I was looking at these two men standing almost at opposite ends of the clearing, the next minute they are clashing swords in the middle of the clearing, I didn’t even see them move, it’s like am looking at the mirage left behind long after they have gone, I didn’t see a sword on either of them before this moment either, they must have hidden it in some way, anyway this confirms my earlier suspicions, that my vile captor was simply messing with me how amused he must have been, I was doing everything I could to survive and the only reason I was still alive was that he deemed it so, at this moment I am so angry and already over this night of horrors. I just want to go home, oh no!

My family is probably still asleep, they don’t know anything! Oh crap I need to go back, I have to go back to get them out, protect them somehow, I can’t even protect myself and I may be leading danger to them I think but it's better they are aware of what’s going on than for them to remain in the dark and for them to keep wondering what has happened to me, all this time the hounds haven’t moved an inch.

The two men in the clearing are in the middle of a very intense fight, the likes of which I have never seen or experienced as a fighter, Parrish has a look of intense concentration on his face, the other guy is smiling and it’s the same ghastly smile he’d directed at me earlier tonight or is that yesterday? Great I get the honor of dying on my sixteenth birthday, how wonderful.

I hear a howl from the hound in front of me and realize these are wolves, not wolf-dogs like I originally thought, their hackles have risen and I look towards the fight to see that Parrish was on his knees before the other guy, his sword broken into pieces and a terrible cut on his left shoulder, one that has the flesh hanging with only a strip of skin still connecting his entire left arm to his shoulder, I almost retch at the sight.

The only sign of the pain Parrish must be in is a stony visage, he is defiant as he glares at the other man, then he smiles cheerily, and as if that is some kind of signal the wolves launch themselves at the man, all except the wolf in front of me and Parrish himself, who gingerly picks himself up and walks towards me calmly.

My breath hitches, what does he want with me now I wonder. ‘Apologies my lady for this unsightly meeting, I was delayed in getting to you. You have nothing to fear anymore however, we must leave, these warriors will only buy us a little time and as it is I’m afraid it may not be enough, let's pray daylight arrives faster today that may be our only saving grace. Otherwise, it’s been incredibly nice meeting you in this short time, then he smiles like he didn’t just tell me that my chances of dying tonight are the same as before he intervened.

I don’t say anything because my mind is racing, I test the unseen bonds restraining me, they have loosened which is great, however, I have seen how fast this guy is, I have to think carefully before making my move, he is as crazy as the other one.

So I decide that being a bit talkative would be best right now, ‘what are you anyway and doesn’t that arm hurt? I ask interjecting concern into my voice even if my legs are shaking like leaves in the wind.

He glances at the wound and frown as he shows it to me, it is nearly healed, ‘that is impossible’ I breathe, eyes wide in shock as I meet his eyes, they glow with warmth and pain yet he smiles at me, a quick smile that doesn’t reach his eyes and shrugs as he looks behind him to see the state of the on-going fight. I follow his gaze and see that more than half of the wolves have died and another quarter is lying wounded on the ground and this evil guy is smiling garishly the entire time, Parrish turns to me his face stony again, and he motions to me.

‘We must leave now, is there anywhere you know that we can bunk till morning around here? He asks me, why is he so calm? I wonder but then when I think about it, I realize he probably isn’t, he is probably going through all sorts of thoughts.

‘Who is he?’ I ask, nodding in my captor’s general direction, Parrish clenches his mouth and I can practically hear his teeth grinding together, he doesn’t want to tell me, he seems rather conflicted about it. Eventually, he bites out ‘no one you need to worry about just yet, let’s get out of here first’

‘No’, I say as I stand my ground, he looks at me in surprise, then, ‘you want to stay so you can die?’ he asks me incredulously.

‘No I don’t want to die, but I also cannot leave without my family, I know the way home from here, I must go to them for their own protection, this thing whatever he is cannot be allowed to get so close to them again’ I say all this while still trying to follow the on-going fight and all I can say is Parrish was right, all those wolves are going to die while we stand here as if their sacrifice is nothing to bat our eyes at.

I want their brave sacrifice to really count by also ensuring the safety of others, doesn’t count that the ones I want to save are my family members. What I am not really saying is that I will not be going anywhere with any one of these individuals. I may be disgusting slow and fragile as a human, but I am a persistently stubborn girl; I’ll keep going until I get what I want.

He breathes out through his mouth in exasperation no doubt, and looks at me, ‘I get the feeling you trying to delay and that is something I cannot allow, believe me when I say your family is completely safe and sound where they are, safer than the rest of us in this moment and place’ then he leans in to grab me, I let him, I know he thinks me fragile and I am compared to him but that also makes it easy to manipulate him now.

As long as he keeps up the good guy charade, he won’t hurt me, at least for as long as am useful to him. I let him pull me to him without any form of resistance, my face is a bit cloudy but I am in an unfamiliar situation, one that is very disturbing for me so it is allowed, I am allowed to look troubled. The last wolf that has been standing guard with me is on his side, while I walk at the very edge of the fall.

The moment he turns around to check on the on-going fight where only two wolves are left facing off the vile creature that calls itself my father, I simply let myself fall off, so quietly that it must have taken him a few seconds to figure out what I’ve done, anyway as I hurtle towards my seeming death, I am more concerned with staying alive than seeing if I am being followed.

As my body nears the water, I tuck in all my extremities because I expect the water to be cold and for my momentum to cause the river to hit me like a pile of rocks, I hit the water and am pushed down into the depths, rather than struggling to find my way up I simply allow the water to do its work, I hold my breath while the water pushes me up and out, then I immediately begin swimming towards the other side of the river while keeping my movements small and barely detectable.

So as to prevent quick detection by anyone watching, I try to go with the flow of the tides, I am losing feeling in my hands and feet due to how cold the water is, but I keep moving until am almost at the water’s edge, then I hear two splashes farther down from me, but it is still much too close for my liking.

Praying to all the known deities, I pull myself from the water slowly, oh so very slow. I am shivering badly now but I cannot afford to stop here, once I am fully out of the water I try to step only on grass rather than the soggy earth that would make tacking me easy. In my head, I am silently thanking all the nature nuts who taught me all these tricks during previous summer camps.

Once I am deep into the woods with no tell-tale signs of pursuit I begin jogging, it is painful and I am wheezing, my breathing is already shot to hell, but I know that if I stop I am playing with the results of hypothermia, I pick up speed the closer I get to the property.

I am hoping beyond hope now that someone would notice me without me having to cause a racket that might bring unwanted attention down on us. Maybe it’s because I am so alert to everything at this time that I sense that the silence behind me is not a natural one, I am being followed steadily, guess I didn’t lose them like I thought I had after all. Then again hope is fickle.

Suddenly the mansion is looming in front of me, relieved I put on another burst of speed, thanks to all that training for track in school, my legs are very good for running, by the time I burst out in front of the house proper, I skid to a halt, the wolf that was guarding me is at the front door, and right next to it is my best friend Frank Townsend.