Moon Rise (Twilight Shifters Book 2) (5 page)

Aein cursed that Finn had made himself so noticeable the night before.  "He went on ahead," she replied.

"Really?" asked the innkeeper with some suspicion.  "I did not hear him ride out."

She flashed him an embarrassed smile.  "Headed out in the middle of the night.  Bit of a lovers' spat."  Finn licked her fingers and she batted his mouth away.

The man seemed to accept her excuse in part.  "Now what could you do to anger a man like that?"

Finn looked up at Aein and cocked his head, waiting for Aein's answer.  Aein would have sworn he was enjoying himself.  "People change," replied Aein.  "Now, about that breakfast?"

The man hustled to the fireplace.  Hanging over the coals from a metal hook was a black cauldron.  He lifted the lid, spooned a mound of porridge onto a plate, and handed it to Aein.  It was better than what she had in her saddle bag and filling enough.  She ate half and put the rest down on the ground for Finn to finish.  She was glad to be done and on her way.  She hoped no one cared there were three horses to one rider now.

The road was a mess, but not like last night.  The storm seemed to have moved on, but the sky was a milky shade of white.  The dead grass on either side was the color of straw.  The forest beyond was filled with pine trees and scrub.  A woodpecker hammered away in the distance.

She kept the horses moving at a slow pace and she was glad she did.  Finn gave a whine and stopped.  Running towards them through the woods was Lars, his red hair flashing against the forest like a beacon.  A wave of relief washed over Aein.

He leaped onto the wet road and slid, stopping himself by grabbing Finn's horse.  "This mud!"  He swung himself up.  "I thought my legs would fall off," he groaned, leaning across the horse's neck.

"Care to report, soldier?" she asked.

"After I get a nap," he replied.  "Tie me to my saddle so I don't tip out, would you?" he asked.

She gave him a shove.  "Report first!  Sleep later."

Lars became serious.  "I only got one.  The other escaped."

From the look on his face, it was not for a lack of trying.  Finn came over and rested his head on Lars's boot.  Lars bent down to greet him.

"They were both on horseback," he said.  "By the time I did what had to be done, the other was long gone.  I tried to catch his scent, but the rain washed it away."

"Is the first dead?" she asked.

Lars nodded, scratching Finn behind the ears.  "It will look like an animal attack."

Aein shivered, remembering Lord Arnkell's keep after the wedding feast.  "Thank you."

Lars didn't say anything for a moment, just clicked his heels and the horses plodded forward.  Finally, he said, "I hate doing that, especially now that I can remember it all."

Aein never thought about it before.  The berries brought sanity to the werewolves, but they also brought the ability to remember what happened when they were in wolf form.  Prior to ingestion, no one could remember what it was like before and after the shift.  It was what made the wolves so dangerous.  One moment they were running away from one another, the next, they became the very creatures they were running away from.

"I am sorry we asked that of you," said Aein apologetically.  "Are you all right?"

Lars's face hardened and Aein realized she should not have asked him a question which sounded like she doubted his ability to do his duty.  "Of course," was all he replied, shutting down.

But Lars always had it more difficult than the other wolves.  He had eaten the berry while in human form, so he had been aware of the shift into wolf and how he did not want to become such a beast.  He had not had the berry as a wolf and then remembered the relief of becoming sane.

Lars's eyes became distant as the sound of the morning larks sang around them.  "Sometimes I wonder what life would be like if none of this ever happened."

Aein knew he did not mean it towards her, but it hit her hard.  The fact of the matter was that she was the reason all of this came to pass.  She was the one who found the mushrooms Cook Bolstad requested.  If she had not paused to collect them, perhaps they would all be sitting in the stronghold.  Perhaps her best friend would not be turning into a wolf whenever the dark of twilight fell.

"I am sorry," she replied again.

Lars waved her off, as if realizing where her mind was headed and stopped her from going there.  "I only say it because I know others must feel the same.  It is a strong rallying point for Lord Arnkell.  All he has to do is promise that he will wipe the 'Cursed Werewolves of the Haidra Kingdom' from the face of the earth, and he has an army of followers, including those two spies who were willing to die for him.  All he has to do is promise a return to normal and people will do anything."

