Goldilocks (24 page)

Chapter 33:

Hannah lay on top of her covers, attention lost in the twinkling Christmas lights decorating her bedroom ceiling. Jake had insisted on keeping guard of the cabin, his restless thoughts reaching her from where he’d remained hidden at the edge of the woods near the garden. For a while they’d talked, but in memories,  him taking her all the way back to when his boyhood fantasies had consisted of hoping to catch the mythical golden siren rumored to live in the glass lake. She’d smiled at the tender moments he’d shared with his father, and also cried with him when he killed his first tiny doe with a calculated jab in the side.

She’d watched
him grow from a boy into a man and he’d filled her head with fantasies of forever and none of what was slowly coming upon them, minute by passing minute. Without even trying he’d lulled her into a cocoon of protection that she was reluctant to leave, even with the first glimmer of sunlight now starting to peek at the corners of the still dark window.

There was no getting dressed to do. In an hour or so, she wouldn’t even need the thin white nightgown that draped her frame. She breathed a quick prayer as her legs swung over the edge of the bed, pulling her
self into an upright position. She knew her father would be waiting for her in the living room. His pacing had started around 2 a.m. and it still kept rhythm, circling the narrow space.

Hannah avoided the mirror hanging over her dresser
as she stood, her eyes fixed on the golden claws that adorned its edge, sparkling under the twinkling lights. Her fingers slid into the carved out grooves easily, the metal matching the warmth of her skin as if they had been there all along. Her hand flexed and she watched as the gold trickled out into thinly vined blossoms over her palm. A near silent whisper and two deadly daggers shot straight forward, seemingly an extension of her middle knuckle. Jake’s thoughts stirred inside her head, and she suddenly saw what he saw, the council approaching from the opposite side of the woods. It was time.

“Dad?” Hannah called softly, her
barefeet padding down the hallway towards the living room.

His lips pulled into a grim line as she entered the room cautiously.
His eyes were rimmed red with worry, his brow buckling as she went into his arms silently.

“Let me come with you,” Paul pleaded, pulling Hannah back so that he could search her face.

“Dad, you know we need the distraction. Rone will need you if the wolves get past the first line…”

“I know… I know…” Paul shook his head, squeezing her shoulders tight. “It’s just…”

A soft knock on the door cut off his words, and Hannah took the opportunity to quiet his doubts with a soft kiss on his cheek.

“I love you dad. Mom would be so proud of us,” she whispered, squeezing his hand one last time.

“She would,” Paul nodded once, blinking rapidly to keep the threatening tears from falling. “Come in,” he managed through the lump in his throat, his eyes falling on the boy who had stolen his daughter’s heart.

“We should get moving, the council
is waiting,” Jake’s tone was solemn, his eyes holding Paul’s for a moment before he held out his hand for Hannah to take.

“You ready,” Rone grunted as Paul followed them from the cabin and out onto the front lawn. “Dawn is upon us.”

“I’ll see you before you know it,” Hannah whispered, allowing Jake to lead her back towards the garden.

“She’
ll be fine. He’s a better fighter than any of us, I assure you,” Rone commented as he followed Paul’s gaze into the darkness.

“For his sake, I hope so,” Paul murmured, his fist curling tight around the golden sword that now swung at his side.

Rone’s hand lifted as the wolverine turned its beady eyes on Paul, the beginnings of a snarl on its lips at the bold threat. This was not the time for discord. There was truth in his own words, Jake was a better fighter than even he. But more importantly, his son and the girl were bound. A connection so sacred, that if the girl died, his son would also, but slowly, and from the inside out. There was nothing stronger, and once severed, a pain that Rone himself never wanted to face. The tip of Paul’s sword would be a welcomed mercy for them both.

“It’s time.”

**********

The mouth of the mine stood eerily silent in the brightening day, Rone and his council surrounding
it in a half mooned circle, lining east to west. A spread of dirt caked yard was all that was between Creed’s beast and his, and he knew that it wasn’t nearly enough for an ordinary human to draw a weapon, let alone fight. He’d had Paul position six other groups of men, all bearing gold laden weapons around the northern and southern ridges, flanking the forest that led up and over the pass. It was the perfect trap, a weak one given their numbers, but perfect. Paul and his own group of men, crouched hidden behind boulders of rock that had been excavated from the mine, waiting to finish what was impossible for Rone and his council to do on their own. 

Ready,
Jake’s voice broke his thoughts, the mouth of the abyss opening before him in a real time memory.

Take
care,
Rone looked to Marigold, hating the tears that he saw shining in her amber colored eyes.

“Go!” Rone commanded Jennings, watching as the bird took flight with the end of the live charge, the line lifting up and over them like a tongue snaking out of the
mouth of the mine.

Nine seconds of silence, even the wind seemed to die as they waited, ready to charge.
The groans started before the blast was heard, the earth trembling as dirt and fire exploded towards them in a billowing cloud. The council moved as one, hurtling themselves at the flame engulfed beasts that came screaming from the tunnels. Even through the fire, the mutants attempted human forms, misshapen and charred; it brought no sympathy for them.

A mighty roar rippled through the air, and Paul watched
wide eyed as the beasts spilling forth seemed to grow bigger and more fierce, the council now up for a real fight. It was time to move.

“GO! GO! GO!” Paul gritted
out, his sword in front of him as he charged the maimed mounds of burning flesh the council had left in their wake.

The first line came down from the trees behind them, golden daggers and swords stabbing through
the heart of the enemy without so much as a fight. It was seven against every twenty that hurtled forward, and even still the council succeeded in holding them at bay.

Rone
’s claws ripped through the gut of an approaching beast, his massive head jerking to find Paul right there beside him, his sword severing the wolf’s head before it hit the ground.

