Silvermoon. A Tale of a Young Werewolf. A YA Novel. 12-18 (4 page)

He realized Lucas wasn’t lying,
Jennifer, the girl with the golden hair is an elf and I’m a werewolf.
He wondered if he should tell of the episode at the ford, and about hearing Jennifer’s voice inside his head, instead he said, “And what’s wrong with that, I’m twelve years old and I won’t always be twelve, I’m maturing too, and not only that, I happen to like her very much. I want to see her again. I feel we were meant to meet. I know she likes me and who knows, maybe one day we will be a pair.”

Lucas’ face flushed heavily as his voice rose. “You cannot mate with an elf, if you touched one drop of her blood with just your finger you would change into a fierce monster, a raging, rabid creature, more deadly than a werewolf and would have to be destroyed.” Then his voice changed, like father to son, as he said, “It would be the end of you, Jason.”

He felt sick, his head sank. They were taking him away from her, her from him. “I don’t understand. Why is this happening to me?”

Lucas shook his head and gazed at the floor, “Jason, look at me. I have done this many times during the span of my long life, werewolves infatuated with elven maidens, and it doesn’t get any easier. Elves and werewolves are two entirely different species, they have lived in peace and harmony since they came together, and their only enemies are the goblins.”

He watched him and listened intently, this was new to him, and now he was curious.

“The elves defeated the goblins in a great battle in the
Cambrian Mountains
with the werewolves help. That was over five thousand years ago, and as a reward, the elf lord Ardronicus granted the werewolves everlasting life with the use of Chanteline, the rune star, the elves most treasured possession, the giver of long life.”

“The rune star, what is that?”

“The rune star is a magical stone, it’s a large white diamond covered in ancient runes, only the white witch Helga knows their meaning and she lies in a self-induced coma. She is the oldest being on the planet. The rune star grants everlasting life to its bearers and its protectors. You are one of its protectors.” Jason frowned, and dropped his gaze. Lucas smiled, “Yes, you too will enjoy a long life, but don’t think that makes you totally invincible, you are indestructible in a way, your wounds will heal quickly, but you can die just like any human, elf or goblin if you lose your head.”

“A goblin, you mentioned a war with goblins, do they still exist then?”

“I imagine so, we didn’t kill every last one of them.”

He said ‘we’, how old is he then?
He said, “I don’t see why I have to go, there are more elves I imagine, and how would I avoid them if they are a danger to me.”

“Elves are not a danger, the ones seeking a mate are, they are avaricious. Once they find a mate they never relinquish their hold on him or her. Jennifer Townsend will wait until both of you have reached maturity, which will be in your case, when you are seventeen and you will come under her spell. You see, Jason, in our human form we are indistinguishable between elves and other werewolves, we have a very similar aura, odour, the only difference is, elves are telepathic, and we are not.”

“I know, for I heard her voice inside my head.”
Damn, why did I say that?

Lucas’ jaw dropped, “That is a million to one chance! It means you are a receiver! Oh dear, you are really hooked. This is worse than I thought. We were to move you away in a few days time, we were going to send you to a small village near Huntingdon, but she will track you there. You will to go to
Brecon
Beacon
National Park
, immediately, there is a private college there, I have contacts, so it will be easy to slip you in during terms.”

He stood there, mesmerised, “By that you mean I am to leave immediately?”

“At first light.”

“What about mum and dad, and the farm, the animals. Won’t I ever see them again?”

Lucas smiled. “You will see them agin, one day, when Jennifer Townsend mates with one of her own kind. Her parents have been made aware and they will keep a watchful eye on her. As for your mum and dad, as a reward for taking you in, in the hope of helping you to find your way in the human world, and for your thorough education, they were given everlasting life when they were exposed to the rune star.”

They both turned to a knock at the door, Jason’s mum and dad came in. His dad said, “We were listening at the door, we have everything packed, food and drink too, ready for the morn.”

Jason’s brows knitted, “You were both eavesdropping.”

His mother said, “No we weren’t, we intended to listen, in case we were needed, now off to bed with you, you two have talked enough.”

Chapter four.

Departure.

Jason rose from a fitful sleep. He dressed and ate a silent breakfast with the others. When they had finished, his mother told him as they rose from the table, “Aries is saddled and waiting, so be off with you.” She held out her arms and they embraced, she whispered, “We will miss you, my son, we love you and we will meet again, and don’t forget to write, at least once a month.”

She kissed him on the cheek and his dad came forward. He hugged Jason, almost squeezing the breath out of him, “You take care now, study hard and eat properly.” He added, “There is one thing, and don’t forget this; you must learn to run at the same pace as humans and display the same exertion and don’t swim any longer than three or four minutes under water, that way you will pass for one of them.” He added, “That means you must also hide your superior strength, it seems being a werewolf has its disadvantages too.”

Jason looked down as Jessie came in
, “She knows I’m leaving, oh the sorrow, she grieves for me.”
He knelt down and Jessie licked his face and whined softly. He stroked her head, scratched her behind the ears and she licked his ears as he hugged her to him.

