The Wolf and the Maiden

Chapter 6

The village of Landreth settled ten miles off of the King’s Road with Socius Esmond’s dwelling another two miles south of that. Yet, considering the many miles already traveled, the enthusiasm, the relief of finally reaching the destination made the twelve-mile trek feel like nothing.

Situated within the dip of the rolling grassy green knolls of the moor, the small modest house of the Socius stood out with its cobbled earthy brick walls and dulled yellow straw-thatched hood. Beside the house was a smaller fenced shelter of similar construction where various chickens clucked and pecked around the yard accompanied by a plump cow and a few pigs scurrying within their muddy, confined space.

Smoke rose from the thick cobbled chimney at the back of the rooftop, teasing the air with the scent of cooking meat, causing Rían’s mouth to instantly water in anticipation. Was that bacon?

Brett led them to the fence where they all dismounted and secured their horses to long wooden posts that looked more like crude parts of a willowy tree than railing. As soon as he finished tying the leather knot with the reins, the whine of a creaking door pulled Rían’s attention back to the house.

There, a slender, gaunt man stood in the door’s frame, assessing his visitors before stepping out onto the flagstone patio that skirted around the front of the house. While watching them approach, his hand brushed through a mop of dark brown hair that appeared to have just started to grey at its roots. With a full beard already peppered with age, if Rían were to guess, he would speculate that Socius Esmond was maybe in his early to mid-fifties. He wore nothing that even remotely screamed priest or man of importance. Perhaps he wanted it that way, especially if he had reason to hide away from the general public, as King Joel suggested. But his clothes consisted of the same attire that Rían noticed that most of the people donned in Vafaren while they traveled -- except, of course, those who were out to flaunt their wealth and station– and Esmond’s being nothing more than a loose dingy white shirt belted in place under a leather tunic and a pair of ordinary brown breeches ballooning out over his slim legs that tucked into weather-worn boots.

Tilting his head toward the open door, he called, “Wayne!” Within seconds, a teenaged boy popped from the house, edging his way around the Socius and scurrying toward the animal pen. There, he went straight to work on tending to their horses.

“Finally!” Esmond then greeted them all with a pensive grin, his eyes jumping to each of them, brimming with utter relief. “Please, come inside. We have much to discuss,” he ushered with waving hands.

Seated at the long oak table that filled up most of the cottage’s main room, the four of them stared at Esmond, who bent over near the large stone, sooty hearth at the far wall. With a rag, he grabbed a metal canister from a hook positioned over a crackling fire. Hustling quickly back to them, he held it up as if it were a prized trophy; and with his next words, it was indeed a treasure.

“Who wants coffee?” The smell already had every man in the room salivating. It didn’t smell entirely like it should, but Rían wasn’t going to be picky at this point.

“You’ve got to be shítting me!” Rory moaned. “You have actual coffee, too?” He nudged Rían, “Ok, we’re living with this guy while we’re stuck here.”

Already, Rían was in heaven with the plate of bacon, eggs, and soft bread Esmond had already served them. But his eyes grew wide while the Socius poured the steaming brew into mugs for everyone.

“Of course, you boys are welcome here whenever you’re local, but there’s far too much to do before we can relax.” After pouring himself a drink, he carefully set the tin container on the center of the table before settling in his own chair at the very end. “I was worried we were running out of time as it was, and with none of you arriving over the past few months, each day became more disheartening than the last.”

“Exactly how long have you been waiting for us to show up?” Rían asked after savoring a sip of coffee. Although it was a far cry from Starbucks, flavored with some sort of foreign spice and with actual grounds still swimming in his cup, it still tasted better than whatever the hell mead was.

“Well, King Joel’s father– King Elton– started this whole resistance nearly twenty years ago. When he died ten years after that, assassinated by the Karanlık for what he had instigated, we nearly disbanded in fear of being hunted down ourselves. But when King Joel took the crown shortly after, he also took up his father’s passion to rid the realm of its corruption.”

