Chapter 5
1988 Words
5
We had our troubles, but Erik was in for far worse. He reached the fountain thirty yards ahead of us and stopped. The fountain had a howling wolf statue in the center, but no water bubbled from the rocks at its feet. There were large cracks in the statue and the base of the fountain. There was also more than peddling going on in the small circle. A man stood on the wide edge of the fountain pool and held his hands above his head.
“Citizens of lovely Market Island, I plead for your attention!” he called to the scarce crowds around him. “We must throw off the yoke of those on the large island and install a better government! One that cares about us! One that doesn’t send these ruffians cloaked as Guards to disturb our peace!”
A man seated on the fountain near him sneered at the crier. “And you’ll be that government, is that it?”
The crier shook his head. “I am not worthy, but there are others who are prepared! They will be ready to take up the mantle of our oppressors and guide us to a better tomorrow!” he insisted.
“One filled with milk and honey, eh?” the other man quipped.
The men’s back-and-forth caught the attention of many of the marketers. A crowd of three dozen filled the small circle and listened to the argument.
“No, one filled with land!” the crier announced. The word brought forth a hum of excitement through the crowd. “Land and opportunity! Wouldn’t you all like to be free of this eternally foggy and to know the outside world?”
“We can’t be without the fog,” a woman from the crowd spoke up.
The man grinned and jumped along the fountain edge until he stood in front of her. He knelt down and held up a finger. “Ah, but what if I was to tell you the fog wouldn’t be gone, but would encompass more land than it does now.” He straightened and raised his arms above him. “Wouldn’t some of you like to own good land by the lake shore?”
“Yes!”
“Here here!”
“The lords on Wolf Island would never let that happen,” the man spoke up.
“Then let’s get rid of the lords! Let’s get rid of all the men on the Council and appoint a new leader!” the crier yelled.
The crowd murmured among themselves, and I didn’t like the tone. Far too many people whispered in agreement with the agitator.
“But who would replace them?” one of the crowd wondered.
“Anybody we’d like! A citizen from our fair island, or a branch from the royal family that hasn’t rotted at the trunk!” the crier suggested.
The second man stiffened and stood. He pointed a finger at Erik. “Isn’t that one of those rotten ones you were speaking about? Find the courage to tell him about your revolution to his face!”
All eyes turned on Erik. He stood tall and met the eyes of the man who advocated usurping his family. “I’d argue against your suggestion,” he commented.
The crier slapped his thigh and laughed. “You would, wouldn’t you? Just like a rat to cling to the ship to the last!” Many in the crowd nodded their head and the people pressed close against Erik.
Erik shook his head. “It’s not for my sake that I speak. If you want new leaders you can elect them now. Revolution only leads to unnecessary bloodshed.”
“Just yours!” someone in the crowd shouted.
I noticed two Guards push their way through the crowds towards the fountain. The crier hopped along the edge of the fountain base and his voice carried clear across the circle. He pointed an accusing finger at the Guards as they were bogged down by the thick, packed crowds.
“Look! Here comes his Guards! They care nothing for us! Do we want to wait for these heartless foes to talk more while our houses crumble and our people are killed?” He gestured with both hands to the cracked fountain behind him. “This was a symbol of our prosperity, and now it’s a symbol of our despair. How many more wolves-werewolves-must perish before our ‘leaders’ do something about it?”
“The earthquakes won’t be returning,” Erik assured him.
The man scoffed. “Am I suppose to believe that? Is any one of us supposed to believe that? Huh?”
“No!”
“Not on your life!”
“Liar!”
The man stood tall and, with a grin on his face, he gestured to the crowd. “You see you have no voice here, my lord, and seeing as how you are an unwelcome trespasser I say we throw you in the Braille! What do you say, fellow citizens? Shall we imprison our first traitor to the islands?”
“Aye!
“Hurrah!”
“Disburse at once!” one of the Guards shouted.
“You disburse!” someone shouted.
“Yeah, go away! Leave us alone!” another joined in.
The Guards tried to put their spears at the ready, but the mob jumped them. With cries of terror the Guards disappeared beneath the angry swarm of people. The Guards were shoved through the people and they reemerged on the outskirts of the crowd far from their original spots. They were battered, bruised, and bloodied. Two people in the crowd waved the spears in the air.
“Freedom!” they shouted.
“Freedom!” the crowd answered.
With those cries of war the crowd swelled over my mate and engulfed him in their pawing hands and gnashing words. Ropes were produced and Erik was pinned against the edge of the fountain. I rushed forward, but Greg caught me.
“We can do nothing,” he told me.
I thrashed and pulled in his grasp. “We can do something, and that’s better than nothing!” I snapped at him as I turned back to the crowd.
Erik did nothing to stop the mob. They yanked his arms behind his back and wrapped a metal clasp around his neck. The leader of the rebellion laughed and pointed at Erik.