"He tried to kill us!" pointed out Aein.  "He poisoned his own people.  He decided to destroy his entire land rather than join with the Haidra kingdom.  If you were not a soldier," asked Aein, "would you follow a man like him?"

"A chance to go home?  A chance for everything to be the way it was?  Even if it meant serving a monster?"  Lars mused out loud.  He shrugged.  "I probably would."

T
hey rode in silence for the rest of the day.  The storm seemed to have done its worst.  There were a few showers, but nothing like before.  They were fortunate they did not get the snow and sleet of the more northern lands, but Aein was grateful for the cloak Finn had passed along to her the night they left. 

They encountered almost no one on the road.  Those they did scowled at them with suspicion.  The fighting between the Haidra Kingdom and Lord Arnkell's land had taken its toll.  Aein hated that the people they passed were drawn and hungry, their eyes were hardened, their spirit stooped beneath the ravages of this pointless war.  All this suffering was because of one man's greed.  One man who was willing to sacrifice whatever and whomever he needed to get what he wanted.  She hated him.

It was on the fifth day that Finn stopped and raised his nose to the sky.

"What is it?" Aein asked, as if he could answer while in wolf form.  Lars pulled out his sword, sensing the shift in mood.  His horse danced nervously.

Finn whined.  He pointed his nose and paw like a hunting dog.  She peered into the shadows of the trees.

"There is nothing there but some birds," she said in confusion.

Finn barked.  Aein didn't know if that meant there was someone else there or something else entirely.

"Let's go take a look," said Lars.

Aein's heart skipped a beat as her body prepared for whatever lay waiting in the forest edge.  By the time she removed her mace, Finn had taken off into the tree line and Lars was fast behind.  She couldn't believe they had gone on without her.  She spurred her horse on.

Both Lars and Finn were stopped beneath a tree staring up at one of the higher branches.  There was nothing there but a hawk.  It would land and then fly off and then come back again.  Whenever it moved, Finn began barking and snapping at it, trying to climb up the trunk.

"The hawk?" she said with confusion.

Finn would not leave it alone, so she replaced her mace and pulled her bow from the quiver attached to her saddle.  But before she could load the arrow onto the string, the bird was gone, well out of range.

She replaced her weapons and Finn sat, exhaling a disgusted huff.  She could see he was frustrated.  She turned to Lars.  "Any idea what that was about?"

Lars shrugged, as mystified as she was.  He pointed at Finn.  "We talk tonight," he stated, as both a promise and a threat.

As they returned to the road, Finn kept whining and trying to lead them back into the forest.

"Finn, unless we are in dire danger, traveling through the forest will only slow us down and honestly, not going to provide us shelter.  If you haven't noticed, we're wearing this."  She banged on her metal breastplate.  "Lord Arnkell doesn't need to send any spies.  He can probably hear us coming with all this clanking armor."

Finn was not dissuaded and kept running back and forth to the tree line.

"What on earth has gotten into him?" asked Lars, leaning forward on his saddle.  "It is as if he has gone mad."

Aein followed Finn's gaze to the top of one of the trees and squinted.  "Is that the same hawk?"

Finn went wild barking and snapping.  Aein again pulled out her bow and arrow, but again, before she could even notch it, the hawk took off.  But he did not fly away completely.  He circled and then came back, landing in a tree some distance ahead.  There, he sat and watched them.

"Is that creature following us?" Aein wondered out loud.  As soon as she said the words, Finn calmed.  "That is what was going on, wasn't it?" asked Aein.

Finn barked in affirmation.

Lars wiped his face with his hand and stared off at the bird.  "What can we do about this?" he mused.

Aein put her bow and arrow within easy reach.  "We keep an eye on the sky and if it comes close, we kill it."

"But why is it tracking us?" said Lars.  "Who sent it?  And what knowledge could they glean from a bird?  It can't talk.  It can't tell anyone what it sees."

"Unless they are able to see what it sees.  Or..." Aein looked from Lars to Finn and back again.  "Or if the bird is a human, someone capable of shifting into an animal other than a wolf."

Lars clenched his jaw, the muscles bunching at the corners.  "Then perhaps it is best if we wait until sunset and see if our friend is still with us when the dark comes."

