The Dark of Twilight (Twilight Shifters Book 1) (16 page)

But as she looked at him she realized this was the luck of the draw.  He had chosen to stand here.  Their number just happened to work out this way.  She handed him the berry.  "For you," she said.

"Hey!" said a man.  "Why did he get—"

"Because I said so!" snapped Aein.  The man stepped back, casting his eyes to the ground.  "Any sanity, any relief that you receive, know that I am the one who gave it to you.  And if any of you believe my judgment is not sound, you may leave our pack and fend for yourself."

The wolves around her growled low, accenting her words and inserting themselves as the enforcers of her will.

But the boy did not eat it all.  He only took half and handed the rest back to Aein.  "I am small."

And she solemnly took back the remaining berry he offered so generously.  She looked at the group.  Did she give it to someone else?  How could she pick?  Should she give it to Finn or Lars to see if just one-half more was enough to keep them from shifting at all?  She could not decide, so instead, she wrapped it in the cloth.  Perhaps the gods had another use for it.

"Now," she said, addressing the crowd.  "We must go to the Haidra lands to warn them of what is coming."

She hoped as she looked around at the people around her, the people who had only received half of the cure, that she, herself, was not bringing the terror to the Haidra door.

T
he stronghold sat high upon a hill.  Though the city proper was enclosed within the town walls, the central castle used height as its defense.  The building was tall and round with no adornment of turrets or towers.  It sat like a cup overturned.  Its warriors could stand upon its battlement and see for miles in all directions.  There would be no sneaking up on this stronghold.  They had probably already seen Aein and her mangy crew from the moment they stepped over the horizon.

The night did not pass comfortably for Aein and those in human form.  The half-dosed werewolves were not mad with bloodlust or rabid like they were before.  But neither were they tame and thoughtful as her wolves that walked the day.  The wolves of the night were wild, kept only in line by Lars.  She did not trust that they would take any opportunity to challenge her position for pack authority.  Lars settled in as the alpha of the night.  Finn settled in as alpha of the day.  But they both served her.

How strange, she thought, resting her hand upon Lars's furry neck as she looked out upon the Haidra stronghold.  Just a few months ago, she was the lowest of the low, a foot soldier of no importance.  And now she commanded an entire canine army.  How the world turned.

She did not see any sign that Lord Arnkell had arrived.  No weeping widows.  No heads upon pikes.  No blood running crimson in the street.  She did not know what to think about that.  Why had he delayed?  What tactics was he trying to employ?  Perhaps he was raising more of an army than just the four-legged kind?  Perhaps they had realized that one berry held the key to their sanity and had gone in search of more. Perhaps they hadn't and were off searching for the false mushrooms.  Perhaps they had found mushrooms like the ones she had lied about.  Perhaps they were poisonous and now all of Lord Arnkell's army lay dead.

Finn left a couple he was talking to and stepped next to Aein.  Across his face was the scar from the silver.  It ran from his forehead down his cheek.  She did not know if it ran further down his body. 

"Ready?" he asked.

Lars looked up at her and whined. 

"They will not have closed the city gates?" she asked, looking as the moon came over the horizon.

"We should have an hour," Finn replied.  "We need to go in now."

"You are sure they will recognize you?" she asked.

He laughed, shaking his head ruefully.  "I was not perhaps the most well liked politically, and many were anxious for me to leave and join the Arnkell household, but they will know me."

Aein nodded before taking a deep breath.  "Then we best continue on."

They went through the city surrounding the fortress and everyone in their path took a fearful step back from Aein and Finn, and their crew of werewolves and motley humans.  The town was massive compared to the Arnkell stronghold.  It had buildings and roads filled with shops and taverns and people.  She could not imagine how terrifying this must look to them, a pack of wolves walking down the dark street.  The lamplight and shadows probably made them look twice as fierce.  She heard their accusing whispers of witchcraft.  She looked over at Finn.  He glanced neither right nor left.  The only sign of worry was a small, tense twitch near his jawbone. 

