Warrior Of Death

Chapter 3: Werewolves

Duncan’s Point of View

I waited for myself to wake up, but nothing happened. My eyes fell on the older man again. He was still looking at me with hope.

Suddenly a guard came by running when I thought about what should be done.

“Master Falcon,” he greeted the old man. So that was his name. Falcon. Not bad!

“What is it?” Master Falcon asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“We have a problem. The werewolves are seen near the west border.” The guard informed.

“I will be there,” master Falcon replied. Then his gaze shifted towards me, “My lord, the time has come.”

What? I was clueless again about what he meant.

“The werewolves are causing quite a problem these days. We need to take care of them,” he added.

Werewolves! We need to take care of them! Was he kidding?

“Prepare the horses. We are not afraid anymore. We have our new leader among us. Victory will be ours.” Falcon declared loudly. The crowd applauded.

“Duncan, I am proud of your return.” He smiled, patting my shoulder. “This way, my lord,” he indicated to me to walk down the stage. God! What was happening here?

Calm down, Duncan. It’s just a dream. You will wake up soon. I kept repeating in my head to keep my composure.

Master Falcon led me towards the stable. My eyes fell on a midnight black horse. The deep sloping shoulder and powerful muscles over the hips and thighs of their long, beautiful legs were adding beauty to its athletic frame. The horse was majestic, in a word. I had never seen any horse like that in my life.

Unknowingly, my legs dragged me near him. My hand touched its head once. The neigh was telling me he liked my touch. A smile formed on my lips.

“He is Thunder, the fastest one in the clan. He will be your ride.” Falcon replied.

Ride? I didn’t know how to ride a horse. Hell, I never even learnt to ride a bicycle.

 “Are you kidding me?” I gasped.

“Pardon me?” Falcon replied, clearly didn’t understand what I said.

Before I could say any further, a boy came up running, “let me help you, my lord.” He held onto the halter. I looked at the horse blankly. Gulping hard, I clenched on the pommel. Then, I put my leg in the stirrup. I felt more flexible than before. Supporting on its back, I finally sat on the saddle. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Only then reality hit me. I had to ride the horse. I would I even do that?

“All prepared?” a loud voice asked all the warriors of the clan.

“Yes, master,” a chorus replied.

“Let’s go, Duncan. The border awaits.” Master Falcon suggested.

He drifted off, with all the warriors following him. I tried to do what they all were doing. But it was harder than it looked. Riding a horse was no joke. I clenched on the halter, restraining my fall. The horse was running like lightning, leaving others behind. They did not name him Thunder for nothing.

“Ah!” A scream left my mouth. I lost control over it. The worst thing was I didn’t know where it was taking me to. I panicked. He was running like crazy on the narrow trail through the woods. The branches of trees were hitting against me, injuring my face, my hands.

“Just a dream, it will pass!” I kept murmuring, wishing to wake up.

“My lord, please slow down.” I heard a shout.

“Trust me, I want to,” I yelled, but my voice sounded like a mere whisper. The horse took me deeper into the woods. Master Falcon and others disappeared from my sight.

“Thunder… Nice horse… please… stop running….” I mumbled, earning another loud neigh.

“God! Please help me… Mom, I miss you…” I almost cried this time. I wasn’t sitting anymore, rather, lying on the saddle, trying hard not to fall.

“Please… please… someone save me.” I prayed again. Suddenly, Thunder stopped, making a loud noise, standing up on its hind legs with the forelegs off the ground, causing me to fall on my back miserably. I laid on my back for a couple of minutes since others were still away. I closed my eyes, panting. I would never ride that stupid horse ever again. The silence was filling the air, giving me peace, which didn’t last long because of Thunder. He was making weird noises. With that, I felt some cold, sloppy thing on my face.

“Stop this, Thunder.” I opened my eyes, wiping my face, only to meet a pair of yellow eyes gazing at me.

“Ah!” With a scream, I sat back quickly. A gigantic dark brown wolf was standing there, at least four feet tall. Thunder was also whinnying like crazy. I backed off slowly, earning a growl from it. A wolf…. Didn’t they talk about were…wolves? My limbs went cold. I was sure my face was white by now.

Before I could register the situation, my gaze met a silver line, and the wolf was cut in half. Master Falcon was standing tall with a silver sword in his hand.

“Are you okay?” He asked worryingly. I couldn’t answer. Blood was still dripping from the blade of his sword. This couldn’t be real.

“Duncan, get up,” he spoke again, giving me a hand. Growls and whimpers filled the air. I realised the werewolves had surrounded us.

Holding his hand, I stood up. I needed to do something if I wanted to stay alive.

“Get your sword,” he instructed as he concentrated on other werewolves. I saw everyone fighting hard. And apparently, I was their leader.

With a shaky hand, I took out the sword. I was clueless about how I could fight with one of these. Hiding somewhere would be best for now. I slowly backed off, letting my man fight. These were werewolves! I couldn’t fight them. I was just a teenage nerd.

To my luck, I couldn’t run out of those monsters. One appeared from nowhere, glaring at me furiously. My limbs were going numb with fear. There was no way I could protect myself. Killing it was far from my dream. It growled, showing me his teeth. That dripping saliva was warning me. I acted with instinct and swung my sword repeatedly, closing my eyes. Suddenly I felt everything was normal in front of me. Slowly I opened my eyes, only to find everyone’s gaze on me. I peeped at the sword. It was shining like anything. Then I focused on the werewolves who were on the ground, covered in blood. Slowly everyone knelt, bowing their head.

“Lord Duncan.” They murmured in respect. What the hell just happened? Did it do that? My sword was clean as ever. How could I even do that?

Master Falcon stood up first, followed by others. He stepped closer. Patting my shoulder, he spoke, “You have grown up. I am proud of you.”

I could see hope in his eyes. Why was I in this mess? I nodded, though I was unsure what I did.

“Let’s go back. It has been a long day.” He spoke again, and everyone prepared to retreat.