T
he horses grazed as Aein, Finn, and Lars sat beneath the trees, watching the bird and waiting.  An hour before the sun hit the horizon, the hawk flew off.

Lars was picking apart a piece of grass and threw it on the ground.  "It must need to get back to its master before the change."

"How far can a hawk fly in an hour?" Aein wondered out loud.

"Far."

"Spies everywhere," said Aein, shivering.  She rose to her feet.  "We should travel as far as we can while the hawk is gone," she replied.

They climbed onto their horses and clicked their heels, spurring them into a gallop to take advantage of the last of the light.

As the horses pounded beneath them, Lars shouted, "We aren't going to make the border anytime soon if we can only move the hour before and after the sun!"

"Stop cheering me up!" said Aein.

Lars laughed and let out a whoop.  "We'll never arrive at this rate!" 

They rode as hard and as fast as they could until the sun was moments from touching the treetops.  They slowed their horses to a walk and dismounted.

Finn began to shift.  His furry body disappeared and he reappeared as a clothed man, crouched upon the ground.  He stood and stretched.

"Thanks for the alert on the hawk," said Lars, handing him the horse's reins.

"Someone has to pull his weight around here," joked Finn before becoming serious.  "You can smell the shifter.  It is like a person, but overhead.  Probably why the horses are never afraid of us werewolves.  We smell just like people."

Lars folded his arms and ran his thumb thoughtfully across his lower lip.  "I'll keep a watch."

"If the hawk comes back," said Aein, "Do we go on or wait?"

Finn rubbed his hands over his shorn, blonde hair.  "We'll need to sleep at some point," he said.  "My vote is to go until it shows up, then make camp.  Preferably next to a crossroad.  We won't be able to lose it unless there is cover overhead from the trees, but maybe we'll get lucky."

Aein nodded.  There was nothing more to say, for at that moment, the sun dipped below the horizon and Lars began to change.  His face became heartbreakingly sad as he watched his hands fade into paws and his limbs replaced.  When the transformation was complete, he let out a heaving sigh.

"I know, Lars," said Aein, coming over to him to wrap her arms around his neck.  She held his muzzle in her hands.  "I promise we shall get a harvest so bountiful that you shall never have to transform again.  I promise."  He gave her a gentle lick on the cheek and she laughed.  She stood, walked to her horse, and mounted.  Finn joined her on the horse which Lars had been riding.

They clicked their heels and the horses were off, taking advantage of the last of the light before the twilight swallowed the road and made travel impossible.  Aein tried to spot any sign of something flying above.  About an hour later, Lars gave a low growl and a bark.  Both Aein and Finn stopped their horses. 

"Do we have a new friend?" asked Aein.

Lars barked again.  It seemed so silly to ask him a question when he could not answer her back.

"Lars," said Finn, leaning forward in his saddle.  "Bark twice if it is another shifter."

Lars barked twice.

"You're brilliant," Aein said to Finn.

Finn shrugged.  "I kept hoping you would figure out there were ways of asking me 'yes' and 'no' questions."

"I can't believe we didn't think of it before."

Finn dismounted.  "Well, we have a new companion.  Owl, perhaps?" he wondered.  "We'll move out at first light when it flies away.  Besides," he yawned, "I'm exhausted.  Aren't you?"

Aein could not argue.  Their stay at the inn seemed like years ago instead of just a week.  They still had another two weeks before they would arrive at the edge of the swamp.  Finn began pulling the bedrolls off the horses as Aein gathered firewood.  They found a flat area with a spot for the horses to graze.  Lars dug the fire pit with his paws while Aein and Finn stomped the grass around it flat.  It would make a nice cushion when they slept.

"We should hunt for game if we have the chance," observed Finn.  "I don't know what chance we'll have in the swamp."

Unsaid was that they probably would not want to eat anything they caught in the swamp anyways.  After the mushrooms, Aein was terrified what other magic they might stumble across.

"I wonder how owl tastes..." Aein commented.  Their feathered spy did not reveal himself.

"Stringy," said Finn. 

Lars got up for first watch.  As Aein and Finn climbed into their bedrolls, Lars reluctantly left to do his patrol, dragging his feet as he went.  It had been another long day, but Lars's gloom seemed more pronounced.  Aein wondered if she should go after him.