Trail of Bones: A Young Adult Fantasy Novel (17 page)

“I knew this moment would come. How many? How many Ghast, Magnus?” Ataris continued.

“One for sure, but I caught the scent of a great many more. At least a dozen or so I would say.”

Ataris was calm, and the rest of the pack settled down as they followed the example of their leader. “On the northern banks of the river? Are you absolutely certain?” he asked.

Magnus nodded.

“The Ghast on the northern shore,” he said as he sniffed the air searching for the scent of the enemy. “Where are you brothers now?”

The young wolf hesitated, feigning to catch his breath to give him time to put together his response. “They went to investigate. To see how many Ghast and which direction they traveled. We came back to warn the pack,” explained Magnus, his head still lowered. Adolphus and Magnus did not move their heads but exchanged quick glances with their eyes.

“A wise plan. Why do you run with the barbarian boy? He belongs with his own,” Ataris said as he looked at Adolphus. “The forest is not safe today.”

This time Magnus answered without hesitation, the truth was always easier. “He lost his way. We found him on our patrol and were escorting him back to the human village when we encountered the Ghast. The gods smiled on us, father, finding the boy led us to the enemy. Without him, we would not have been so fortunate,” said the young wolf.

“Father!” shouted Dain as he entered the clearing. Once again the pack reignited its barking, running, and renewed energy. “The Ghast are coming this way. We must prepare the pack for battle!”

Ataris clicked into another mode, vanishing concern for the human boy and considering only the welfare of the pack. “Take the pups into the deepest caves, ones the gorillas cannot pass through. Send scouts in every direction, but especially to the southwest.

We must keep the high ground for as long as we can. And keep the pack together… families must stay together. The strength of the pack will see us through. Go!”

The frenzy reached fever pitch as wolves ran in all directions, gathering the young, assembling into groups, sniffing and scouting the perimeter.

Magnus, however, did not move but instead searched the faces looking for his brother. “Where is Asher?” he asked Dain, but the noise level made hearing impossible.

“Where is Asher?” yelled Magnus. His shout echoed high into the trees, loud enough to be heard above any bark or howl.

Dain paused.

Ataris looked over, realizing what Magnus had shouted; one of his sons was missing.

“He’s passed. He fought bravely, but he goes to hunt with our ancestors,” said Dain as he looked squarely into Magnus’s eyes.

The barking stopped as if by command.

“Asher? He’s gone? How can this be?” asked Ataris, stunned at the ill-fated news.

“Magnus is right, the Ghast are coming. We spotted one poaching on our side of the river. No remorse, no fear, no respect for our territory,” explained the oldest of the wolf pups.

“What did you do, Dain? Speak!” yelled Ataris, his upper lip curling in anger.

“We took action! Just as you would have done. We can’t let them take food from our land,” Dain declared like a victorious general.

“You saw the Ghast make the kill? On our shores?” Ataris asked.

The young wolf thought a moment before answering. “Well …no, but he was eating an elk when we came upon him.”

Ataris let out a loud bark. Adolphus jumped, as did several wolves.

“You fool! What have you done? The Ghast have been known to take kills across the river just to tempt us, to lure us into conflict. You know this!” he thundered as Dain backed away.

“Father, I thought…” Dain stuttered in defense.

“You did no such thing! Over one elk! Asher has passed and you brought doom to our lair over one elk!” shouted Ataris so the whole pack could hear. “How could you be so blind? I knew it was a mistake to send you on that patrol. The Ghast have hated us long before I was born. They want nothing more than to take back this land, land they tried to steal from the Shade Wolves before.”

“We’ve beaten them, Father, and we will do it again. This time, they’ll never come back.” Dain retaliated as best he could. A few barks and yelps from the pack supported the young wolf’s claim.

Ataris, however, was not impressed. “At what cost? How many must see their end because of… because of your selfish pride, Dain? They would not be here, they would not have crossed the river were it not for you,” the alpha wolf chided.

“Father, I’m sorry, I only did as I thought you would,” said Dain.

