A.N.D. - Wolf Woods

Tony tried to brace himself as best he could as his coach took a turn on two wheels. “Hey!” he shouted up through the little hatch to the coachman. “It’s no good for me to get there fast if I don’t get there in one piece! Who do you think you are, Mario Andretti?”

“Uh, no, I’m George,” was the confused reply, but the coach did slow down marginally.

“Worse than a New York cab,” Tony muttered, then thought of something. “When we pass my castle, howl for Sebastian.”

“You want me to stop?”

“No! Virginia’s in trouble! We’re not stopping for anything! Just call for him to join me.”

“You expecting anything else to join us?”

“No, why?”

“There’s a full mounted troop following us from the castle.”

“They’re just out to get the trolls, don’t worry about it.”

They weren’t hunting trolls. It took several miles for them to catch up, but horses carrying one person could gallop faster than horses pulling a coach. Soon Tony’s coach was surrounded by royal uniforms.

The leader leaned over to bang on Tony’s window and shout, “The king sent us. We’re to take over New Sanctuary and follow your orders in settling the matter.”

The light slanting through the carriage window flickered and dimmed; they had finally entered the Disenchanted Forest. Tony looked out, seeing vague, tailed shapes flitting through the trees next to the road. The hammering of many hooves couldn’t drown out the howling around him. Sebastian, galloping on the side of the coach opposite the troop commander, threw back his head as if to howl back, but stopped, silent, when Tony rapped on the window and shook his head.

There was a line of humans strung across the road just outside town, waving sticks and knives, shouting “Keep back! Keep out!” The carriage horses checked, starting to slow down. George snarled; it was hard to tell if he was challenging the horses or the humans, but it didn’t matter. The horses surged away from him in a panic and the troops and Sebastian swept along in the carriage’s wake, forcing the humans to scatter before they were trampled.

Tony could hear George laughing as he navigated at top speed through the rubble-filled streets. If I live through this, I’m going to assign him somewhere else, he thought grimly, gathering several new bruises despite his best efforts.

The coach was pulled to a clattering stop in what remained of the town square and Tony dived out. Whatever was waiting for him out there couldn’t be worse that that silly wolf’s driving!

The troops stormed in around him, swords half drawn, glaring warily at the few people who could be seen, all of whom were glaring back.

Tony gulped. Now that he was here, he had no idea what to do.

The troop commander solved that problem neatly. Standing in his stirrups, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. “NOW HEAR THIS! THIS TOWN IS NOW UNDER THE COMMAND OF LORD ANTHONY THE VALIANT! CITIZENS, RETURN TO YOUR HOMES AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS!” He turned, making sharp gestures to his soldiers. About a dozen men peeled out of formation and galloped down the streets, repeating the announcement.

Three of them howled instead of using English.

Of course, people and wolves came out to gawk instead of going home. Tony grabbed one at random. “Where is Wolf Lewis?”

The man pointed down the street with a trembling hand. “We put him in jail until a judge could come.”

The other sounds of strife ceased in the wake of the shouted announcements, but in that direction a mournful howling could still be heard continuing unabated. Sebastian cocked an ear to listen, then turned to Tony, shaking his head. “He’s not saying anything, just crying. He sounds miserable, but not like he’s in fear for his life.”

“If he’s not in immediate danger, then he’s going to have to wait.” Tony knotted his hands deeper into the coat of his captive. “What about Lady Virginia?”

“I don’t know!” The man winced away from Tony’s expression. “Really, I don’t know.”

“She’s been cursed!” a woman shouted from the crowd, sounding rather gleeful about it.

“No, poisoned!” another shouted.

“I heard he ate her!”

A muzzle poked out of the shadows, where no one had been watching. “No one knows for sure. The humans will not let us into the house to check upon her. Her scent is nowhere else around.”

I know that voice! Tony turned eagerly. “Great Wolf, what happened here?”

