Blood for Wolves

chapter 13

Alex and I slept in four hour shifts, and soon the sun rose again to yet another glorious day. I awoke with a loud yawn, vaguely wondering if the Kingdom of Red ever had any bad weather and hoping that now that I’d thought of it, we wouldn’t suddenly receive a healthy portion of mean rain clouds. After stuffing a handful of jerky in my mouth for breakfast and eating my last candy bar, I patted Alex on the shoulder and headed to the abandoned barn again. I stopped off at the village well to fill one of my water bottles on the way. If Wolf wasn’t here, then I didn’t know where to look. He could be anywhere in the woods, and we couldn’t wait much longer before acting.

As I ran, a shrill scream echoed across the valley. I froze and spun around. It went on for a little longer before more people joined in the shouting and yelling. My heart thumped in my chest as a single word floated through the air over and over again.

“Wolf!”

I sprinted for the barn and slid to a halt when I reached the doors. A deep shudder ran through me when I saw the handles. A red liquid gleamed on them in the early morning sun. I used one finger to gently pull one of the doors open.

A pair of bloody hands appeared in front of me.

I screamed, but in the next moment realized the hands belonged to Wolf.

“I’m sorry,” he said, staring at the ground, his face full of anxiety. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I smelled you at the door…”

“Oh my God.” I stared at his hands. “Wolf—are you hurt?”

He was fully clothed, and not only were his hands covered in blood, but drops of it spattered his shirt as well. I’d asked the question, but I already knew what the answer was. I just didn’t want to believe what it could really mean.

“No.”

“Wolf,” I spoke slowly, “what did you do?”

He turned and shuffled back to the center of the barn. I followed, making sure to shut the barn doors behind me. Wolf plopped down on the hay strewn floor.

“I don’t know,” he said, his voice strained. “I can’t quite remember. It was a long night.” He shuddered. “It’s all rather muddled in my head…”

I knelt down in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder. His entire body was shaking. I tried to look him in the face.

“Wolf, you have to remember. What did you do?”

He squeezed his eyes shut for several long moments before opening them again. I was glad to see at least they were a safe hazel color.

“I think…I think I ate something.”

Well obviously, I thought. But I wanted to know what he’d eaten. I prayed to God it was just sheep or chickens. I thought about telling him about the uproar in the town over a wolf attack, but he wasn’t in any condition to receive that sort of news. The last thing I needed was for him to panic.

“All right, well, we need to clean you up.”

I took out the water bottle I’d filled and poured it over his hands, rubbing them with one of mine to wash off the blood. It trickled onto the floor and mixed with the golden strands of hay. If he’d eaten something, I was surprised that he didn’t have any blood around his mouth.

This is so messed up, a small part of my brain muttered.

“Caroline,” Wolf said quietly, peering into my face, “why are you here? After what I did…”

“We found Marianne,” I said louder than I’d intended, as though I hadn’t heard him. I just didn’t want to think about it. “We need your help to get her out. We’re going to try summoning the thing with bluebells, and then defeat it once it reveals itself.”

I finished getting the blood off his hands. I gazed at his shirt and wondered about the best way to get the blood out of the fabric. We couldn’t go into the town like this, not with everyone screaming about wolves.

He took hold of one of my hands. I stopped what I was doing and stared back. He had misery written all over his face, mixed with a self-loathing I’d never seen in him before. My brash wolf, who had faced giants and a necrotic forest and slave traders, had become nothing more than a desperate man trying to get his bearings. He wanted to say he was sorry, but knew that the words alone weren’t enough. I leaned forward to put my forehead against his.

Suddenly his head snapped up, his eyes wide.

“Someone’s coming.”

The door burst open and dozens of angry villagers armed with pitchforks and other pointed objects streamed in. Wolf and I jumped to our feet, both of us too frightened and uncertain to know what to do. The mob swarmed around us, men pushing me away and grabbing Wolf by his arms. Shouts of, “Wolf! Get the wolf!” filled the room. Wolf struggled and shouted, trying to break free. Someone cuffed him across the face.

