Chapter Thirty-Eight – Guilty Heart
Chaos surrounded them on all sides, as battle cries rang from dozens of throats. Vince held Jack underneath one arm while he used his other to fend off attacks. His eyes, strangely or not, were getting used to the dark. The more he saw, however, the more he wished he hadn't. Theodore's entire pack had to be there, some already turned into wolves, some armed with spears and other weapons.
And they were clashing with an army very different from theirs. Charred twigs broke under the blunt force of the wolves' attacks, but it wasn't enough to destroy them. Even from the finest dust they were being battered into, they regained strength, reuniting into shapes that could only exist in nightmares.
It was a moonless night. Vince lifted his eyes to the black canvas above. No stars, either. Was this a direct consequence of the fire of Embercasting having remained unlit? The Moon was supposed to be on the wolves' side, but she was nowhere to be seen.
A growl rose from under the earth. Vince jumped out of the way just in time, or he would've gotten speared by the roots rising from the ground. Jack yipped like a little dog and clung to him in an effort to protect himself. In one swift move, he hiked Jack higher, placing him on his shoulder, away from danger.
"Jack, tell me everything you see!" he shouted over the din of battle.
"It's a massacre," Jack shouted back. "Oh, no, Vee, what are we going to do? We're not even wolves!"
If Jack was worried about their being able to survive this, he was right to do so. But Vince couldn't escape a nagging feeling, an itch in his brain. They were visitors from the present, thrown into the past. Despite what they might believe – that they had diverted the flow of time and the events in it when Jack threw the flint at the fake wisdom tree – it looked like their actions had actually changed little.
To their left, a wolf fell. Jack's cry echoed inside Vince's chest as the roots that had just emerged from below hurried to trap the fallen shapeshifter, pulling him under. It all happened in the blink of an eye; the roots disappeared, leaving nothing but naked earth above. And no sign of the wolf that had just been murdered.
"It isn't fair," Jack sobbed. "This is the worst kind of magic. Bad magic."
Vince agreed, but there was no time to waste. The clamor of battle invaded his brain, stuttering his train of thought. Were they truly here to fight?
"We must find Theo," Jack said. "We must protect him, Vee. He's only a child."
That gave them a purpose for now. Vince didn't hesitate to cut his way through the throngs of bodies and naked branches, clenched in a fight for their survival. Spears flew past his ears, twigs ripped his clothes, but he was, for the most part, unharmed.
The most challenging part was to stay standing. Up on his shoulders, Jack was as safe as he could be under the circumstances. But what would happen to them if Vince ended up being overcome by the fighters and thrown to the ground?
"Hold on tight," he advised Jack and lunged forward again.
There were so many people, so many enemies. Vince felt like he was advancing through quicksand. Even so, his body didn't end up being squashed between the combatants.
It was as if—
As if they weren't entirely there. Vince redoubled his efforts. No matter how many wolves and their attackers were involved in the fight, there had to be a way out of the eye of the storm.
"Do you see Theodore, Jack?" he shouted.
"No sign of him," Jack shouted back, digging his heels into Vince's chest. Those would most likely be the only bruises he'd end up with from this battle, and boy, wasn't he grateful for that?
But he also felt helpless. They were there for a reason, and the more Vince advanced through the heart of the battle, the more convinced he became of this simple truth.
"No sign of Tharion, either," Jack informed him.
The alpha of Whiteflame should be in the thick of things at times like this. So where was Tharion? Vince's mind worked faster than his arm making way for him and Jack through the mass of fighters.
***
"You are under my wife's care," Tharion announced.
Huddled together, young women and children watched their alpha, wide-eyed and barely controlling their fear. The longhouse where they would be safe seemed small now, with everyone packed in so tightly.
Theodore followed his father with his eyes. It wasn't fair that he wasn't allowed to fight. Now he regretted that he'd acted like such a weakling when his mother told him about the battle for Whiteflame being underway and inevitable.
"Father," he tried to insist.
Tharion placed his hand, large and warm, on Theodore's shoulder. "You have a noble duty, Theodore. Keep the cubs safe. We will come back for you when it's over."
Then he hugged Ysolde, holding her for a few moments before letting her go. "We have defeated such evil before. Maybe we needed this reminder of our duty, too."
Theodore wasn't old enough to understand everything, but he felt enough. His father was doing his best to encourage them, but the outcome of the battle he'd head over to join soon was unknown, even to him.
He watched his father walk out. From the window, he observed the alpha of their pack casting his blessing upon the door. Those weren't simple words; they were meant to act as a seal to keep the evil from getting in. It also meant that they wouldn't be able to get out, either, because they risked breaking the same seal that kept them safe.
Still, he believed it was unjust that he wasn't allowed to join the battle.
"Mom," he whispered, "is there no way out besides the door?"
