Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13
Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19
Chapter 20 - Chapter 21
Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19
Chapter 20 - Chapter 21
The moon sunk deep beneath clouds, cold rains came and went,
and Hyren and Blynn rushed on through thick woodland and tumultuous terrain.
The mutant Grundo was willing to keep his pace for days more. And Blynn
continued to run just ahead of him, with endurance that was astonishing for her
small size.
Finally, chilled and soaked to the bone, the two burst out
of a thicket and stopped. Tattered, rain-torn clouds near the horizon allowed
silver moonlight to illuminate the landscape. The forest petered out around
them, and to either side the land, too, dropped off, sheer and jagged, into a
black nothingness. Only straight ahead did it extend as a peninsula into a sea
of mist. On that outcropping of stone sat an enormous castle, built of thick-hewn
blocks of dark granite, brooding silently over the deep.
The castle had seen better days – one of its corner towers
had collapsed, and the walls were crowded with thorny vines – but firelight flickered
in a few of the windows. From the rampart hung a torn crimson banner, sporting
the crudely-painted symbol of a white crescent moon above a large pawprint.
Hyren had scarcely enough time to take the scene in when a
throaty howl echoed from the castle, joined by several others rising in unison.
Blynn caught her breath and then began to dart out into the open, but Hyren
grabbed her pack and held her back. “Hold on,” he grunted, watching his HUD’s
biosensor. “That place is swarming with life forms.” He tagged her as an allied
unit, making her presence register as a green glow in the corner of his visor.
The biomass in the castle was still orange-neutral—for now.
“I don’t see anything,” Blynn whispered, trying to wriggle
out of his grip. “Let’s go!”
“There are guards on the walls,” Hyren said. Although the
night was too dark and the castle too far away for Blynn’s unaided eyes to see,
the commander’s visor clearly showed a handful of beings atop the ramparts,
some standing still while others mulled about. “They haven’t noticed us yet.”
“I got this,” Blynn said. She shut the lantern window,
cloaking them in darkness. Carefully, she took out her slingshot and grabbed a
piece of ammo from her pouch. The Zafara placed it in the sling’s pocket and
drew it back. Tongue sticking out in concentration, she fired into the sky to
the side of the castle.
Hyren wasn’t expecting much, so it made him jump when the
night suddenly exploded into bright fireworks, sending whistles and claps of
thunder rippling through the air. The guards stood still for a moment and then rushed
to the wall of the fortress nearest the explosions.
The commander and the Zafara made their way around the other
side. As they drew closer to the colossal structure, Hyren glanced up and saw
dark, hulking figures look around in bewilderment, returning to their posts
just as the Grundo and his companion slipped against the wall.
“Want me to send up another one?” Blynn asked.
“No, not here,” Hyren said. As they inched along the stone,
climbing onto a crumbling terrace built out over the cliff, Hyren began to hear
deep, growling voices. He craned his neck to see firelight casting an orange
glow on the thick rims of a set of tall, narrow windows.
Near one of the windows, a pile of crates and barrels had
been stacked, and Blynn wasted no time in scrambling silently up them. Hyren
followed, although his ascent was much more careful as he wasn’t sure just how
much weight the pile could hold. Thankfully, nothing broke under him, and he
peered over the windowsill alongside Blynn, his antennae lowered to lessen his
profile even though the moon had disappeared behind clouds again.
They looked into an immense throne room, a great hall for
some forgotten monarch whose kingdom had been swallowed up by the Woods. Unlike
the underground palace of the Alxuin, however, this place was cold and
utilitarian, holding no decorations except for a set of moon-and-paw banners on
the walls, identical to the one outside. A fire blazed brightly in a pit in the
middle of the area, and several spits arranged over it held large chunks of
meat. The floor was covered in furs, straw, and various scattered supplies,
making the room look more like a beasts’ den than the great hall it once was.
But that was all too fitting for the beasts that lived there
now, Hyren thought as he saw hordes of furry monsters lounging around the hall.
Many of them simply lazed about, while others sharpened weapons, or ripped into
food with their oversized fangs. They wore cloaks of furs and clothing made of
hide, with armour and jewelry made from bones and teeth. Two of them got into a
spat, snarling and barking, exchanging a few blows before settling back down—with
one of them having stolen the other’s food.
“They’re even nastier in person,” Blynn said. “I’ve only
ever read about ‘em.”
Enemy. One of the
Werelupes glowed red in Hyren’s visor as he tagged it. Then another, and
another. Enemy, enemy, enemy. His
eyes darted around the room at an almost frantic pace as he searched for Terra,
hot anger building in his nerves, his body preparing for battle.
He did a double-take when he saw a smaller, pale-skinned,
brown-haired figure huddled among a handful of the creatures. “Terra,” Hyren
breathed. His antennae twitched. A moment later the human’s shape registered
green. Ally.
“Terra?” Blynn asked. “Where?!”
Hyren nudged with his chin to the group of Werelupes amongst
which the Zafara’s owner was situated. Terra sat with her knees hugged to her
chest, but she seemed unharmed, much to Hyren’s relief.
The creatures around her laughed and talked loudly in harsh,
grating tones. One of them reached over and poked a meat-covered bone at her
face. She shied away, and the Werelupe guffawed. He brought the meat to his own
mouth and tore off a chunk, spittle flying.
Hyren had to dig his fingers into the stone to keep himself
focused—and prevent himself from simply leaping through the window. Blynn’s
hackles raised, her tail lashing violently. Reaching over, Hyren placed a large
hand on her back. “Not yet,” he whispered.
He knew how she felt. He had to use every ounce of willpower
he possessed to keep himself from swooping in to save Terra, but he and Blynn
couldn’t take down a castle full of Werelupes by themselves. And he also was
well aware by now that every time he acted without thinking, something would
collapse on him. He had to have restraint.