“No,” I yelled. “Leave him alone! What are you doing?”

I tried to jump forward, but one of the men caught me and held me back.

“He’s a wolf. Show it!”

“Do you know him, miss?” the man holding me asked.

He’d spoke loud enough for Wolf to hear, and even in his panic, he gazed and me and shook his head fiercely.

“I…” Then it dawned on me. “No. I don’t. I saw him come in here. I thought maybe he was hurt, so I came to help him.”

“Leading young women astray to eat them!” a farmer yelled, grabbing Wolf’s face with one hand.

“No!” Wolf barked.

Two men closest to him pulled off Wolf’s belt. Another behind him yanked down the hem of Wolf’s pants, freeing his tail.

A roar of triumph and anger went up from the men.

“Burn him! Burn the wolf! He’s killed our sheep and our cows! Put him out of his misery!”

At the mention of the cows, Wolf’s eyes went wide.

“No! No, I didn’t! It’s a lie!”

They half dragged, half carried him from the barn as he howled away. The man finally let me go, and I stared after them, racking my brain for an idea.

“Say miss, where are you from anyway?”

I didn’t answer. Instead I sprinted back to the village, outstripping the mob and almost crashing to the ground when my feet hit the worn smooth cobblestones. I found Alex sitting against a wall, toying with the crossbow the witch had given him. The building Marianne was in was still asleep, almost like it was waiting for something.

“Caroline, what is it?” Alex asked as I came to a stop near him.

For a moment I couldn’t speak, only able to suck in deep breaths of air after my hard run.

“Wolf,” I finally managed. “They took him. A bunch of farmers. Some of their livestock was killed last night. They think he did it. They’re going to burn him.”

Alex sprang to his feet. “Well, did he do it? He is a wolf, right?”

“Half wolf. And what the hell does it matter? They’re going to burn him alive.”

“Jesus.” Alex ran a hand over his forehead.

“They said sheep and cows were killed, but that doesn’t make sense. Even if Wolf was responsible, he wouldn’t have killed that many. I know they’re different around here, but I still don’t think they kill just for the sake of killing. It’s all food. I just don’t believe it. We’ve got to get him out of there. We can’t let them do this.”

“Okay. Uh.” Alex ran a hand through his hair. “Okay. I’ll go to the fields and see if I can find tracks or anything else.” He paused. “Wait, what about this thing?”

We stared at the building for a few moments. A few streets away, the roar of the crowd grew louder. I closed my eyes and delved into the strange magic sensation the place gave off.

“It won’t wake up for a while yet. We still have some time.”

Alex looked down on me like he wanted to ask how I knew that, but instead ran off towards the fields, his black coat flapping around him.

“Wait,” I shouted, an idea popping into my mind. “You have both our radios right? Give them to me.”

Alex dug into his canvas sack and pulled them out. “What are you going to do?”

I took two boji stones from our magic stash and the shrinking roll of duct tape from my daypack. I taped a stone to each radio.

“Here.” I handed one of the radios to Alex. He looked at it like I’d just given him a porcupine.

“And what’s this supposed to do?”

I fiddled with my radio. “The books said boji stones can be used to boost communication. I thought that maybe we could get these going again with a little magic aid.”

He shook his head. “Caroline, you don’t really think that just because you tied a rock to these that they’ll work.”

We both turned them on. Alex’s mouth fell open as a faint crackle emitted from them.

“Apparently they will,” I said into the radio, my voice coming out on Alex’s. I was surprised myself, but now wasn’t the time to marvel over our little success. The roar of the mob drew near the town.

“All right, see what you can find out. I’ll try to stall them.”

I made my way back to the town square. Already a large pole was erected, with piles of brush and sticks being stacked around it by the villagers. They shouted and some cheered, excited about the prospect of burning the fanged perpetrator that had eaten their livestock. I ran up to one of the men.

“Where’s the wolf now?” I asked, trying to sound just as eager for his demise.