The leader of the pack looked over at Magnus.
You should have been my first born. My swift and clever, Magnus. You would never make such a mistake, would you? You brought the boy to safety, a wise choice to maintain our alliance with the village and to warn the pack. Strength in numbers. You should have been my first born,
thought Ataris.

“You will do as you’re told and nothing more. I am still the alpha wolf of this pack, and until I leave this world, you will do as you are told!” he ordered his son, who finally bowed his head in respect.

Magnus stepped in. “What of the boy?” the wolf asked. “I swore to protect him until he was back in his village.”

Ataris redirected his attention and frustration from Dain and walked closer to Magnus. “Indeed,” he looked around the pack as he spoke. “Put him with the other pups. That is the only safe place for now.”

“But I can fight? Let me talk with my father. The village will fight too. You’ll see,” argued Adolphus, forgetting his place and not liking the idea of being tucked away in some dark cave with the other helpless ones. No barbarian would allow such a thing, not on the dawn of battle.

“A noble offer, but not necessary. This is our war, young barbarian, not yours,” said Ataris.

Adolphus fumed. He felt four paces tall; he felt like a wolf. During one of the most important moments in his young life, he was being treated like an infant.

“I’m not going to hide. If you won’t let me fight with you, then I’m going home and you can’t stop me,” said Adolphus as he stomped off in the direction of the tunnel and the path back to the village.

The alpha wolf sighed. “Humans,” he muttered.
Stubborn, willful, arrogant. If I did not know better I would think they act like wolves… ugly naked wolves… but still wolves,
he thought. Ataris pointed his muzzle at the boy and looked at Magnus.

“Wait!” shouted Magnus as he trotted after the boy. “My father is only concerned for your safety, that’s all.”

“I don’t care. Friends help each other. That’s what they do,” he complained as he tried to fight back the tears. He was tired, and his emotions were overtaking him.

“I know. That’s why I’m going with you,” said Magnus. “As soon as the first scouts report back and we know the way is safe, we’ll leave for your village… together. Agreed?”

Adolphus nodded. He bent down and gave the wolf a big bear hug. “Thank you, Magnus. You’re my best friend.”

The moment was short-lived as several wolf scouts raced back into the clearing, barking as they ran.

“It’s the Ghast!” shouted the first scout.

“They’re here,” affirmed Ataris. “They moved more swiftly than I expected.”

“No!” shouted the second scout. “They attack the human pack of Draghone!”

Adolphus spun, not quite sure what he had heard.

“What?” asked the alpha wolf in shock.

The scouts nodded. “Yes. A dozen or more.”

“Oh no,” Magnus said as he looked at the boy. Worried panic spread across the young barbarian’s face.

There was no time to waste, decisions had to be made, and the outcome could not only affect the pack, but the village of Thornmount as well.

Ataris jumped into action. “Dain, take our most swift and engage the Ghast at the village. We must help the humans defend their homes. I will join you with reserves after we secure Thornmount. The enemy may still march toward us. Go… and may the gods be at your side!” he ordered.

Dain jumped to the head of the pack of wolves. He let out two quick barks and dashed for the lair exit. Nearly two dozen wolves followed, sprinting at full speed.

The young barbarian’s emotions were too strong to contain.
My family. My mother. My father. I have to get home. I have to get home
. “Magnus, I have to get home. I can’t run fast enough. Please, please help me.” Tears streamed down his face.

Magnus wanted to resist, offering an argument as to why the boy should stay, but this moment was too big, too important. The boy’s home, his family, his entire way of life were in jeopardy, and he needed to be there.
If I say no, he’ll go anyway. Besides, I can’t say no… not to this,
thought Magnus.

The wolf looked for some assistance.

“Barun!” he shouted. One of the largest wolves of the pack with chocolate brown fur, broad shoulders, and a broad back lumbered up.

“Yes, young Magnus?” asked Barun.

“We need your help? How are your legs; are they fit?” asked Magnus.

Barun pawed at the dirt, digging up a large gash in one single stride. “As strong as ever,” he proudly answered.

“Do you think you can take this boy to the village?”