“She’ll miss you just as much as we will, Jason.” His mother stooped down and pulled on Jessie’s collar, separating the pair.

Jason rose up, he wiped his eyes and his voice caught, “I, I will miss you all.” He forced a laugh, “Even the pigs.”

His parents laughed, despite their tears.

Lucas said, “It’s time to leave, Jason, you have train to catch.”

He turned one last time in the saddle, his parents were still there at the farmhouse door, his dad held on to Jessie by her collar as she pawed the air, he waved to them and watched as the hill took them from his sight.

He said goodbye
to Lucas, and
boarded the train and found a seat by the window. As the steam train left the station he watched the man in black grow smaller and smaller.

He went through in his mind their conversation on the journey into town. Lucas told
him:
‘Beacon House is on the edge of a national park in
Southern Wales
, it’s a school for gifted children, your high IQ and your instant recall will help you through. You will make many friends, boys and girls of your age. You will remain there for at least five years. The Townsend girl should have found another, er, victim by then.’

Despite the warning, he hoped this would not be the case,
‘How will she find another elf?’

His heart almost stopped as he heard,
‘It shouldn’t be too difficult; the town is full of them, another reason for you to leave. Lyndon’s population is ten percent Elvin, most towns are the same.’
after moving his mount closer he said,
‘Lyndon is where the rune stone is kept, deep in an underground vault.’

He pictured her in his mind, he still refused to believe completely that Jennifer was an elf, he had seen her ears, they were on the large side and only oval in shape,
‘I thought elves had pointed ears.’

He’d despaired as Lucas told him, ‘Some of them do and they hide them behind their long hair.’ He added, ‘Jason, forget her.’

“Forget her he says, so easy to say, but hard to do.”
He realis
ed his questions were only helping Lucas to convince him of the futility of his doubt, and if all this was true then he wanted to know more.
‘Tell me about my ancestors, my parents, and how many more of my race are there and how would I know them.’

Lucas remained silent for a while and then he told him,
‘Your ancestors live in the Scottish highlands, they are now a nation of sheep farmers. The wool trade is a lucrative business for them, but they don’t mix with humans, for one thing they would be conspicuous by their longevity. There are others in the Welsh mountains and they live in communes, as for how many werewolves there are, it is difficult to say as they all prefer to live well way from townspeople.’

‘
Yes, the smells, something I will have to get used to I suppose.’

‘And that is how you will know your own kind, when you get to know their scent that is, but don’t worry, I won’t be far away.’

He assumed it was Lucas down by the river the other night, and he listened to him as he carried on.
‘There are other children like you, fostered out. Their parents, like your own, want them to grow up as humans, something, I am sad to say, the elves don’t take kindly to.’

‘Where do werewolves-. Where do our ancestors come from?’

‘Legend has it we came from the far north, the
land
of
Thor
, of Odin and Asgard, the land of the dwarves and Vikings.’

‘Are there still dwarves?’

‘Yes, but they rarely show themselves, they are too busy mining for precious metals.’

He felt suddenly light-headed,
‘When do I start howling at the moon?’

‘There are many myths surrounding werewolves. The most common one is that we change into a terribly fierce and blood-thirsty beast who feeds mainly on human flesh at every full moon.’
He added,
‘We transform for a reason, for self-preservation mostly.’

His mind had suddenly demanded to know more.
‘Do we change in times of danger? What should I do if I am in danger?’

‘You don’t need to change to protect yourself, just look at you, you are the size of a well-built sixteen-year-old and your dad says you are as strong as he is and you are also faster than a human. Your high IQ is one of the reasons you were fostered out to your mum when you were one year old. Your mum, as you call her, is a highly qualified teacher, hence your high educational qualifications.’
He shrugged,
‘As for changing into a fierce beast, that is true, but it is an extremely painful process and you are not mature enough to change yet, in five years time, maybe.’

‘You say maybe?’

‘If the need arises, if the elves call us to battle,’
b
ut that hasn’t happened in five thousand years and the chances of it happening again are nil.’

He thought about those last half-dozen words, they held a tinge of doubt and Lucas remained silent thereafter, while Jason thought of his joining a human community, eating with them, studying, taking part in sport and swimming.

After a while his mind turned to Jennifer, she was lost, gone forever and when he did see her again she would be betrothed to another elf, and he wondered what his future wife would look like, he imagined she would also be a werewolf, but he had no desire to spend his life herding sheep in the Welsh or Scottish mountains. He decided when the time was right, when he had finished his schooling, he would seek out his real parents.

Lucas watched as the train disappeared round a far bend. He walked towards a red-painted telephone booth on the platform. He entered and took out several coins. He picked up the handset and fed the coins into a slot in the black box. He dialled a number and as soon as he heard a voice he pressed one of the buttons below and spoke, “He’s on his way.”…“Is she? Well, you know what to do, as in the future things will start to happen.” He listened for a while in silence, then replaced the phone and walked out into the sunlight. He took a deep breath and clapped his hands together. “Perfect,” he said, “and now for the hard part.”