“Bein’ held at the House of Judgment.” The man nodded in the direction of a whitewashed building that looked just like the others, save the sign hanging from it that clearly read “Judgment” underneath some sort of crest involving arrows.

The door was flanked by two men holding pikes. I tried to look angry, which wasn’t hard, so that maybe they thought I’d come to taunt him.

“I want to see the wolf,” I said, my hands fisting at my sides.

“Wolves are dangerous, miss. You ought to wait until we bring him out.”

I scoffed. “Certainly he’s no threat locked up. And besides, you’ll be right outside the door.”

The men glanced at one another and then nodded. I went in, making sure to shut the door behind me. Wolf paced back and forth inside a barred room, just like a jail cell back at home. He spun around the moment I stepped forward.

“Oh Caroline,” he said. His eyes were full of panic.

I went up to the bars, holding onto them tightly. “Wolf, what did you do?”

He took my hands and stuck his face through the bars as much as possible. “Nothing! I mean, yes, I ate one of the sheep, I remembered, but I didn’t kill the rest of the flock or any of the cows, I swear.”

I hung my head. So he’d really done it. Some of it, at least. That still didn’t justify burning him to death, but I didn’t know what Alex could find to help prove Wolf was innocent. Even so, they’d still burn him over one sheep.

“Caroline, you have to help me. You have to get me out of here. I’m sorry. I was so hungry and so miserable and I’ve already hurt you so much. If you don’t want to help I’ll understand, but they’re going to burn me.” His knuckles were white where he gripped the bars. I’d never seen him so terrified. “They’re going to burn me just like all the others…”

He started to cry. Not a human cry, but a faint whimpering, whining noise like a sad dog.

“Don’t cry,” I begged, putting my hands on his cheeks. An uncomfortable twinge went through my heart. “Please don’t cry, babe. I’ll help you. It’s okay. I already sent Alex to the fields to try and figure something out.”

“You have?” he gasped. “Oh Caroline, my sweet, my wonderful mate. I love you and I swear I’ll never hurt you again.”

“But I can’t guarantee it’ll work,” I said, ignoring his outburst. “I don’t know if he’ll be able to find anything.”

“It’s a lie. I didn’t kill those cows. I never went anywhere near them. It’s all still kind of muddled in my head, but I’ve never liked cows. I’ve always been partial to sheep.”

“Keep your voice down. I don’t know how long Alex needs, so hopefully he’ll be back before these people try anything. If not, I’ll do everything I can to stall them.”

Suddenly Wolf backed into a corner. For a split second I didn’t understand why, then the door opened and a dozen men came into the room. One of them looked at me suspiciously, but another chuckled.

“This girly puttin’ the fear of the fire in you? Rightly so. It’s gonna hurt.”

They made for the cell door. Stall! Stall! my brain screamed.

“I don’t think he did it,” I blurted out. Every man in the room turned and looked at me as though I’d grown a pair of antlers. I swallowed.

“Well… Look at him. I mean, he’s too timid and weak to go around killing sheep just outside of villages.”

Wolf whimpered as if to emphasize my point.

“That’s what these creatures want you to think,” said one man, opening the cell door. “They’re crafty wretches. One minute you’re offering them a slice of pie from your sack, the next they’re offering a slice of you to their pack.”

I registered this as some sort of proverb, but I let it go and continued as the men hauled Wolf to his feet and dragged him out of the cell.

“But five animals? That’s a lot of food for just one half-wolf.”

They ignored me, lugging Wolf into the town square with me right at their feet.

“It doesn’t make sense,” I shouted, getting desperate for someone to even listen to me.

“Where did you say you were from?” asked the man who’d given me a questioning look earlier.

I mentally ran around in circles for a moment. “King Thrushbeard’s Kingdom. I’m visiting…my niece. She lives by the sea.”

“And what’s your name?”

I pushed him out of the way and ran after the crowd with Wolf.

“Alex,” I said into the radio, “what have you got?”