Ysolde caressed his hair and then closed the shutters over the window, isolating them from the world outside. "I know what you must be thinking, Theodore. But you must not disobey your father's word. Your alpha's word."
She was right. He had already done enough by stealing the flint. Theodore couldn't believe it truly hadn't been the flint of Embercasting. His thoughts were like a murder of crows, sharp beaks stabbing against all that he believed to be good and beautiful in the world. Who was the tall wolf without a trace of light in his eyes? Where were Jack and Vince now? Were they truly only part of a dream?
A rumble shook the longhouse.
"The earth is calling," a reedy voice whispered in his ear.
Theodore turned around, but he couldn't see anyone. He looked up at his mother. "Did you hear that, mother?"
"Hear what, son?" Ysolde asked kindly.
So, she hadn't heard that strange voice. Some things appeared to be happening only to him, but there was no time for him to complain about it being unfair. As the alpha's son, he had to behave accordingly – brave, unwavering.
He didn't want to unsettle his mom. No one else seemed to have felt the underground shaking underneath the house.
No matter what the evil spirits wanted from him, they would have to face him head on. And he would show no fear.
He moved slowly, closer to the window and pressed his temple against the wooden wall. His mom was caught up in comforting a young girl who could barely keep herself from wailing; she wouldn't pay him any mind for a while.
Which was precisely what he needed now so the evil spirit would show its face or at least make its presence known.
He didn't have to wait long. The reedy voice returned.
"You hide in fear like a coward. Are you the alpha of Whiteflame or not? Others are eager to take your place."
"My father is the alpha of Whiteflame," Theodore said. His heart boomed inside his chest. But he would be fearless. Even if he wasn't the alpha.
"Not for long. He will succumb soon. You will be thrust into your duty. Are you prepared, Theodore?"
"Who are you?" He was only a child, but he wasn't silly enough to allow a spirit, as evil as it might be, to intimidate him. His father used to say that evil spirits never found their way into a heart that was true. Theodore decided that he would resist whatever lies this spirit would try to fool him with.
"I am the one who will save you and your power, alpha of Whiteflame."
"Stop calling me that," he said in a harsh voice.
"Theodore?" his mom called for him. "What is going on?"
"Nothing, mother," he replied. "I am trying to remember the words of the seal father cast upon our door."
"We are safe here," Ysolde said. "Do you wish to join us? We will sing for our ancestors."
"My voice will ruin your choir," Theodore said. "You know I'm not much of a singer, mother."
A few cubs giggled at his admission. That was what he wanted – them to be fearless, too, even if only because they didn't know what terrible things awaited them outside the door of their sanctuary.
Ysolde allowed him to sit out their singing and started. The young voices followed, creating a harmony that poured balm on the most wretched souls. Theodore turned his attention to the voice again, making sure to sit away from the others and keep his voice down.
"You are an evil spirit," he accused, listening intently. For all he knew, the owner of that voice had already moved away, displeased with its inability to tempt the alpha's son.
"And you know that how?" the voice taunted him. "Because you were told. You have never seen an evil spirit in your life, Theodore."
For all that he had accused Vince and Jack of being evil spirits, that was true. He didn't recall having ever seen one such spirit. Unless – his heart sank at the thought– the wisdom tree was not all that it pretended to be. And what came to him in his nightmares shouldn't count. Those things weren't real.
"What do you want?"
"To help you," the voice turned sugary and alluring.
"I do not need your help."
"Are you sure? Your pack will be doomed if you don't fight this night."
"My father is strong. He is surrounded by strong warriors. He doesn't need me there."
"You should listen," the voice hissed at him.
Theodore turned slowly, resting his back against the wall. "I should not. I only listen to my father, because he is the alpha of our pack." Watching his mother and the others, their beautiful faces, made him feel at ease.
"You didn't listen to your father before. Like when you stole the flint from him."
That was true. Theodore squirmed in his place, gripped by guilt. If it was like this, if he had already done a bad thing, would it matter if he was the good obedient son he always had been from now on? Or was one mistake enough to undo a life spent living by the rules of his pack?
"You did nothing wrong by taking the flint," the voice insisted.
"I did do wrong," Theodore said. "And you just said that I stole it. You are an evil spirit. You cannot fool me again." His mind went back to the way the Black Forest had behaved when he brought the two strangers, Vince and Jack, to the wisdom tree. "Did you destroy the two new wolves?"
"So you do remember them," the voice said slyly. "Would you care if I told you they are no more?"
He would care. Theodore was surprised by such a thought. All the wolves in their pack that were his age were his friends. And Jack promised him that they would become best friends, too.
"They were evil messengers," the voice insisted. "They had to be destroyed."