When they reached the portcullis of the barbican, two soldiers stepped out with spears, blocking their way.  They wore silver colored helmets which protected their noses and long red tunics over their chainmail.  Finn stopped and the entire party stopped with him.

"What is your business?" one of the men challenged.

Finn stepped forward, giving an exhausted but welcoming smile.  "Is that you, Hrolf?"

The man seemed perplexed and peered closer.  "Finn?" he asked incredulously.  "Are you a ghost?"

"It is I, my friend, and I come with direful news for the king."

Hrolf looked at the other guard.  They spoke in hushed tones.  Then Hrolf stepped forward.  "I will escort you to the petition room."

Finn nodded.  "Very well, but heed my words in case I am not able to get back in time to warn you.  Lord Arnkell betrayed us all.  He comes here with a pack of beasts like these, only they wear harnesses of silver.  They can only be killed by decapitation, but try not to slay them.  Try to capture as many as you can and lock them safely away."

There were more whispers between the two men.  Hrolf saluted, acknowledging Finn's command.  Aein had forgotten during all their time together how high Finn was in the ranks.  His word was second only to the king. She realized that while they shared so much trying to survive, now that they were back within the structure of society, things would be different. She did not want them to be different. 

Hrolf motioned that they should follow them.  He did not engage anyone in conversation.  He brought them to the room and spoke quiet words to the courtier waiting outside.  The man looked over at the group and then nodded, going inside the doors.  He emerged and said, "If you will follow me."

Aein looked up at Finn for his support.  Already his disposition had changed.  He had stepped back into his role as a commander, and the mirth and lust for living she so admired had been tamped down to solemn duty.  He placed his hand upon the small of her back and guided her into the room.

It was a large room, but not cavernous.  It was built for utility, not pretense.  The windows were slits, the better to defend.  The walls were not covered in elegant tapestries that could catch fire.  This was a king used to the realities of those after his throne, and he did not choose niceties over the cost of his safety.

Aein and Finn each fell to one knee.  Those behind them did the same.

"Rise," said King Haidra.  His skin was dark, but his beard and hair were white.  He had the strange blue eyes of his daughter.  He was dressed in long indigo robes, but Aein could tell by the way he moved that beneath the billowing fabric, he wore the armor of a soldier.  "Tell me the tale of what brings you here today."

And so Aein told him from beginning to end everything that had happened.  She told him of the feast, of the betrayal, of those final moments in his daughter's company.  She told him of the search for a cure, the discovery of it, and those who were now at her side.  "But the worst, my liege, is that I believe your daughter is still alive."

The tears that were in the king's face were replaced with stone coldness.  "How is that the worst?"

"She has fallen prey to this curse," said Aein.  "She is being held by Lord Arnkell and will be among the werewolves who attack you."

King Haidra stood and began to pace.  "How shall I know her?" he asked.

Aein shook her head.  "You shall not.  And if the silver harness is removed from her, she will become a beast so wild, you will not have any choice but to destroy her."

King Haidra's head lowered in a bow as he considered the cost which Aein was describing.  He finally nodded in acceptance.  "No matter the pain it brings me, my duty is to my people."  He then turned to Aein and Finn.  "But if there is any way you find you can save her.  Any way at all..."

Aein lowered her head.  "I swear I shall do it."

"It is all I can ask.  She is my only daughter."  He then turned to address the group.  "How does one defeat a pack of werewolves?"

"They cannot be felled through normal means," said Finn.

"They may only be killed by dismemberment," Aein added.  "Or..."  And this was where she paused.  She did not want this information to be used against her own people.  She did not want their one weakness to be exploited.  She looked at the scar which ran down Finn's face.

"Or...?" asked King Haidra again.

"Or with silver," she stated.

He nodded.  "Silver.  I shall speak to my blacksmith immediately.  We shall melt down every last treasure in my store if it means taking down this threat."

Though she knew that the worst was yet to come, for a moment, Aein felt a rush of relief.  Someone else was taking charge.  Someone else was going to ensure they were safe.  It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.  She wanted nothing more than to sink into the ground and let the rest of the world continue its spin.

