Chapter 14

I squatted in a kneeling position with my eyes closed as I prepared my mind for the fight ahead. Tonight, Brant would become a beast and attack the village again. I would be his main target. I had slowly, but totally, destroyed his authority in the village. He had gone from being feared to being despised by the villagers. He would attack any in his path between him and me. I would have to try to keep his focus on me, keep everyone safe. By the end of the night, one of us would be dead. I only hoped I could survive.

When I opened my eyes the sun had gone down, and the moon had begun its rise. The attacks occurred when the moon was at its highest point in the sky. I had some time; I collected my gear, and headed downstairs. The others were sitting at the table; the tension could be cut with a knife. I could see the worry on their faces; Liza and Trina were in tears. Trent and Carl were trying to calm them down, while the rest sat with hard looks on their faces.

I stood before them and said, “I am going to head into the village. Trent and Clive, keep an eye on the doors, they have not been replaced with the Teaka wood. Use whatever you can to brace the doors and keep yourselves safe! No matter what!”

They all nodded, and promised to keep inside and to stay safe. I nodded to them before heading out the door; behind me, I heard them bar the door. With my bow in my hand, I made my way into the heart of the town. Soon the moon would be at its apex, and the violence would begin. I made my way to the town square. From there, I could intercept Brant before he hurt too many. I looked around quickly to find a spot that would allow me good coverage with my bow. I found a spot on top of one of the small shop stalls which would allow me to have the perfect vantage point. I sat in wait, as the moon slowly rose in the sky, its color turning from white to red as it rose higher. Soon it was a light shade of red, and growls started to come from deep inside the forest. They started getting louder and louder as the moon rose higher. When it rose to its highest point, its color red as blood, a loud howl emanated from the forest. I drew my arrow and kept my eyes on the gate. I could hear growls approaching the village fast.

Realizing that the guards were in danger, I yelled, “Get away from the gate! It is coming, fast; you need to get to safety!” The exterior guards came through the door, barring it behind them. Then all of them made for the nearest guardhouse, trying to bar it closed before the beasts got to the village. Just as they got inside, something began colliding with the gate. Large growls were coming from outside; it viciously collided with the gate, trying to force it open. It could not withstand the onslaught, and soon it would splinter into a thousand pieces.

I readied my bow, an arrow aimed for the gate, when the unexpected happened. Screams were heard in the market, along with growls of an animal. There were still more wolves than just Brant! I jumped down and ran as fast as I could to the market, I could hear the frantic screams of the people living there. As I arrived, I spotted two of them, one was attacking the iron seller, and the other was trying to get into Ruben’s house. The other was a more obvious threat as the wolf was after Violet, no doubt. Both were mostly obscured by stands, and both were on the verge of breaking through to their targets. I did the only thing I could think of, I ran to the main path and yelled out to them.

“Leave them alone you pathetic mutts! You want to kill someone. Why not try to kill me?! Unless you are too scared!” That did the trick; they stopped their attack and immediately started running at me.

Since Ruben’s shop was on the far side of the market, and the iron seller was closer to my end, I could concentrate on one at a time. The closest jumped out into the path and began to run at me. It was not as large as Brant, being about waist height, and had gray, patchy fur. It did not seem to know how to run quickly, giving me plenty of time to prepare. I tossed my bow to the ground beside me; it would be useless right now. As it got closer, it lunged at me, his jaws opening in a snarl. I saw my chance and grabbed it by the throat, making sure that its front paws could not scratch me. It snapped its jaws at me furiously, trying to bite my arms. I did not have much time before the next one would reach me, so I quickly punched it in the head, using all my strength. The blow left the wolf dazed, allowing me to grab it by the neck and by the rear. I then used all my strength, bending the wolf like a twig until I heard a snap. The wolf howled in pain as I continued to bend it, then I heard a delightful snapping sound and the wolf went limp.

I tossed the wolf aside as the other wolf reached me; unfortunately, I was not in time to keep it from lunging at me. I was barely able to keep its jaws from sinking into my shoulder, as it forced me to the ground. I used all my strength to keep its jaws at bay, its sharp claws tearing at my arms to get free. It was larger than the last one, and had a light brown coat. One of the wolf’s teeth was missing, just like the tall man that guarded Brant’s home. It was taking all my strength just to keep it at bay. It shifted its weight, to try a break free and gave me the chance to get my feet underneath it and flip it off me. The wolf landed in a stand with a resounding thud, a cry of pain came from the beast as it tried to get back on its feet. Taking the chance given to me, I ran at it and jumped on its back. I wrapped my arms around its neck and began to squeeze. It frantically tried to get me off, jumping around to get me to let go. I used all my might to squeeze harder; I could feel the fight slowly leaving the wolf. I continued to squeeze harder and harder, until the wolf slumped over from exhaustion. Taking the opportunity given I grabbed the wolf’s skull and gave it a sharp twist, breaking its neck.

I looked over to where I had tossed the first one, and in its place was one of Brant’s lackeys, his body bent at an unnatural angle. In front of me the other wolf was slowly reverting to his regular form, blood was slowly oozing out of his mouth. At that moment I heard a large crash. The gate had finally succumbed to the onslaught; Brant was now in the village. I grabbed my bow from where I had thrown it, and turned to make my way back to the square.

Behind me I heard, “Davik, wait! Do not go!” I turned to see Violet running towards me, her parents frantically calling her to get back into the house.

I yelled to her, “Violet, get back into the house now! I will come for you when the attack is over, now go!”

She continued to run towards me, when she stopped dead, a look of terror on her face. I turned to look where she was staring, and saw Brant’s wolf. It had a feral look in its eyes, and its sights were set on her. Quickly, I drew an arrow and began sending one after another at him. He jumped out of the way of them, taunting me with growls as he dodged them. I went to grab another arrow, only to find that I had none left! Brant used this opportunity to jump down at me; I jumped out of the way before he could connect with me.

I dropped my bow again and drew my knife. We both began to walk in a circle, watching the other for signs of attack or weakness. As we circled one another, Brant caught a glimpse of one of his men, dead on the ground. The sight of his warped body caused Brant to get angrier, and provided the distraction for me to attack. Before I could use it to my advantage, I heard two growls behind me. I looked over my shoulder and saw two more wolves! I cursed my luck and yelled for Violet to return to the house, as I made a jump for Brant. I had to give her the opportunity to get away; I had my knife brought above me for a killing stroke, when Brant jumped out of the way. Violet took the chance and began to run for the house; the two other wolves made chase. I threw my knife at one, grabbing a log from the rubble of the stall to hit the other. The knife hit its mark, plunging its six-inch blade, to the hilt in its back. The wolf howled in pain, before dropping to the ground, the other wolf looked at its partner. It slowed down a bit, giving me the chance to run past Brant, and strike the wolf as hard as I could with the log. I heard a resounding snap as the log connected with the wolf’s ribs, and launched the wolf into the air. I barely had time to regain my balance, before I had to turn and block the snapping jaws of Brant.