He'd done wrong by running away and leaving them prey to the wisdom tree. A guilty heart was a heavy heart. Theodore closed his eyes and willed himself to be strong. What would his father say if he knew about all of this? He would tell him to be strong, to be a wolf. Wolves were noble, and they always strove to do the right thing.
"How were they evil?" he asked. "Jack said only silly things, and Vince was kind."
"They fooled you. Only darkness lies inside their souls."
"Lies?" Theodore echoed. "You just said you destroyed them."
"No evil is ever completely destroyed." The voice was trying to fool him into believing things that weren't real. But it had hesitated before replying, which meant it was a liar.
"I will not listen to another word from you." Theodore pushed himself away from the wall to join the others. While he was a bad singer, he could clap along and encourage them.
"You will," the voice hissed again.
Theodore gave it no more attention. Something bad would happen; of that, he was sure. But he would be ready for it in a different way. He would protect the cubs and his mother with his own life if need be.
***
They were no longer in the midst of battle. From the side, it looked like a giant battlefield. Jack trembled, unable to tear his eyes off the bloodbath in front of his eyes.
"They are burying the wolves, Vee," he whispered. "Why are we so useless?"
"We cannot help them," Vince said grimly. "We must find Theodore."
Jack felt a cold chill running down his back. Would they have to witness Theodore turning murderous toward his own pack? But it looked like the Black Forest was winning anyway. What purpose did they truly have here, in this horrible past?
There had been no sign of Tharion or Theodore anywhere he'd looked. How were they supposed to find them?
Vince was already turning, determined to take them through the settlement in search of the alpha. The old one or the young one, it didn't matter. What Vince said made sense. They had to protect Theodore, if that was the least they could do given their puny powers.
Jack caught something from the corner of one eye. A tall, dark wolf. Not fighting, just standing there, at the edge of the melee, watching them.
"Vee?" Jack said, his teeth already chattering. "An evil-looking wolf dude is staring at us."
Silence fell, and the world stopped. Only the wolf moved on his hind legs, mimicking a human. But Jack had seen wolfshifters move and walk and do other things, and they never moved so unnaturally.
"What are you two doing here?" the wolf asked. His voice sounded curious, slightly detached.
"Who the heck are you?" Jack shouted. "And can you stop with the creepy walk? You're giving me the willies."
"You shouldn't be here," the wolf insisted. Its eyes were empty and dead, focused on Jack's face. Even if he wanted to, Jack couldn't look away.
"Why?" Vince asked.
"You are not from here," the wolf said.
"Oh, really? What gave us away?" Jack asked, determined not to let this zombie-wolf or whatever the guy was intimidate him.
"Your misplaced humor will not help you, seer. Nor your strength, guardian," the wolf said, moving his dead eyes from Jack to Vince.
"And we should believe you why, exactly?" Jack questioned right away.
"You are, as you'd say in your world, an anomaly."
"Your mom's an anomaly, jerk," Jack snapped.
"Let's see what he has to say," Vince said. "Are you the one responsible for this?"
"Can I stop time, you're asking?" The wolf's voice was deep and somber.
"Yes," Vince confirmed.
"No. What you see is the past. The past has already happened. And you already know that you cannot change it."
"Yeah, yeah, that's like written in the time traveler's handbook or something," Jack said. He should keep his mouth shut. And really, misplaced humor? His humor was always very well placed.
"We aren't here to change it," Vince said. "We are here to understand it."
"For what?" the wolf questioned. Behind him, the battle for Whiteflame was turning into a dark-red blur. Jack had a sinking feeling that they were about to lose the connection they had to that moment in time.
"So we can change the present," Vince said calmly.
The wolf chuckled darkly. "How quaint. A guardian pretending to have a brain."
"Shut up," Jack exclaimed. "No one talks to Vee like that!"
"You cannot change the past. Theodore will destroy his pack. Your seer has seen it all in his visions. Are you willing to witness him do it? Whatever mild feelings you have for him will disappear. You will turn your eyes away from him in disgust once you see it with your own eyes, how he maims and murders his own people."
Jack wavered. It might be better if they didn't see everything, right? And poor Theo had done all that just because he'd been possessed by evil spirits.
"We are willing to see it all," Vince replied.
"For real?" Jack asked. "Maybe--"
He stopped. Everything that lay behind the wolf was beginning to disappear. Vince must have noticed it, too, because he squeezed Jack's leg in warning.
"We are so willing," Jack said. "Yeah, try us. Nothing you show us can make us change our minds. Also, the fact that I have visions doesn't automatically make them true, okay? I mean, no seer is one hundred percent foolproof, right?"
The scene of the battle was coming back into focus again. Jack steeled his resolve. Whatever they'd see, he would be true to his own words.
"You," the wolf hissed, taking a step toward them.
Clouds swirled above his head. But the moon rose and shone above his head, too. A skull, not a head.
"I kinda knew it," Jack whispered.
TBC