Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 32716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
“She wants to know,” said Canis. The others nodded, not needing more.
Beo stroked the backs of his knuckles down my cheek. “Are you sure, my little Red? It may change your opinion of those who raised you…of your own kind.”
I thought of my grandmother and the other elders who forced their selfish moral idea of what was good and just on the villagers. I then thought of the mother I’d never known. The mother who’d fought against those ideas.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Beo nodded. They then all turned to Grimm.
His amber eyes seemed lit with sadness as he started to speak. “When the dark force first came, the village was unprepared. We tried to fight them off with fire and scythes. Nothing worked. It was obvious we were fighting some kind of evil magic. The elders said they had found a book filled with ancient wisdom which had a way to repel the dark force. They needed six men.”
“Six? I was told there were only five wolves,” I interrupted.
Clearing his throat, Rood responded softly. “One did not survive the transition.”
Lowering my eyes, I resolved to stay silent till they had finished their tale.
“So we did our duty and volunteered. The elders told us only that it would be dark magic to fight dark magic. At first it was magnificent. We all felt more powerful than we had ever before in our lives. We could see and hear for far distances. Run to the horizon and back without tiring. It was as if you were one with both the Earth and the beasts. That time when the dark force came, we were ready. It is hard to describe what happens when we fight them. It is as if the wolf in our beings takes completely over and the small part of our soul and conscience which is still human never fully comprehends.” Grimm stopped speaking and just stared into the fire.
“When we returned to the village, the gates of the wall were barred to us,” continued Beo. “It was then we learned we had been betrayed.”
“Would no one help or speak to you?” I asked angrily.
“Not at the village. Anyone we approached ran screaming from us. Anytime we tried to leave this realm, to leave the forest and the village behind, it felt as if our blood was on fire. The pain excruciating.”
“So here we have stayed. Forced by some cursed instinct to protect those who have betrayed us. Unable to return to our human form and unable to leave to learn why,” finished Canis.
“But I see you in your human form,” I offered.
“We know. Until you, we were the only ones who saw one another for our true selves. We cannot explain why you see us in our human form.”
“Perhaps the forest witch could?” offered Helm.
“No, my brother. It is too dangerous,” snapped Grimm.
“Who is the forest witch?” I asked eagerly.
“An old woman who lives on the edge of the forest in a protected glen just past the waterfalls. The whispers in the forest are that she has been around since before the trees and lakes formed. I have even heard tales that Merlin was an apprentice to her. She is extremely powerful. If anyone could break the enchantment, she could,” explained Helm.
“Then why have you not asked her?”
There was a chance of a cure for them all.
I wasn’t sure what the future would hold but some small light lit within my breast at the thought of them returning to human form and then perhaps we could…we all could…no, I wouldn’t think on it. No one in the village would ever accept such a scandalous arrangement as one woman with five men. Still. If we could overcome such a dangerous and powerful curse, would we really care what others said? As my thoughts spun and twirled in different directions, I realized I had been thinking of the men and myself as a we. When did we become a we? Is that what I wanted? Giving myself a mental shake, I pushed all thoughts of a future out of my mind. There may never be a future for me as human and them as enchanted beasts unless I could figure out a way to break the curse. The forest witch must be the solution.
“We have,” said Beo.
My heart sank.
Seeing my obvious disappointment, Beo gave me a tender stroke on the cheek. “You see, the witch is powerful enough to break the spell, but what then? Who will protect the village from the dark force?”
“You have been doing so for hundreds of years!” I cried out belligerently. “Let someone else volunteer!”
“And would you condemn them to our same fate?” asked Rood, as always his voice quiet and low. “Would you have us make that decision? To put our own needs ahead of those of another soul?”