The Rise of the Wereheretic

CHAPTER 5

I trudged behind the wereheretic bound by invisible threads of magic. We had been walking for about an hour and she wasn’t showing any signs of stopping. Normally, I wouldn’t have minded but every time I took a step, a sharp pang of pain seared through me.

My gaze shifted to the young boy accompanying us. He had been walking at a constant pace the entire time; exactly two steps behind the wereheretic. I wondered if he was bound by magic just like me. He had to be. Why would anyone in the right state of mind follow a sadist maniac?

My steps must have faltered because I felt a sharp tug causing me to stagger forward. I stumbled but another wisp of magic stabilized me before I hit the ground. The wereheretic slowed down to match my steps.

With a condescending sideward glance, she snapped, “Can’t you walk faster? At this pace, it will be days before we reach our destination.”

I glared right back at her and crossed my arms over my chest, “I am wounded and not as powerful as you. What did you expect? If you think that taking me along is cumbersome, just leave me here.”

She sighed, her gaze drifting toward my bandaged abdomen. Blood had seeped through the coarse fabric staining it red. She motioned to the young boy, “Carry him.”

My eyes bulged out. This woman was totally crazy. What made her think that a frail, young boy could carry me? Drawing in a deep breath, I said in a resigned voice, “There is no need to torture him, I will try to walk faster.”

She spun to face me so fast that a gasp left my lips. Her eyebrows twitched in amusement, “What makes you think I am torturing him?”

“Isn’t that obvious?” I pointed towards the young boy, “Look at him and then look at me. How in the world can he carry twice his weight?”

She smiled mysteriously and patted my back, “He can carry even thrice his weight...” Her gaze turned softer as they drifted to the boy who was standing beside me, “Dreki is the only one in the world I would never hurt.”

He grabbed my hands and slung them around his neck. With a swift jostle, he managed to propel me to his back. To my astonishment, he walked with great ease even with me on his back. His steps were fluid and evenly matched with the wereheretic.

Gosh! I was tired of using the term ‘Wereheretic’ even in my thoughts. Clearing my throat, I tried to strike up a conversation with her, “I know that everyone refers to you by the term ‘Wereheretic.’ But, you must have a normal name too; like he has, Dreki.”

She shrugged with nonchalance, “What if I do? What if I don’t? It is none of your business.”

“Oh, come on. It is just a name. Do you have to be so stingy?”

Her gaze turned towards me, her piercing gaze boring into mine. My mouth went dry and I gulped. “If you don’t want to tell me, it is totally fine,” I stuttered. “I will just call you Hera; like a short for ‘Hellraiser.”

She raised her eyebrows but didn’t comment. We continued to walk in silence, passing by a section of wild oak trees, then came the bushy wilderness. The forest thinned and we soon reached a lake.

“Umm…mmm…mmm,” I wanted to ask where we were headed but only muffled sounds left my lips. She had probably used magic to silence me. Damn that stupid witch! How was I going to find out anything about her if I couldn’t even speak?

After walking for about an hour more, we entered something that looked like an ancient human town. The boy set me on the ground and we continued walking at a slower pace. I stole a glance at him to find that he hadn’t even broken a sweat; his breathing seemed even too.

“What are you?” The question left my lips before I could even think. I noted with delight that the effect of the spell had worn out and I could speak again.

Dreki smiled, a pure innocent one. Looking at Hera, he confessed, “I am her slave.”

Hera stopped walking, waiting for him to catch up. She ruffled his hair and something shifted in her eyes, “How many times have I told you not to say that?”

His smile widened, “I am only telling the truth. I owe my life to you….”

Hera’s gaze widened and she motioned to me. At this, the boy hung his head as if apologizing. She caressed his head, “Let us just continue walking.”

One thing was sure, Dreki meant something to Hera; or maybe it was just an act on her part. I had to observe longer to be sure.

The dusk had fallen, casting a strange orange glow over the town. The old, medieval-style buildings that flanked the road had started putting up lanterns to light up the surroundings.

I wouldn’t say that the streets were crowded but it was desolate either. We would run into a couple or so every few minutes. They all seemed to be in a haste; panic and fear evident on their faces.

Hera’s eyes suddenly lit up as if she had sensed something. She grabbed my arm and dragged me at a faster pace, “We must hurry or it will be gone.”

I was going to ask her more about it when a thunderous growl shook the ground. My gaze landed on a public park at the end of the market. There in the middle of the park was the largest werewolf I had seen. It was twice the size of normal ones. What alarmed me was its eyes; they were ruby red. This could mean only one thing, the wolf had lost its cognition. It could no longer think rationally. It was purely driven by its thirst for violence and blood.

It stomped through the crowds; sending people flying in all directions.

Once in a while, it lowered its body and grabbed someone before throwing him away. Men, women, and children scurried to the exit as fast as they could. They tried to open the gate but it wouldn’t open.

Hera drew closer and whispered, “Are you waiting for your superhero complex to kick in, or?”

It was then it dawned on me. Hera had brought me here to test me. She wanted to know if I had lied to her. A deep sense of dread gripped my heart as my gaze drifted from her to the monster slaughtering people. If I jumped into the crowd to save the people, I would die. If I didn’t, it would be proven that I had lied to Hera and she would kill me.

Today, I understood the meaning of the statement ‘Stuck between the devil and the deep sea’. I stood there frozen; too terrified to move.