“All I can tell you is what has been shouted at my people as they were driven from this town. The humans accuse Wolf of turning on his own pack.” The gigantic wolf stepped out of the shadows, stepping neatly around the Captain’s horse to come muzzle-to-face with Tony. “What happened in your pack’s house I do not know. All I know is that they,” a flick of his ears indicated the people thronging around, “consider whatever happened to be reason enough to condemn all wolves and rise against us.” He sat down as casually as if they were meeting over a cup of tea. “That alone suggests to me that whatever happened was not a wolf’s moon madness but a human’s plotting. What do you think?”

Tony stared back into those inscrutable dark eyes, uncomfortably aware that at a single growled command, hundreds of wolves could attack. “I think that I need to take care of my daughter and grandson. Then I will find the truth of what happened.”

“The truth is that those animals can’t be trusted!” someone shouted. Great Wolf’s ear twitched, but he didn’t break the staredown with Tony.

“Yes,” the wolf said at last. “I know that you care for your pack. I know that you have been fair to the wolves and part-wolves you meet. I believe you will do what is right.” He threw back his head and howled at full volume.

Tony staggered back from the sound. Sebastian, who had been standing a respectful distance behind, grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear, “He is telling the wolves to come back from the woods and obey you.”

“That’s nice.” Tony was already striding down the road, not caring if he was insulting the big wolf. “I’m going to see Virginia.”

There was another mob of armed humans outside Wolf and Virginia’s home. They weren’t going to let him in, but the suddenly unsheathed swords of several members of Wendell’s troop changed their minds. Several people from the town and Great Wolf crowded behind Tony as he started up the walk, and he turned with a sudden inspiration.

“Look, I don’t know what happened, and until I do, I don’t trust anybody! Nobody comes around any member of my family-and that includes Wolf-from this town. Someone from around here has been up to no good!”

He turned to the troop commander. “You’re human, right?”

“...yessir...”

“Jump down and come with me. You stay with me at all times to speak for the humans of the town. Sebastian, you’re going to represent the wolves.”

“What about the servants?” Great Wolf asked in his noncommittally even tone. “Do you trust them?”

Tony stopped, considering. “I don’t know.” He turned to the rest of the troops as they milled around. “Find them and hold them somewhere.”

“Yessir!” Several of them galloped off.

Inside the house, everything was deceptively quiet. No one answered Tony’s calls; the only sound at all was Sebastian swallowing audibly at the sight of the dead animals piled high on the kitchen table.

Virginia was upstairs, lying limply among the bloodstained sheets on her rumpled bed.

“Sweetie! Honey, are you all right?” Tony shook her, half encouraged at the warmth of her flesh and half terrified at her unresponsiveness. If she hadn’t been warm, she would seem dead.

Sebastian leaned over to hook a gentle finger around the gold chain still around her neck, tugging on it to expose the glass pendant and the flashing seed inside. “The spell has been activated.”

“I never understand the magic in this crazy place,” Tony complained. “I thought we were supposed to break the pendant if there was trouble?”

“I don’t know,” Sebastian replied unhappily. “It’s doing something right now; she’s still alive. I don’t know if breaking the glass will kill or cure her.” He bent over the bed, taking a long, almost obscene sniff, and Tony would have slapped him if he didn’t know that the wolf must have thought of something. Oblivious, Sebastian sniffed the sheets, then looked up. “None of this blood is hers. You’d have to take her robe off to be sure, but whatever it looks like, she’s not been hurt physically.”

“What about the baby?” the soldier asked, gingerly lifting a blanket out of the crib, showing them the faint bloodstains on it. Sebastian sniffed it too, then made the other men cringe by touching the tip of his tongue to the stain.

“Lamb’s blood.” He went back to the bed, taking a more complete set of sniffs. “I smell lamb’s blood and wolf’s blood. He lay here, she lay on the side where she is now. And the baby...” he was following his nose along the blanket when he sat up suddenly, pawing at his face. “Troll dust!” He pulled the blanket straight, showing a trace of pink. “Look, someone has tried to wipe it up, but they missed this spot. Wolf and Virginia were cuddled around their baby, and someone dusted them all!”

“So Wolf didn’t attack,” the soldier said. “Someone attacked them and tried to hide it.”

