The Curse of Oberon (The Inglewood Chronicles Book 3) (3 page)

“Sweet mercy, it smells awful down here!”

If the Sphinx was bothered by the dead fish, she sure didn’t show it.  “I am sure a great many things have perished in this tunnel.  No matter, do not let it concern you.”

Yeah, a tunnel filled with death, no concern there.  “How much further until we get to the good stuff?”

“You are almost like a child.  It is just around the corner.”  Then with some sarcasm, “I was the one who triggered all the traps down here so we could approach safely.  Be grateful only the smell bothers you.”

After the traps I triggered trying to flee, I didn’t even want to think about what might’ve down here.  We went for a ways without saying a word, but I caught what look to be a bunch of arrows sticking out of a wall we passed.  “That didn’t look pleasant.  I guess I owe you a thank you and an apology.”

Her shoulders, which had been straightened up and tight, loosened.  “Thank you, though I did it for my own gain and not entirely for your benefit.”

Boom, slapped down like a mouthy toddler.  I wish I could tell you my ego wasn’t bruised, but it was.  Beneath the animosity I first showed the Sphinx when I found out she had brought me here, a respect for her slowly formed.  There was something else too, a mystery that needed to be solved with her.  The sheriff in me was still there, and I wanted to get to the bottom of her story.

The tunnel began to widen up, to the point I could stand up straight.  “The sea, I can really smell it from here.”

“These tunnels lead to the water, which I believe is just above us.  It is in one of the sea caves where what I want to show you rests.”  She picked up the pace again, moving on the slippery surface that was forming beneath our feet.

I tried to keep up, but couldn’t.  The pain in my chest from the labored breathing was starting to takes its toll.  “Hey, I don’t know how much faster I can go.”

She turned around and saw me struggling.  “It is my turn to apologize.  Yes, we need not be pushing the pace.  The tide will not come in for a few more hours.”

So with that, she stuck around and helped me travel the rocky terrain.  It slowed her down and I knew she was excited to get to the end of the journey, but it was also important to get there safely.  At least it was to me.  I was forever grateful when the tunnel opened up to a nexus of sorts.  “Which cave is the right one?”

“It took some exploring, but it is the second one from the left.  Let us go.”

We kept going, with the cave being easier to traverse than the tunnel was.  The rock was slippery from filling with sea water at low tide, but it was also smooth.  A steady place and careful foot placement made the journey almost enjoyable.

When we reached the end of the line, the Sphinx’s face was glowing.  “We are here…”

I didn’t see anything that was that special, but I also kept my mouth shut.  I’d learned over the past year or so that the strongest magic makes the ordinary turn extraordinary.  So when she pressed her palm against a section of damp rock, I was expecting lights, sounds, and even aliens.  What I got was a tad more disappointing.  “A cave painting?  Well that’s a bit underwhelming.”

Yep, cave paintings.  Or more accurately, scribble on the wall that made no sense what so ever.  I even walked up to one, real close like, and made sure I wasn’t missing anything super cool.  Nope, just old drawings that looked like something a five year old came up with.  There was a skull like shape in the middle, but that was the only thing that made much sense.

The Sphinx stood there with her hand on her hip.  For a moment she looked almost like Liz, evil eye and all.  I had to get a hold of myself.  Truth be told, I’d be trying real hard to not think about Liz, or any of my family.  They all thought I was dead no doubt and probably moved on with their lives.  There was no place in it for me, so why dwell on a life that wasn’t mine anymore?

“Victor, I am disappointed that you do not see the power in these markings.  After everything you have seen, can you still be blind to what is right in front of you?”

Shit, now that I started down this road, even the way she talked, all proper with a bit of an accent reminded me of that vampire girl I’d lost.  “I see strange markings, nothing more.  I’m not saying I’m wrong, but I need a little more to go on.”

She picked up an old torch from the wall and used her power to light it.  Granted, even with a source of light to help me see the markings more definitively, there still was nothing.  “Sorry Sphinx, these don’t trigger anything.”