King Haidra continued.  "This battle may be met at any time.  I shall arrange for your sleeping quarters.  Food.  Drink."  He looked at the wolves and sniffed.  "Bath.  Our hospitality is yours."

But even the promise of a warm bed did not stop the strange sadness Aein felt as Finn followed the king out of the room, leaving her alone with her wolves.  He glanced over his shoulder, hesitating as his blue eyes locked with her brown ones.  But he continued on.  She saw that as much as it pained him, he could not invite her along. 

A
ein had never slept so well in her entire life.  The room was sparse.  Just a bed, a table, and some hooks which held her filthy garments until the washerwoman woke up and could take them.  But to her, it was finer than any royal bedchamber. 

Her eyes opened in the morning as a hip bath was brought into her room.  She climbed out of bed as the three men filled it with jugs of water, stretching as she looked out the window.  The sun was just beginning to rise.  Her forty wolves would now be people, she thought, and her eight, including Finn, would have changed.  She wondered where he slept that night and if his comrades were glad to see him.  She wondered what they would think when they realized their commander had shifted.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the men who had hauled in the tub stepped out the door and closed it behind them.  Aein reluctantly pulled off the shift which had been loaned to her.  It was soft.  It did not crack with sweat and grime, it did not reek of horse or dog.  It was merely a white shift, taken for granted by anyone who wore such a thing.  It was finer to her, though, than any gown of silk. 

The water was so hot, she had to ease herself into it inch by inch.  Her skin felt boiled.  The water became black with all the dirt.  And she felt lovely.

She grabbed a towel they had left for her on her bed, wrapping it around herself and vigorously drying herself off.  She slid the simple shift back on and lay down on the bed.  The straw mattress poked through the stiff sheets into her skin.  What glory!

She heard a knock at the door.  She lifted herself up onto her elbow.  "Come in?" she invited.

The door opened and Lars stepped through.  He was freshly shaved and his filthy clothing had been replaced.  His red hair was cut short again.  His demeanor had changed, too, as if suddenly to be back in civilization reminded him of who he was, that he was no longer trapped in the swamp.  There was a spring to his step.  A light in his eyes.

He turned his back as soon as he saw her state.  She chided him.  "Lars, we have spent all that time on the road together.  I am sure there is nothing here that you have not seen before."  He still was not at ease, so she stood and took the robe which had been left for her and covered herself up.  "There.  My modesty is protected."

Lars looked up, his cheeks flushed.  He paused for a moment and then closed the door.

"Aein," he started.  But he did not finish.  He raced to the bed and stopped her mouth with a kiss.  His hands were hungry.  His body reached for her as if he could not get enough.  His passion was wild.  He broke away, holding her face in his hands. 

Aein felt pulled a million different directions at once.  What had brought this on?

"It was you," he said.  "It was only the memory of you which kept me alive in the swamp.  Did you think of me?"

And she had.  The truth was, she had.  His ghost had plagued her.  "Every day," she replied.  But she didn't know if she had been thinking of him in the way he wanted.  "Every day I wondered if you were alive, but..."

"No.  You came for me.  You saved me.  You risked everything.  You brought me back to life after I thought that there was nothing waiting for me but madness and death."  He clutched her hands as he explained.  "I need you, Aein.  I need you, Aein, to stay alive.  We swore ourselves to a tyrant, and after this, we are free to do anything.  We could be free to become anything... together..."

Aein realized what he was asking.  It was too much to process this early in the morning.  She had not thought about what her life would look like after all of this.  She looked at Lars.  She loved him.  She could love him.  But what was he proposing?  To go be hired swords?  A team of mercenaries roaming the land together?  And yet... what better option awaited her?  To stay here forever and swear her service to a man who was not her lord.  But what of Finn... what of him...

"Aein, you do not understand how terrible the shift is for me," Lars confessed.  "The only way I am able to stay sane is knowing I am beside you.  Please.  Please tell me when this is over you will not leave me to face this alone."