Chapter 9 (part 2)

Brutal, merciless slaughter… none of those words could even begin to describe how these wolves died. A whole clan of unidentifiable carcasses that seemed to have exploded from the inside was strewn all over the place. In all my life’s travels, never had I seen so much malice and death.

Every detail of the scene rubbed me the wrong way, filling me with so much anger and sadness. If the perpetrator still remained, I would have killed him on the spot! But more importantly, if the death of wolves I don’t even know could affect me this way, I could only imagine what the wolf beside me, their supposed leader and defender, is feeling.

The giant wolf slowly walked in the middle of the carnage and howled a pained, grief-ridden howl. After he was done, he silently lowered his head, mourning for the deaths of his fallen comrades. And then I noticed his eyes were starting to feel hollow and unfocused. I suddenly became scared – scared for the wolf. Was he losing his sanity or worse…his will to live?

Without thinking, I ran and clutched his neck tightly. “Stop! Live! Take revenge!” I muttered hastily, holding him tighter as if clinging desperately to his last shred of reason.

“Revenge won’t bring them back, girl,” he replied coarsely.

“It doesn’t matter! You just need a reason to live! You just need to live!” I shouted angrily. “I’ll help you. Their killer is after one of us! Follow us and you’ll meet the one who did this!”

There was a prolonged silence. I could feel his sorrow, his hesitation, his desire to die and all I could do was embrace him tighter. How pathetic I am!

“Is living…after all of my failures…not a sin?” he asked in a choked voice.

“Of course it isn’t! Dying to atone for their deaths is! Nothing can be accomplished with you dying. That’s just running away! If you want to atone for your failure, then live and redeem yourself! I know vengeance isn’t a noble reason but I’m willing to help you until you find another reason to live.”

That seemed to have knocked some sense into him. His eyes started to come to life again.

“Alright…I’ll live,” he replied. “But choking me… isn’t helping.”

“Sorry,” I immediately let go.

“I appreciate your willingness but why does it matter to you, girl whether I live or die?” he asked solemnly after a while.

“I hate to see innocent souls die right before my eyes, especially if I could prevent their deaths.”

“Then do you think I’m innocent?” he asked, his sharp eyes carefully scrutinizing me, as if testing me. So I carefully considered my answer.

“I am a selfish being with my own sense of justice thus I judge things through my limited knowledge accordingly. As far as I’m concerned, you’re innocent – a mere victim of another person’s wickedness…”

I trailed off as the wolf looked at me expectantly.

“Look wolf, the world isn’t black or white. It’s all shades of gray. And I’m ignorant of all the circumstances except those that I can see or am allowed to see. If you’re asking if my judgment is right…I guess we’ll just have to see.”

I scratched my head uncertainly. This isn’t going as well as I thought.

“A simple yes would have sufficed, girl,” the wolf said bluntly.

“……”

“And you can stop calling me wolf. I’m Kahel, leader of the last clan of magical wolves but now… reduced to the last magical wolf.”

“I’m Chryisle the Dragon slayer Slayer,” I replied suddenly dawning on me that we have yet to introduce ourselves.

Suddenly we heard rustling from the bushes. I was instantly on guard but the wolf beside me remained laid back. Noirxus and the others emerged from the bushes, their horses breathing heavily. It seems as if they really pushed the horses to the limit this time.

“Are you alright?” Noirxus asked but he didn’t say anymore and simply gaped in horror.

“We heard a loud howl and rush –,” Rascielle started but was immediately cut off after getting a clear view on where we were. “Oh how horrible…”

Captain D arrived last but he didn’t say anything. He just turned pale.

“Who did this?” Rascielle was the first to break the silence.

“The same person who cursed Kahel,” I pointed to the wolf beside me. “And I’m assuming the same person or demon as Noirxus dubbed, in the woods a while ago. Who he is exactly, I don’t know. But one thing’s clear: he’s after one or all of us.”

I gave Kahel a determined side glance and then continued, “Kahel is coming with us, if you don’t mind. I’d like to help him with his vengeance. And you don’t have to worry about lax security.”

 “I understand your intentions but…” Captain D hesitated. He’s clearly showing that the wolf would either be a burden or a threat. Either is not good.

I need to prove the wolf’s usefulness immediately. “Kahel do you know a shortcut out of this forest to the biggest human city in the north?”

“Of course I do. But with your beast’s pace, it takes at least a sun’s travel through the sky,” he replied confidently.

 I nodded. “What takes two more days on our own is only a day’s ride with Kahel. The sooner we’re out of this forest the better for Lady Rascielle, especially with a lose attacker hot on our trail. Can he come now?”

“Please Captain, for my sake, let the wolf come with us,” Rascielle pleaded.

“Alright,” D finally caved in. “As you wish my lady.”

Alright! I cheered inside. But then the light mood was immediately ruined after Noirxus asked if Kahel would like a grave for his clan. Kahel refused. He said wolves don’t make graves like humans. And with that, we rode in silence with Kahel leading in front of us.

“Oh right!” I clapped my hands after a while. “You guys haven’t introduced yourselves to the wolf yet.”

“Oh how rude of us. My name is Rascielle. I’m not a Lady but the Captain insists on calling me so,” Rascielle said with a smile.

“I’m Noirxus.”

“My name is really Captain Dheizy but you can call me Capt. D.”

I stopped. 

“I’m sorry. ‘Stacey’?” I asked.

“It’s Dheizy,” the captain repeated in his low deep voice.

“Daisy?”

“Dheizy.”

“D-hey-zy?”

From the corner of my eye, I could see Noirxus silently convulsing with stifled laughter.

“I knew you wouldn’t get it right. Just call me Captain D like you used to,” he said exasperatedly.

“You must have had a rough childhood,” I murmured softly.

“What was that?” the captain snapped his head around to look at me.

“Nothing,” I said quickly, almost instantly. “I just said that you’re built tough!”

“That I am. That I am.”

“……”

“Um, if we’re still on the introductions, then my name is Kahel,” the wolf said hesitatingly. 

A/N: I'm sorry for my prolonged absence! I have a major exam to prepare for and then  a writer's block at the same time! I'll try to post as often as I can to make up for it~