“Think? Of course I can,” protested the brown wolf. He knelt on his fronts paws so Adolphus could climb aboard. The boy hesitated, wishing it was Magnus offering the ride instead.

“It will be ok. I’ll be with you the entire way,” he reassured his friend.

The barbarian pulled himself onto Barun’s back.

“Hold on, small one,” said Barun as Adolphus took handfuls of fur, and then crouched down, pressing his thighs and legs against the wolf.

“We must run, Barun, like the griffins soaring above; we must run,” said Magnus as he looked at Ataris.

His father said nothing. They we were headed into battle. There was nothing more to say.

****

“Spoiled little troublemaker,” mumbled the sentry to himself as he strolled atop the wooden watchtower.

Any other barbarian child wanders off and everyone would say “if he’s stupid enough to go into the Mythik Forest alone, he better be smart enough and strong enough to come back,”
he thought with a chuckle.

It was true, though. The people of Draghone were not avoiders of conflict, quite the contrary. Especially for those living in the Village of Thornmount, on the outermost border of the kingdom and the lone outpost in the Mythik Forest. It was a hard life with hard conditions… just the way they liked it. If a barbarian succumbed to the perils of the forest it was interpreted as the will of the gods. A favor for a boy or girl not ready or worthy to be part of the village. It was a harsh, but a practical reality of the survival of the fittest.

Young barbarians of the village often explored the forest in small groups. The teenagers, in an effort to prove themselves and hone their hunting skills, would sometimes travel alone. It was an amazing, mysterious, and a dangerous world just outside the wooden defenses, and what young boy would not be enticed to investigate such a place from time to time. But this was different. It was not some other barbarian child; it was the chief’s only son. And this was not the first occasion that Adolphus had inconveniently disappeared.

Probably won’t be the last either,
thought the guard.
“So I’m stuck here, not even my turn on the tower, and half the village is out looking for one foolish boy,” he said aloud, his voice carrying further than he intended.

The sentry peeked around to make sure no one heard his little tirade. But he saw only the trees outside the fence and a few women tending to cooking fires inside the compound, and they were well out of earshot. So he continued his grumbling.

“I would teach that boy a lesson, I would. One he’d never forget. I would whip his hide or let him rot out in the forest. When I have children they won’t act like this. If they do, that’s what they’ll get!”

It was past the midday, and the temperature continued to rise. All he wanted to do was to find a spot of shade and eat the rest of his lunch. He glanced over at the horn, hanging from the side of the tower. He couldn’t remember the last time he had heard the three long blasts of the horn warning of danger. Then he looked over at his long, wooden spear. It had been even longer since he had held the weapon in a fight or battle. Both seemed rather useless right now.

I’d much rather be out there, looking for the boy, in the shade of the forest, than cooking up here under the sun. At least out there I could snare a boar or perhaps a timber elk and eat a fine meal tonight. Yes, the guard on the tower is important, but it is boring to the point of torture!
Of course, there was no chance he would say such things aloud. That was a sure-fire way to get off the tower for a very long time and right into the labor gangs rebuilding fences, walls, and huts.

Like it or not, he was stuck, and he could feel the frustration of his duty weighing down on him. With nothing else to offer as a distraction, he refocused on the task at hand, scanning the forest tree line for Adolphus.

As he had done many times in the past, he trained his eyes to track the perimeter for movement, not necessarily for shapes. The normal swaying of branches and bushes almost didn’t register, as he was used to selectively tuning out everyday noise. He looked and listened for the abnormal. Once he spotted the boy, he was instructed to give two long blasts with the horn to inform the search parties to return to the village.

What was that?
he thought as saw a quick movement and a dark shape from the corner of his eye. He couldn’t make out what it was, but it was close.
I hate it when they try to sneak up on the guards. Good way to get yourself killed, boy,
he thought.

There it was again
, he thought,
but from another direction.
The sentry grew annoyed. The glare of the sun and the shadows from the forest canopy made seeing into the distance more difficult than usual.

“Adolphus! Do you know the kind of trouble you’re in, boy? This is no time for games. Now show yourself before I get your father myself,” he said. “Then we’ll see how humorous this is.”