“And that corruption being the Church? The Akish religion that has banned all magic?” Rían reiterated.

“Yes,” Esmond nodded, resting his elbows on the table and clasping his hands together. “So, King Joel has filled you in on a little information, I see.”

“Not much.” Rory picked up a slice of bacon, saying, “He wanted most of it to come from you,” before he bit into it. “We’re still confused a little about the why us part and the why now?”

“I am sure you have many questions,” he ripped into his bread, biting off a chunk. As he chewed, his eyes roved over everyone, singling each one out with a contemplative stare before moving onto the next. “I apologize for how we got you here, but it was the only way.” 

“Yes, King Joel tried to use that line too,” Isak grit, “He also said that you were the one who brought us here. I am still waiting to hear a damn good reason why this was necessary.” His upper lip snarled.

“Ah, yes. Anger. We were afraid of how you would all feel, too, with the suddenness of your arrival. Which is why we wanted you all to come together at the same time. But for that to happen, you all had to be in the same realm, and the most common realm that supernatural creatures frequented was Earth, or so our scouts informed us. So, when you, Prince Chaz, arrived for schooling and then Prince Isak finally came to the Earth for the weredragon gathering, we sent our band of couriers right away. But for us, that was over six months ago.”

“Six months?” Rían nearly choked on his bread. After finally swallowing what he had in his mouth, he managed, “You’ve been waiting six months for us since you dropped off the letters? Are you saying time works differently between our realms?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Unpredictably so.” Esmond frowned. “So, when our clairvoyants picked up on your energies a few days ago, letting us know you finally arrived in Vafaren, King Joel worked quickly to get you to the palace before you were discovered by the Karanlık. Inside his walls, you are safe, like you are here in my home,” his eyes swung around the interior of his home. “The same as the many houses you stayed at along your journeys. Every one of them plays a part in this insurrection, and they are all warded against magic detection.”  Rían contemplated the many farm families that had taken them in over the past week, how kind and hospitable they were for letting them stay. But now that he thought about it, the way their lingering stares filled with something close to hope as they looked at him and the other princes. They knew.

“You mean I can use my magic in here?” Rory’s smile split across his face. “Hell ya—” he quipped as his hand reached out, pointing at the tin coffee container centered on the table. Immediately, it slid across the surface and into his hand. But before he could grab onto the handle, it suddenly disappeared.

“Nice trick,” Isak chuckled at the other end of the table, who was now pouring himself another cup of coffee. Rory growled, watching the weredragon take the last of the coffee.

“OK, so you told us how we got here.” Chaz wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin before adding, “Now tell us why.” Despite the cat’s usual quirky demeanor, he seemed to be entirely focused when it came to business matters.

Esmond nodded at the faerie. “We need your help freeing the people from their ignorance. Some Castellans– the aristocratic families– are against the Akish regime, like King Joel, but most enjoy the wealth and power they get while keeping the people in captivity. So, they continue to keep them under the thumb of religion for their gain. Yet the sad part is, people are too clueless to understand the truth. Many do not see that they are being controlled.”

“And the way they enslaved the people was removing magic from the realm?” Rían asked. “Trying to keep them all normal and powerless?”

“Yes,” Esmond said softly. “And it happened generations ago, so now most people think magic is evil and that the church is protecting them from it. Most are so conditioned, too, that they will even report to the Karanlık if they suspect a fellow neighbor of using magic. But those with magic, like me,” his eyes hummed red for a second, “want them to understand how blinded they’ve become to everything. That their kings and priests are not who they say they are.”

“These kings and priests have managed to hunt down, imprison, kill, and wipe out nearly all of your magic users across Vafaren? How could normies even stand a chance against magic users?” Rory sat back in his chair, watching the Socius. “I call bullshít if you’re saying the church and their Karanlık lap dogs aren't using magic, either.”

“Indeed, they do. Their band of Karanlık clerics are not only good with the blade, but also with their power. Though, they do not do anything in the public eye with it, in order to keep up their ruse with the people that they are merely normal human warriors for the church. If any of you are to confront them, it would be best to do it out in the open in the company of others.”