She studied me for a moment before answering.  “Hmm, maybe… Yes, that must be it.”  She didn’t seem like in the mood to explain for sudden change in attitudes.  “I would be happy to explain to you what these mean and how it affects us.”

I knew something was up.  I wanted to confront her about whatever was going on in that head of hers, but I knew it wouldn’t get me anywhere.  Instead, “So educate me then.  Learning is fun!”

“Knock that off.”  But she smiled at my stupidity.  “As you know, Neverland is an island off the coast of Britain.  Before the vampires took over, this was a place that the ancient Gaelic Druids used to worship their Gods.”

“The Gaelic came from Ireland right?  The same place the Reds originated from.”

“Yes, Ireland was their homeland, but this island was a very spiritual place for them.”  She rubbed her hand at the marking closest to us.  “What we have in front of us is a magical map of the island.  Those who can read the Druid language can navigate Neverland.”

I had to give her props; this was a pretty cool find.  However, “That’s useful, but what exactly does it mean for us?”

Slapping me on the shoulder (and hard I might add), “For the task I needed your help with, we will be able to find him!  Translating this, there is nowhere on this island that will be hidden from us!”

“Him?  Who’s him?  An ex-boyfriend who pissed you off or something?”

She walked over to another set of markings.  “Allow me to translate for you.  ‘In the center of the island stands the Father of Dogs and the First Exile.’  Does that ring a bell with you?”

“The Father of Dogs..?”  Nope, I mean I know I’m a wolf and calling us dogs is a derogatory term, but I was pulling a blank.  “I think you’re giving my education in Irish culture a lot more than I’d say it deserves.”

She looked shocked.  “You mean your pack does not speak of him?  Of all the packs, surely yours would be the one to keep the flame going…”

I felt bad, as if I was killing her big reveal moment to me.  “My dad holds Jack Daniels in high regard, but other than that, we didn’t really talk of the old ways much.”

I’m glad she looked more perplexed than annoyed.  Maybe she wouldn’t hold my ignorance against me since it was due to bad upbringings and not my own disregard of Irish culture.  “Let us try another way then shall we?  This will be much easier and I probably should have used it first.”  More to herself than me, “Never in millennia would I have thought a Red not know his name from that…”

“Sounds good.  I’ll do better this time teach!”

“The curse that holds back your transformation into a wolf, you know where it originates right?”

This much I did know thanks to Rosette, the coolest witch I’d ever met (yeah, she might’ve been the only one I met too).  “Yeah, some dude cursed my family’s line eons ago and I’m this generation’s lucky winner.  That’s relevant to this because…?”

“Because the one who cursed you is also the one who the Druids are speaking about here.”

For the first time in a long time, I felt an emotion that wasn’t just an attempt to bury my depression over being stuck on this island.  A haze settled over my mind and behind it was genuine anger.  “Jack the angel told me about the curse too.  The guy that did this to my clan, his name was Oberon.”

“Yes, the First Exile and the Father of Dogs was indeed Oberon.  Do you want to know why he came to be exiled here?”  I didn’t speak, I just nodded.  “Oberon was a Druid who formed a romantic relationship with a Red wolf.  Back then, interspecies relationships were accepted and even encouraged.”

That didn’t make sense.  “He cursed the people of the woman he loved?”

“Let me finish.”  She regained her train of thought and went on.  “One day he got a little overzealous and took to bed his beloved’s sister, thinking no one would be the wiser.  The Alpha wolf was not to be fooled.  He exiled Oberon from his territory, sending him back to the Druids.”

“Great, so the dick that did this to us couldn’t stay faithful.  I’m hating him more and more…”

That earned me a smile smirk.  “The Druids, not wanting a bad relationship with the wolves, furthered his banishment to this island, to be stuck on its shores for the rest of his life.  But before he left, he placed a curse that has yet to be broken upon the family of wolves that did this to him.”

