Lycan Fallout: Rise Of The Werewolf (30 page)

He kept moving his mouth as I drew near, maybe to ask me to spare him his life or perhaps he thought I’d stumble into his jaws and allow him to win. In reality he was asking me to kill him.

“Talbot two, Lycan zero!” I shouted as I drove the sword into his midsection, twisting it around until it went deep enough to crack into his spine. I gave Xavier the finger and headed off to Tommy’s cart. In retrospect it was probably a very good thing indeed that Xavier had no clue what the finger meant or I would have been involved in my second insult-inspired battle of the night.

I had barely the energy to pull myself onto the back of the cart. My head was ringing like I had the bells o
f Notre Dame slamming around in there. I was pretty sure Timbre had busted a rib, and no matter how hard I tried, my eyes seemed to want to close.

“This is not possible!” Xavier shouted.

“So
oooo…. I take it this means the peace accord is over?” I asked Bailey.

“You really don’t know when to shut up do you? I thought BT was expounding for the purposes of his journal,” she whispered to
me.

“You guys figure this out. I think I’m going to take a nap,” I told her before laying my head down on the hay bed. Oggie stood a protective watch
as the world drifted away, I was unconscious in moments, and no matter how hard I searched…I could not find Tracy.

It was light out when I awoke. I had dull pains throughout my body. Nothing like the blistering pain I had from whatever night I had fallen asleep. I was looking up, Oggie was by my side sleeping contentedly, and the sun was nearly overhead. I checked my teeth with my tongue they all seemed to be there. I would be using Sensodyne for a month until they felt better. My rib had set; in three or four days I’d be able to breathe without a hitch.

“No Lycan?” I asked, sitting up.

“Oh, I’m sure there’s a couple following us,” Tommy said from his seat. “How are you feeling?”

“To be honest, I feel like I lost the fight. They let us go?” I sat up

“A small display of power from Azile and their code to honor the crescent moon, and sure, they let us go.”

“Why not attack now? Seems like we’d be easy pickings.” My head felt like I had been at an all-nighter and I didn’t even have the benefit of drinking some good ale. I stepped over the seat and sat next to Tommy. The slight swaying of the cart was not doing me any favors.

“Same reason. It’s seen as cowardice to attack an envoy.”

“But slaughtering an unarmed village with women and children isn’t?”

“They are not human. They view the world differently than we d nn h l

“It is good to see you up,” Bailey said as she trotted up.

“I didn’t know you cared,” I told her.

“It would have been bad if you died on my watch,” she told me flatly.

I smiled wanly at her.

“Where’s Azile?” I asked, looking around and noticing that she was nowhere in the vicinity.

“She’s scouting the way up ahead. I think she’s setting up some surprises in case our travel companions get a little frisky.”

“Frisky? Hardly seems like the appropriate word,” I said to him. “Thank you for your encouragement,” I told him, remembering his words of urgency.

“You would have done the same for me.”

“I’ve got a feeling I wouldn’t have had to. Seems I have an affinity for getting the shit kicked out of me.”

“I had been meaning to ask what that smell was,” Bailey quipped from behind us.

“God, if her voice was deeper. I could almost imagine she was BT,” I said. “That’s what everyone needs…comments from the peanut gallery.”

She looked at me sternly, I would imagine not knowing what ‘peanut gallery’ meant and if I had just insulted her or not. Timbre had nothing on her; the last thing I would want to do is make her mad at me.

“You may have been friends with a distant relation,” Bailey said. “But we have yet to set our friendship.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You would be wise to do so.” She let her horse fall back.

“You could get kicked out of a convent,” Tommy told me.

“She started it.” I told him.

“You keep telling yourself that.”

“Aren’t you on my side?” I asked.

“Not if she’s on the other,” he smiled.

“Nice, I’ll remember that.”

“Good to see you up,” Azile said, coming quietly up on my side.

“How the hell did you do that?” I asked.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, getting close enough to place her hand on my chest.

“If you press too hard I’ll probably fold in on myself.”
Although I have to admit the touch from her felt electric.

“Drink this.” She handed me another leather pouch,
as she took her hand from my chest; apparently satisfied with what she had detected. If I had my way she could keep her hand there, it was comforting somehow.

“Blood?” I asked queasily. That sounded about as good as shots of
whiskey with a world-class hangover.

“Yapatas root and mulberry.”

“Sounds horrible.”

“It’ll make you feel better,” she said as I took the pouch reluctantly.

The whiskey would have been better. Bitter was such an inadequate descriptor; it was like calling Godzilla a pissed off iguana.

“What’s the matter, couldn’t find any elk piss to make this taste worse?” I asked her gagging.

“Drink it all.”

“Are you poisoning me because I messed up the covenant thingy?” I asked her, choking down some more of the vile brew.

“On the contrary, you may have bought us some time. Timbre was one of Xavier’s greatest warriors and his death will affect his confidence. He will not strike now until he is assured of victory.”

“Not sure if that sounds better or worse,” I said as I muscled down the rest of the contaminated contagion.

“Father, I saw what they did with my own eyes,” Lana said to her father.

“I am not saying I disbelieve you
, Lana. I’m saying that women have a flair for the dramatic.” He regretted it even as the words came out. It wasn’t that he was attempting to be mean or belittle his daughter; it was truly his sincere hope that she had indeed embellished the grisly reports.

“Is that what you believe, father?” she asked. “That I merely thought up young boys and girls torn into pieces? Perhaps in affairs of the heart I have often thought of my knight in
shining armor, but this? Do you honestly even believe that I would have the capacity to think of such atrocities? Not one person remained, not
one
. Have you even sent anyone to look? Talboton received riders requesting help when the attack began, you must have as well.”

He had received them, and as quickly as he could, he had burned the message and
sent the riders away. He had convinced himself it was for the best.

“What would you have us do, Lana? Assemble an army? We don’t have one. You yourself know that most of our citizens are farmers. We have some wall guards and that’s about it. We will have to hope that towns more equipped like Talboton can protect us.”

“What makes you think they’re going to go out of their way to do that? You certainly aren’t going out of yours. I do not think there is a single town that will be able to stand against them, father. We may not be next, but we will be eventually. And when they come, no one will be spared…including myself. Or perhaps it’s yourself you’re more concerned with,” she added intuitively.

“Do not let this Michael Talbot cloud your judgment! He is far from the white knight you have sought.”

“Is that what you think this is about? Your poor lovelorn daughter can’t see straight. Perhaps you’re right, father, perhaps after seeing a true man, my mind has been cl v

The chancellor waited a few moments before calling in the captain of his guards.

“Sir?” the captain said.

“My daughter Lana, I want her under surveillance at all times. She is not allowed to leave the city. I would imagine she will give it a go this evening.”

“And what should I tell her?”

“I don’t care if you throw her in her room and lock the door. You don’t need to tell her anything as far as I’m concerned. The world is far too unsafe for someone to be walking about it alone…especially my daughter.”

The captain bowed before leaving.

Lana was already packing a bag when she heard boot steps coming down the hallway. She opened her door and quickly glanced out. Two guards were heading her way.

“Dammit.” She closed her door.

“We are being followed,” Azile said as she stood in her stirrups.

“I thought we’d already established that?” I asked, turning towards Tommy.

“Xavier’s warriors have already turned back,” she replied.

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“I didn’t give them much of an option.”