“The pretty dog has a nice collar, doesn’t he?” he shouted over the howls of sadistic glee from the crowd.
Erik’s eyes flickered to Greg. Greg grabbed my upper arms and gently pulled me away from my mate. I scowled at the servant and renewed my efforts to free myself from his grasp, but he held tight and we moved farther away from Erik.
“Let me go! He needs our help!” I ordered the servant.
Greg shook his head. “What he wishes is more important, and he wishes for you to be safe.”
I scowled and whipped my head back to Erik. My eyes met his and I felt my control over my body fail me. My eyes widened and I shook my head. He was using that damned male wolf power over me. “No! I won’t-” My words caught in my throat. I couldn’t speak nor move on my own.
Greg pulled me away from the mob and down one of the streets that ran diagonal to the main thoroughfare. The crowds thinned to nothing, but still we kept going. We were several blocks away before I regained control over my body. My limbs tensed and I flexed my fingers. I tore myself from Greg’s grasp and stumbled forward, but caught myself before I fell. I spun around to face him and my hands clenched into fists at my sides.
“What the hell was that about? Why the hell didn’t you let me save him?” I growled.
Greg shook his head. “Nothing good would have come from fighting them,” he argued.
“Nothing good? Erik would still be with us if we would’ve stood up for him!” I countered.
“You don’t understand. The citizens here are angry. Their homes are broken, or worse, and they barely tolerate outsiders at the best of times. The Master chose wisely when he decided to let them take him,” Greg insisted.
I threw my arms up and turned away from him. “So what do we do now, huh? We’re in the middle of an island that hates our guts and Erik’s been taken hostage like he’s some sort of a criminal!”
“There are those loyal to the family on the island. My Master had planned for us to stay at the home of an old friend of the family. He will be able to counsel us on what we can do next,” Greg told me.
I growled and kicked my foot against one of the rock houses. What I got for my trouble was a sore foot. The pain brought some sense into me. I sighed and dropped my arms to my side.
“Where does this guy live?”
Greg nodded to down the street. “Follow me.”
Greg guided me through the crooked streets away from the crowded, bloodthirsty marketplace and to a calmer part of the island. The shops and squat homes fell away and were replaced by small fields of wheat and fruit trees. The houses grew larger, and some were even adorned with flowers and green yards. Many of the homes rose to two or three stories, and their large windows and spacious lanes showed the riches of their owners.
The old servant led me to one of the larger homes about four miles outside the town. A large, hard-packed dirt lot lay in front of the home, and a gable-roof stable stood to the left. The house had two floors and a large, covered wrap-around porch.
A wagon with a pair of beautiful chestnut horses stood in front of the open stable doors. Through the entrance I could see stalls filled with more fine horses. Atop the wagon sat man of sixty with graying hair at his temples. It was the calm Councilman I’d seen before.
Beside the wagon was a woman of forty. She wore the customary dress and had a hand on the seat of the wagon. Her lips were pursed and her eyes pleaded at him not to go, but she had a kind face that showed a demeanor that suited her calm husband.
“You will be safe, won’t you?” she begged.
The man leaned down and clasped her hand in his. “I will, and I should return before nightfall.”
“Master Alwin!” Greg called to him.
Alwin turned and his eyes widened when they fell on Greg. “Gregory! Where is your master? What news do you bring us?”
We reached the wagon and Greg shook his head. “Nothing good, I’m afraid. The townspeople have taken my Master to the Braille.”
Alwin frowned and looked off in the distance towards the town. “What can they be thinking?” he murmured. He shook himself and returned his attention to us. “But you must be tired and we shouldn’t loiter out in the open like this.” He hopped off the wagon and turned to the open stables. “Eva!” A young girl of ten dashed out of the shadows and ran up to him. He bent down and handed her the reigns. “Put the horses back and come in after you’re done, understand?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes, Papa.” The girl led the wagon away.
I pointed at the girl. “I thought werewolves couldn’t have girls,” I commented.
“My adopted daughter,” Alwin explained as he turned to me. “She was washed up on the shores some years ago and we took her in, but that is old news. What we need is new.” He spread out his arm and turned us towards the large house. “How is everyone at the old place?”
Greg smiled and nodded his head. “Very good, though we seem to have come at a bad time.”
Alwin laughed and patted Greg’s back. “Not at all. The berries on the bushes are big and bright this year.”
I blinked at the two insane men. “With the hell are you-” A hand grabbed my sleeve and gave a polite tug. I looked and saw it was the woman.
She smiled at me and shook her head. “Don’t mind them too much. Sometimes they speak for hours about nothing else but the color of the sky.”
“Yeah, but Erik-” She pressed a finger to her lips.
“We must be inside,” she whispered. Her eyes flickered to the bushes along the lane.
It was then that I realized the hidden meaning in Alwin’s talk of the bushes. No place was safe, even on his estate. I stopped talking and was led inside.
- Writer