“You hear
that?” Paul breathed heavily, his eyes narrowing at the flickering orange light spilling from the mouth of the mine.

Rone heard it, and knew it well.
It was the sound Creed had made when they’d bound him and sentenced him to eternal darkness. He had vowed to come back and destroy them all, and now he was…with an army.

**********

Hannah froze as the mournful howls echoed up through the dark tunnel they were descending. Her arms shook from the effort of holding on to the jagged wall of rock, her fingers all but numb. It was too dark to see Jake, but she could feel him moving on the opposite side of her, guiding her down with his thoughts of encouragement. The blast had nearly slung them both to their deaths, but it had done the trick, clearing the main tunnel of the snarling beast that would have surely been waiting for them at the bottom.

Time to drop,
Jake warned Hannah just before he let go of his hold on the wall, hoping that he’d judged the landing right.

UMPH!

Hannah’s heart caught in her throat as she searched the darkness for any sign of life.

“Don’t leave me,” she whispered frantically,
her fingers giving from exhaustion.

She swallowed the scream in her throat, her arms tucked against her chest just as her body connected with a solid mass.

“It’s me, It’s me,” Jake whispered against her ear, standing her upright to grab the torch he’d secured at his waist.

The match hissed as it struck stone, its light blooming up and over the tomb they now stood in. Hannah shifted immediately, a growl in her throat when Jake didn’t do the same.

“We need the light,” he murmured, his gaze surveying the empty space before narrowing in on a tunnel straight ahead.

Stone had been shredded like paper, evidence of extremely sharp claws and teeth left behind as warning for what lay ahead. The smell of death was pungent, rotting
carcasses greeting them as they entered. The further in they went, the wider the tunnel became, until finally it opened up into another stone room, not nearly as big as the first.

Jake froze as laughter bellowed forth, bouncing off the walls and echoing
through the tunnels that appeared around them. A roar rumbled deep in Hannah’s chest, her eyes searching the dim chamber for the source of the sound.

“So you’ve come to give me my freedom at last,” Creed’s
voice came through the darkness before they saw him, his arms spread wide to welcome them into his world.

“Stay back,” Jake warned Hannah through gritted teeth, his eyes now on the feathers that littered the floor they were standing on.

Run!
This voice was new but weak, barely reaching into their thoughts as their eyes lifted up towards the piercing light of day.

Higher than any creature could jump, suspended from what
looked like rotting entrails and tendons, a bird, nearly as massive as Jennings hung upside down, it’s broken wings dangling useless.

“Ryan!” Jake screamed his long lost friend’s
name, bile rising in his throat as his eyes began to focus on the damage that had been done.

It had been years since Jennings and his son had fought, Ryan flying off into the sunset, never to be seen again. After months and months of searching, his death had been assumed, but the fact that he was still alive, proved how cruel Creed real
ly was. The ability to heal was limited, especially when new wounds were created daily.

Ryan
was no more than a few feathers and bones, rotting tissue and muscle drooping off of him as maggots crawled their way freely in and out of his flesh. Even for Creed the penance of killing a Kind would mean certain death for himself. It was much more satisfying to let nature do the trick, the stench of coming death, a reminder that revenge would be sweet.

“You’re younger than I remember,” Creed’s voice was sickly sweet as he finally stepped into the flickering light, inky black eyes holding Jake’s before slipping to Hannah.

“You mistake me for my father,” Jake growled, examining his enemy from head to toe now.

He was in human form, a skirt of shiny feathers adorning his waist and corded bicep
s. Thick black hair hung ragged and long, shrouding the scarred features that pulled into a snarl at the revelation.

“Is Ron
e so coward that he would send his own boy, and a girl child to destroy me?” Creed questioned, circling them with slow deliberated steps now.

“Give
yourself willingly,” Jake’s chin lifted, turning so that they remained face to face. “And your soul will rest with the great spirits.”

“Every day his wings are broken,” Creed gritted out, his eyes lifting to the bird hanging over them. “And every day they heal. For five years I have done this, waiti
ng for Rone to come,” he snapped, a viciously fanged snout taking the place of his sneering mouth.

“Let him go!” Jake demanded, sparks flying as he flung the torch to the ground
, his hands spreading outward as they shifted to claws.

A trade…
Creed’s laughter filled their heads, his body contorting as he completed his shift into the most terrifying wolf Hannah had ever seen.
FOR YOU!

Jake!
Hannah barreled forward, throwing herself towards Creed with the weight of her entire body.

She missed, claws raking stone as she fought to stop her slide. Creed was on Jake, dripping yel
low teeth locked onto his back. A guttural roar ripped through the cavern just as a bone crunching crack resounded, Jake’s limp form lifeless as it fell in defeat.

NO! NO! NO! GET UP!
Hannah demanded, anger coursing through her like fire as she lunged towards the beast.

He was ready for her, the backside of his paw stinging her face as he delivered a hard smack that sent
her flying back through the air. Her paws were flailing, gold flashing as she released the secret weapon that lay hidden under the fur. They slashed through the mangle of tendons holding the bird, and Ryan fell, screeching to the hard stone floor.

She could feel the life leaving her, even as Jake struggled into consciousness, his head shaking as she
fought to right herself.

GO!
Hannah willed the thought forward as she rose on her hind legs, her eyes flashing as they settled on Creed.

Her feet were planted, her body thrown forward as he charged her this time. Deadly fangs snapped within inches of her snout and she swung her claws low, the tip of the golden dagger
slicing through bone and tendon. A yelp of pain followed Creed’s staggering form as he tumbled backwards, blood now dripping from his side.