“He’s still here?”

“Against all odds, he has lingered on all these centuries.  I would not think it is possible, but you never know what pact he may have made.”  Something sinister was up.  “It is time for that to come to an end.”

Everything was coming full circle.  “So this is where we come in.  You want to kill him?”

“Yes I do.  And you were right before, this is about a scorned love.”

Her face went red, a sign she didn’t want to elaborate, but I let her slide with a lot.  I was owed an answer on this.  “What did he do to you?”

“He was married to me when he courted the wolf.  Instead of being a man and telling me truthfully what happened, he found the one person that walked this world with the power to send me back to the Pit.  He found the Teacher.”

By the time we exited the tunnel behind Pan’s camp, the storm was whipped up really good.  The two of us sprinted to the nearest building for shelter.  As we entered, I couldn’t help but marvel at the craftsmanship of the structure.  I was decently handy, as I’d built a deck on the back of my house a long time ago, but Pan and his band of psychos put my skills to shame.

The Sphinx seemed to be in no mood to talk, so I left her and began exploring this place.  Seeing as how she didn’t stop me from leaving, I took it that we were pretty well safe, or as safe as one could be.  I left the atrium and took a set of stairs up to a second level.  I got the feeling this was more like a central meeting room.  Hammocks and primitive looking chairs littered the area.  It kinda made me sad, as this should’ve been an awesome for kids, not the home of one of the most dangerous vampires alive.

At the far side of the room was an opening.  A covered bridge led to another platform with some more huts.  I didn’t have anything else to do, so I decided to keep going.  There were a few times on the bridge I was worried about it collapsing under me, but it held ‘til the end.  I looked over and could’ve sworn I saw the Sphinx’s eyes just in the shadows, but when I did a double take, they were gone.

My first thoughts walking into this place was I’d reached some of the living quarters.  Again, I was impressed with their creativity; wooden loft beds and makeshift dressers stood as if ready to be used again.  For some reason I looked up and saw a trap door with a rope attached.  I was feeling rather froggy, so I reached up and gave the rope a good tug.  The door dropped revealing a rope ladder.

“So you found Pan’s hideout.”

Ah-ha!  I knew she’d been following me.  “It looks like it.  Going to go have a looksee I think.”

She didn’t move and her expression was still really hard.  “There is much to learn up there, but I must warn you.  Do not begin to understand the plight of your enemy.  Pan is still an obstacle for you.”

“You mean like I’ve come to understand you?”  That got a reaction.  “Aren’t we on different sides of the fence?”

“An enemy does not save one’s life the way I saved yours.”

“True, but you’re also holding me against my will here.”  I didn’t want to push her too far, she could kill me in the blink of an eye, I was sure of that.  “Obviously I’m going to help you, but I’ve never been under the impression we’d be called friends.”

“I do not have friends.  If I learned anything from Oberon it is you cannot trust anyone but yourself.”  The venom in her words was thick.  Then she looked over and probably saw my concerned face.  “You are nothing like Oberon.  Even if you are distrustful of me, I have come to trust you.”

This was a new Sphinx.  She’d lost her casual playfulness.  This was a woman scorned and because I knew, she didn’t have to hide it anymore.  “Whether I like it or not, I’m here with you and I owe you for saving my life.  I can’t quite say I trust ya, but I think it’s working that way.”

That answer seemed to appease her and she gave me a slight smile before walking back out on to the bridge.  Loud claps of thunder echoed over the island.  I wasn’t worried about her, but I did hope she made it across that wooden death trap quickly.

I know what you’re thinking.  Yeah, I have my own reasons for doing this now.  The fact that Oberon’s here means she knew all along about my curse and used that information to get my onboard with her plan to go kill him.  I don’t know that he needs to die, but I have a vested interest in getting to where he’s being kept and ask him a lot of very poignant questions.