Suddenly, all of the Werelupes froze. Their ears perked up
as they looked toward the large wooden doors that stood closed at the end of
the hall. The doors had long since been battered in by some massive siege
engine, but had been crudely repaired and painted in white and red with moon
and pawprint symbols.
A moment later, they burst open with a reverberating boom
that shook the stone Hyren and Blynn were clinging to. Terrible howls like
roars echoed through the halls, and Hyren winced and tucked his antennae closer
to his head in an attempt to block out the sound. His Zafara companion grabbed
her own floppy ears and pulled them down over her cheeks.
“Make way!” Two Werelupes armed with jagged blades scampered
into the room. “The King returns from the hunt!” they barked. The beasts
already in the hall tilted their heads back and joined in the infernal chorus
of howls, raising their horrid anthem of the night to the rafters. Terra put
her own hands to her ears.
Through the doorway sauntered a Werelupe the color of
shadow. He was larger and bulkier than the rest, and wore a bone necklace with
an enormous tooth pendant resting on his chest. Atop his head sat a twisted
sort of crown, fashioned from the skull of some fanged creature Hyren couldn’t
recognise.
The howls died down, the Werelupes’ eyes seeming to glow
with fresh flame as the newcomer passed down the centre aisle and around the
firepit. When he reached the dais at the other end of the room, he climbed onto
a cruel throne fashioned out of metal, wood, and bone, digging his claws into
the armrests.
“Your king now holds court!” he barked, his voice like a
winter wind whipping through a thicket of thorns. “What tribute do my thanes
pay me?” The king surveyed the room expectantly.
Several Werelupes rose and began carrying objects forward,
depositing them at his feet. “Rare neggs from the Snowager’s cave, Lord,” one
of them said, presenting the neggs with a deep bow and looking up to see his
ruler nod in satisfaction.
Another set down a cloth sack and unfastened the top,
letting a rainbow glow bathe her muzzle. “Bottled faeries, my liege,” she said.
“Balthazar sends his regards.” The king nodded again.
The Werelupe that had been teasing Terra earlier got up, pulled
her to her feet and pushed her to the throne. “An owner, sire,” he said. “Captured near the Shrieking Dale just after
moonrise.”
A hush fell over the hall as the king did a double-take at
the human. “You—you really found me an owner?” he asked, looking back up at his
subject in disbelief.
“Aye, Milord,” the other Werelupe said, puffing out his
chest proudly. “You mentioned you wanted an owner, but we’ve been having
trouble finding one this deep in the Woods. Her other Neopets left her
alone—poor choice on their part.”
“Are you going to eat me?” Terra asked. She tried to back
away, but the Werelupe beside her clamped a furry paw on her shoulder.
The king laughed. “Eat you?” he asked. “No, no. You’re going
to adopt me.”
Terra’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Why would you want me
to adopt you?” she asked.
She seemed to have hit a raw nerve, as the king’s expression
suddenly turned dour and a growl rose in his throat. “It doesn’t matter to
you!” he barked. “You are my owner now, and this is your new home—forever!”
Terra looked around at the jeering Werelupes and once again
moved to escape, but the Werelupe holding her put his other paw on his sword
with a glare and she stood still. “But—my Zafara, she’s still out in the
Woods!” Terra said to the king. “And our friend—“
“The ghosts have probably gotten to them by now,” the king
said. “I am the only family you need from now on!”
Hyren felt the anger rise and roil inside of him, and he
clenched the stone wall so hard that he thought it might crumble in his
fingers. After a moment, he became aware of Blynn’s eyes on him. He glanced
over to see the Zafara regarding him with something akin to amazement. The
Grundo felt his face heat up and he blinked, his antennae flattening against
his head further in annoyance. With a wordless grumble, he turned back to
making sure Terra was safe.
The lower-ranked Werelupe tilted his head. “What do you want
an owner for, anyway, sire?” he asked. “We’re probably better at chores than
her.”
“I don’t think you could fully understand,” his king said,
growing pensive for a moment. “Just—put her in the northeast tower for now. I
can’t lose her.” He sat back on his throne. “And now… we feast!” A clamor of
wild cries rose up in response, and two other Werelupes sprang up and took the
meat off the spits. The king plucked a negg from his treasure pile and dropped
it into his fanged maw.
The other Werelupe pushed Terra toward the doors, and then the
two disappeared from Hyren’s natural vision. His visor, however, was still
tracking their biosignatures, and he watched them change direction and then
start to ascend, obviously up a flight of stairs.
The commander suddenly became aware of moisture on his skin,
and his shoulders twitched and shuddered. He turned around and sat on top of
the pile of crates, resting his back against the wall and staring up at the sky.
Dawn apparently had decided to call in sick, as the night was still black. And
now the mist had risen around them, a chill breeze was picking up, and a light
rain had set in.
Hyren grumbled again and tucked his arms to his chest
sullenly. Even though his body was designed to have the environmental
constitution of a rock, and the electronics in his armour were well-protected
from moisture, he still hated rain. Water had no business falling from a
planet’s sky like that. It made things terribly uncomfortable, and he’d never
forgotten that one invasion where he’d come down with a bad case of the sneezles.
Blynn, meanwhile, seemed to be oblivious to his discomfort.
“They’re taking her up to the tower, that makes things a lot easier for us…”
she muttered as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Might not
even guard her, but even if they do, a guard or two’s nothing compared to a
whole room fulla Werelupes…”
“What was that?” someone growled from inside. “Go check the
window, I think somethin’s out there.”
A dot of red on Hyren’s visor broke away from the group and
approached where he and Blynn were hiding.
Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13
Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19
Chapter 20 - Chapter 21
Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19
Chapter 20 - Chapter 21
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.