“A lot of scratch marks around here,” he replied. “Way too big to be wolf claws.”

The men carried him over the pile of kindling and pushed him against the pole. He howled.

“Forget it,” I told Alex. “These people are serious. Get back here. Make something up.” I pushed aside a group of men, making my way to the pyre. “Let him go!” I screamed. “What is wrong with you people? Don’t you see how inhuman this is? Why do you have to burn him? Why can’t you just make him pay for the sheep?”

I realized how asinine I sounded. No one listened anyway. No one cared. Fine. If words didn’t work, perhaps brute force would.

I charged at the men tying Wolf’s hands behind his back and knocked them off the pile. But before I could do anything else, two more men grabbed my arms and dragged me away, holding me at the edge of the fire as if making sure I had a good vantage point for the burning.

“Leave him alone!” I yelled, straining against them.

Wolf howled. The men finished tying him to the pole and got down. My breath caught in my throat when another farmer came around the corner with a burning torch.

“Caroline,” the radio crackled in my hand. I could barely hear it over the roar of the crowd. “There’s something here.”

The man neared the wood. I slammed my heel down on the foot of one of my captors. He shouted in pain and released my arm. I jabbed my elbow into his gut and then swung my fist around and smashed it into the other man’s face. The moment he let go, I bolted back onto the pile and stood in front of Wolf, my arms outstretched.

“Stop!” I bellowed. “If you want to burn this wolf, you’ll have to burn me too. An innocent woman.”

A stunned silence fell over the crowd. People stared up at me, unable to make out what they were seeing. Then one man’s face contorted in revulsion, and he pointed at me.

“Wolf lover!”

The mob erupted again. I backed up until I pressed against Wolf’s chest. I had no ideas left. More men trampled up the wood pile and grabbed me. I struggled against them, kicking and pulling. I shoved one of the back into the crowd. My foot connected with another man’s knee and sent him tumbling off the pyre. Wolf snapped, straining against the loops of rope, his eyes flashing gold.

“No! NO! Get off of her! Leave her alone! She never did anything to you! Let her go!”

Finally the men managed to grab my hands and arms. I lost my grip on the radio, and it fell onto the sticks at my feet. They turned me around so I was facing Wolf and pulled my hands to reach around him at the pole. Rough lengths of rope wrapped around my wrists, chafing my skin. I kept pulling and tugging, making things as difficult for them as possible. Then I realized the position they’d put me in. I had better access to Wolf’s bonds this way.

“You love this wolf so much, you can die with him,” one of the men said nastily in my ear.

Hurry up Alex!

Wolf kept screaming at them to let me go, but no one listened. The rope circled my waist a few times then was tied off. I rested my head against Wolf’s chest, staring down into the tangle of branches and sticks. They meant to do it. These people were going to burn me along with him. Did they really hate wolves that much? For once I wished for the ranchers in Wyoming and their guns. A gun would be so much better to die by than fire. The second the men left the pyre, I tried picking at the thick rope around Wolf’s wrists. Moving my hands proved difficult. I didn’t stop.

“Caroline, you there?” Alex’s faint voice floated up from the kindling. “Caroline? There is something really f*cking big out here…”

“Caroline, I’m so sorry,” Wolf said, pressing his head against mine.

I could feel his tears against my temple. I didn’t look up, keeping my focus on loosening the ropes. “I know.”

“Caroline, where the hell are you?” Alex yelled over the radio.

Behind me, fire crackled on the torch. I didn’t know where Alex was, what he’d seen. But he didn’t know what was going on. He wouldn’t get here in time. I closed my eyes, willing the rope around Wolf’s wrists to loosen. They’d used a lot. There was no way I could fail Wolf. Fail Marianne. I would not be this useless.

I savagely dug my fingernails into the knots. One of them loosened slightly. But the crackle of the torch was louder now, right at my back. I needed more time. More time! The hammering of Wolf’s heart told me we were out. He pressed his lips to my temple, and I wished it could be the last thing I felt in this world.