Tony shook Virginia again. “Troll dust won’t do this, will it?”

“There’s something more here.” Sebastian pawed his nose again, then smothered a yawn. “I’m sorry, I inhaled some of the dust.” He yawned fully, sagging against the wall, shaking his head hard to clear it.

“Sir, whatever this spell is, it will take someone with more knowledge than we have to break it,” the Captain pointed out. “In the meanwhile, we know where your daughter and the wolf are-but where is the baby?”

They both looked hopefully at Sebastian, who shook his head. “Lot of people in here. I can’t tell what they did. I smell the cub in the crib and on the bed, but nowhere else.”

“Oh, God, where...” Tony wasn’t sure if he was praying or committing blasphemy; either way, his fearful thoughts were cut off by the sounds of galloping hooves outside.

“Captain Carew! Captain Carew! Sir! We’ve found something!” voices shouted from outside.

Tony rushed to the window. “Did you find the baby? My grandson’s missing, he’s been kidnapped!”

The troops looked at each other, soundlessly talking with shrugs and shaken heads, then one man turned back upwards. “Lord Anthony, sir, perhaps you’d better come see for yourself.”

Queen Red looked out the window of the ruined castle, trying to see through the woods around her by sheer force of will.

The castle-more of a fortress, really-was ancient, dating back to the wars before the Five Women unified the Kingdoms. Some forgotten King or Prince or Emperor had ruled here once, although “here” probably just meant only the land within arrow-shot in each direction. Most of the structure had crumbled to rubble centuries ago, but every now and then Queen Red or her soldiers used it as a stealth fortress. It was very conveniently located a few minute’s march over her border, hidden in forest so thick that the plants barely showed how many people had marched over them.

“I don’t know,” Sebastian replied unhappily. “It’s doing something right now; she’s still alive. I don’t know if breaking the glass will kill or cure her.” He bent over the bed, taking a long, almost obscene sniff, and Tony would have slapped him if he didn’t know that the wolf must have thought of something. Oblivious, Sebastian sniffed the sheets, then looked up. “None of this blood is hers. You’d have to take her robe off to be sure, but whatever it looks like, she’s not been hurt physically.”

“What about the baby?” the soldier asked, gingerly lifting a blanket out of the crib, showing them the faint bloodstains on it. Sebastian sniffed it too, then made the other men cringe by touching the tip of his tongue to the stain.

“Lamb’s blood.” He went back to the bed, taking a more complete set of sniffs. “I smell lamb’s blood and wolf’s blood. He lay here, she lay on the side where she is now. And the baby...” he was following his nose along the blanket when he sat up suddenly, pawing at his face. “Troll dust!” He pulled the blanket straight, showing a trace of pink. “Look, someone has tried to wipe it up, but they missed this spot. Wolf and Virginia were cuddled around their baby, and someone dusted them all!”

“So Wolf didn’t attack,” the soldier said. “Someone attacked them and tried to hide it.”

Tony shook Virginia again. “Troll dust won’t do this, will it?”

“There’s something more here.” Sebastian pawed his nose again, then smothered a yawn. “I’m sorry, I inhaled some of the dust.” He yawned fully, sagging against the wall, shaking his head hard to clear it.

“Sir, whatever this spell is, it will take someone with more knowledge than we have to break it,” the Captain pointed out. “In the meanwhile, we know where your daughter and the wolf are-but where is the baby?”

They both looked hopefully at Sebastian, who shook his head. “Lot of people in here. I can’t tell what they did. I smell the cub in the crib and on the bed, but nowhere else.”

“Oh, God, where...” Tony wasn’t sure if he was praying or committing blasphemy; either way, his fearful thoughts were cut off by the sounds of galloping hooves outside.

“Captain Carew! Captain Carew! Sir! We’ve found something!” voices shouted from outside.

Tony rushed to the window. “Did you find the baby? My grandson’s missing, he’s been kidnapped!”

The troops looked at each other, soundlessly talking with shrugs and shaken heads, then one man turned back upwards. “Lord Anthony, sir, perhaps you’d better come see for yourself.”