“Ya whatever,” Rory smirked. “I have no problem meeting them down a dark alley.”

“Careful, my prince. Don’t underestimate even one of them. They are a cruel, loathsome bunch.” Esmond’s eyes clouded with sadness. “What they did to King Joel’s father…” his voice trailed off as he shook his head. Clearing his throat, “But you’ll recognize them with their dark green cloaks with the golden symbol of Akish– which is of a hawk’s bust with opened wings– found on the left side of their chest. And they are everywhere.”

Rían nodded, “Now that you mention it, some of the horsemen we passed by on King’s Road were wearing robes like the ones you mentioned.” His stomach shifted a bit when he recollected how they rode in groups of three. And at one time, a few days ago, one of them even slipped the edges of his hood back a little and looked directly at him. The man’s piercing stare was unnerving, unnatural, enough that Rían quickly shifted his own hood to cover his face. He hadn’t been sure what that meant at the time, but now he wondered if the guy, the Karanlık, had sensed the Aura of his Lycan beast.

“They were on the King’s Road? Interesting. They usually stick to the cities, towns, and backroads.” Esmond’s bushy brow rose, “And since you are not yet warded, Prince Rían, I am surprised they didn’t confront you– but that is a good thing. We are not ready for the Church to start breathing down our necks again.” He stood up and walked to an old wooden desk situated under a window.

Brett piped in while the Socius opened a drawer and retrieved something, “King Joel arranged with me to make sure that the other boys rode with Prince Rían centered in the middle, hoping their amulets were strong enough to cover him as well.” Rían blinked, recognizing how the ranger manipulated their riding order without realizing it. With Chaz in front alongside Brett, and Rory always at his side, and Isak trailing behind, he could visually see the wall the ranger had thrown up around him.

Esmond directed, “Put this on,” as he placed a small cedar box in front of Rían; he already knew the contents of it. It was the same box that the king presented to the princes containing the talismans. “Since there were only supposed to be three of you, I made three.” He smirked at Rory, “And it’s interesting you both came through even though the letter was only meant for one. I assume you were together when it happened?” They both nodded at him. “Tell me, which one of you opened the letter?”

Rory jerked his chin, “I did. And before it tried to burn my eyes out when it exploded, I saw it was addressed to my dad. Why did it take us instead?”

“Because your father had a unique quality about him that we needed.” He said carefully, “So, I assume one of you also has that unique ability instead.”

“His Lycan wraith army?” Rían asked, shaking his head. “Sorry, but no—neither Rory or I have that.”

“Well, it’s not that exactly, with what we need. But that power would have been especially helpful for what needs to be done.” He sat back down, tapping the table with one of his slender fingers as he thought. “The wraiths your father commanded actually existed inside him. Inside his mind. But not necessarily in his mind, but in a pocket realm within his mind. A pocket of space.”

“Yeah,” Rory shrugged.

“Well, when the letter was opened, you released the essence that had been harbored there, and that essence needed to be contained again. Your father’s pocket realm would have been perfect. But since he was not there, it would have sought out a vessel to put itself into. It sought out one of you.”

“That bright light was an essence?” Rían shot a look over to Rory. “Did you feel anything when you opened it?”

“Well, other than nearly barbecuing my fingers, no.” His brow crunched, “Though now that I’m thinking about it, it felt like something was hammering against my head. But with the Lamborghini spinning off the road, it wasn’t what I was completely focused on.”

“Yeah, we hit the water and the…” Rían’s eyes squinted as he recalled the event, “... I reached out to grab you…and once I did, there was this harrowing feeling…” he rubbed the center of his chest. “But I thought it was just because I was scared shítless about what was happening. Because when I touched you, it disappeared. It all did. The light, even the car. And then we were suddenly surrounded by water.”

 “Holy shít.” Rory’s eyes bugged, “That essence... it went into you.”