I climbed up the rope ladder to Pan’s little alcove in the sky.  His room was nicer than the others I’d seen so far.  He even had a desk that was covered in handmade books.  I had to hand it to him; he showed a lot of resourcefulness here.  I picked the first book I reached up and sat down on one of the flimsy looking chairs.  I sank down pretty far, but the frame held my weight.

As the Sphinx said, these were journals chronicling his time spent on the island.  I must’ve grabbed one of the first ones as it was pretty damn hard to read.  Pan wasn’t what you would call ‘well-written’ back then.  Calling this scribble English might be a stretch.  I picked up random words that I understood, like Roderick and ass.  Those two words were put together quite frequently.

I laid that one back down on the desk and grabbed one that looked quite a bit fresher.  Just by glancing at the first page, I could tell this was more recent.  I might actually be able to learn something out of this one.

‘That asshole Roderick came by yesterday, gloating from his boat at my captivity on this island.  It gave me great pleasure to flip him off before he left.  Yes Roderick, I may still be stuck here, but it won’t be for much longer you fool.  How will you feel when Jonathan reveals to you that your greatest enemy has been this close…?’

Yeah, that sounded like Pan.  Anger and rage were definitely two of his calling cards.  Unfortunately, this information was already too late to be used.  I needed something that talked about the island itself.  I flipped a few pages and bingo!  Found what I was looking for.

‘Lost two more of the boys today in an attack by the crocodile.  That monstrosity is a damn nightmare!  Nothing we do can penetrate its hide and most of the time; we just piss it off even worse.  Shit, I bet the lizard tribe is behind this!’

It looked as if there was more to be written here, but he stopped writing.  The next time he picked back up, there was no mention of a crocodile or lizard tribe.  A creak in the floor below broke my concentration, the Sphinx was back.

I waited patiently as she climbed up the rope ladder and joined me in the loft.  Sitting down gracefully (or as gracefully as one can) in the hammock, “So, I expect you have some questions.”

“Well, not as many as you’d probably think as I’m a slow reader and haven’t got far, but yeah.  First, when were you going to tell me about the lizard tribe and a monster crocodile?”

The Sphinx who was filled with scorn was gone.  In her place was the one I’d been used to dealing with so far.  “Well, Pan certainly does use clever names to describe the horrors on this island.  Which would you like to hear about first, the ‘lizard people’ or the crocodile?”

I thought back to the tracks we saw coming from our camp to this one.  “I’m guessing the crocodile is the thing that made all those tracks we passed.  I’d like to know just how dangerous it is.”

“First you should know it is not the reptile you would associate with the term Pan uses.  The correct term would be a wyrm, or wingless dragon.”

“Shut the front door lady…”  A dragon?  I knew there was a lot of weird crap out there in the world (I mean I’m a werewolf after all), but a dragon?  “Get outta here with that.”

There was no just kidding from her.  Nope, wasn’t getting that lucky.  “There are not many wyrms left in the world, hunted and killed by those who consider them too dangerous to live.  Due to the remote location on this island, the one who resides here is very old and incredibly powerful.”

“What’s stopped it from just coming into our camp and eating us?”

“Me of course.”  Of course, why didn’t I just assume she could stop this thing?  “I see you are skeptical, but it is true.  In my natural state, I can give the creature more problems than it would rather deal with.  For the time being, he has decided not to take the risk while there are easier targets.”

“We will have to deal with this thing when we venture off to find Oberon, right?”

“Yes, the further we go into the forest, the more it will have the advantage.  However, there is a truly greater threat than he.”

By process of elimination, “The lizard tribe?”

“While reptilian in appearance, they are another ancient creature called the Orcs.  They were one of the main reasons the Druids came to this island.”

“Something tells me there’s a story behind this.”

She hopped off the hammock and came over closer to me.  “Of course there is!  And luckily for you, you are speaking to someone with firsthand experience of the events.”

Lucky wasn’t the word I’d use, but that’s just between me and you.