Trail of Bones: A Young Adult Fantasy Novel (3 page)

Korwin glared into the forest in the direction of the voice. If he could exert magic from his glaring eyes, the voice’s owner would be eternally silenced. The elf had not felt such anger and hatred in a while - since he stabbed his uncle in the back. On that occasion, Korwin watched as his victim fell to his knees, then onto his side, still gripping the ancient and supposedly magical tome. The nephew had ripped it from his malefactor’s hands as he stared right into his uncle’s eyes and watched life slip away. He didn’t need to say anything; his eyes spoke of pure hate and hence, delivered his intended message perfectly – payback for years of abuse and mistreatment.

The elf would have continued down this path, reliving all the wrongs performed against him, all the slights, but the distant voice and its last remark jerked him away from his anger. The unicorn dagger was the one thing of value he still possessed, and he had just thrown it into the gnarled clutches of the Mythik Forest.

“Great,” he said sarcastically as he snatched a torch and stomped off in the direction of the discarded weapon.

Moments later, Korwin returned to the clearing with the dagger tucked safely in his belt. He grumbled as he knelt to collect the items strewn on the ground. One by one he shoved bottles, notes, scrolls and other objects back into his pack. As he casually looked around to see if anything was missing, he noticed the empty surface of the stone altar. It took a moment to register before he realized something was missing - The Shade Wolf was gone!

Frantically, he jumped to his feet and hurried to the far side of the altar but found nothing. He spun around in a panic, searching for the beast. He didn’t see a thing… but he heard something, a distinct sound coming from the edge of the clearing. A fast-paced panting grew louder and louder. Korwin squinted, looking towards the sound until his eyes zeroed in on the wolf. Its fur was so dark, the beast was hard to make out until it opened its jaws and white fangs gleamed in the torchlight.

The wolf let out a slow growl as Korwin cautiously approached.

“Easy, beast, I mean you no harm,” said the elf as he held up his empty hands to pacify the wolf. He took a few more steps. “I ripped you from death, I brought you back. All I ask in return is that you serve me.”

The wolf growled again but was interrupted by a sharp pain ripping through its body. Moments later, its body convulsed and contorted uncontrollably.

Korwin inched closer, but the wolf defiantly snapped its jaws in his direction until another wave of pain struck and the convulsions pounded again. It appeared as if another creature resided inside the wolf; one that punched and kicked in a desperate attempt to escape. The poor beast was in terrible agony, but there was nothing the elf could do to ease the torture. He could only watch, as he placed one hand on his dagger.

As quickly as the convulsions began, they abruptly ceased. Korwin looked into the wolf’s eyes and watched as they changed from dark brown to an electric blue. But it wasn’t just the color that changed; the eyes looked hollow and lifeless. The wolf panted again, but with each breath, visible blue-white wisps of energy curled from its mouth and dissipated. The wolf turned its head and stared directly at Korwin. The Storm Elf’s blood ran cold as a river of fear gushed down his spine. Instead of leaping at the elf, the wolf unleashed a blasting roar that acted as a shockwave that knocked Korwin off his feet.

The unearthly force nearly extinguished the torches that stood deeper in the clearing. As powerful as the roar had been, it was the sound that made his knees buckle. It was a horrible mashing of metal and bone, the high pitched screech of a bird of prey, and the scream of a trapped beast, all thrown into one horrific and ghastly roar.
No wolf sounds like that
, thought the elf as he shuddered.
Something’s wrong!

Korwin covered his pointy ears, doing his best to block the penetrating sound. He watched as blue-white energy passed in and out of the wolf, once forming a perfect mirror image of the beast before the phenomenon disappeared. He had never seen anything like this before.
Is it alive? Is it dead? Or perhaps a horrible abomination trapped between this life and the next?

A moment later the wolf was gone, disappearing into the darkness of the forest, leaving a trail of blue-white wisps trailing in its supernatural wake. Korwin exhaled in relief and placed his hand to his chest to calm his racing heart.
I did it! It actually worked. Whatever that… thing is, I did it!
he thought.

Congratulations and a pint of ale would have to wait because his new creation was escaping through the woods.
I won’t stand a chance against the beast. Good thing I brought reinforcements,
he thought with renewed confidence.

“Rawrf!” said Korwin as he turned his attention to the rattle of chains. He walked to the edge of the clearing, stopping just short of the tree line. A beast, still concealed by the darkness, grunted. Slowly, it moved forward, chains rattling, until its massive head came into view. Rawrf was a Ghast Gorilla.

The gorilla’s head was huge, several feet wide and as many long. His dark nostrils were big enough to inhale Korwin’s head. His wrinkled brow and cheeks were black as soot, as were his mouth and lips. His fur, however, was a much lighter color, almost metallic silver, but a black stripe of fur ran down the center of his back.

“Bring me the wolf…alive.” Korwin ordered as he stood face to face with the giant ape. “I said now, you stupid clod. Now!” He clasped his hands behind his back in a show of superiority and confidence.

“Rawrf say no!” the ape responded and snorted a blast of air from his nose directly at Korwin.

“Look you… you giant… ape,” the elf said as he tried to find words the creature would understand. “Do it or I’ll hunt down your family. I’ll catch them, just as easily as I caught you. I’ll sell them to the fur traders. Or better yet, I’ll feed you to the Serpent Lord. I hear the giant snakes prefer to eat their prey while it’s still alive.”

“No!” responded Rawrf. He swung his giant anvil-like hand at Korwin, narrowly missing the elf’s head to smash a nearby tree like a war hammer crushing a hapless victim. The thick tree trunk exploded in a spray of wooden shrapnel.

After missing his target, Rawrf lurched forward to continue his attack upon the elf, but the thick metal chain and collars on his neck and rear ankle snapped him back with a quick jerk.

“Fine, we’ll do it the hard way!” Korwin snapped as he retreated a few steps from the gorilla. He retrieved his pack and pulled a cylinder from it, and then popped the cork stopper from the bottle. Only about a fourth of the orange liquid remained in the container. His arm extending out straight, he held the bottle as far away from his nose and face as he could. Carefully, he splashed the remaining liquid on the Ghast Gorilla’s face.

Rawrf thrashed about as the orange fluid coated his nose and mouth. An orange mist sizzled upwards as he fought to hold his breath. A moment later, he finally inhaled the foul fluid. Slowly his thrashing stopped, and the giant ape’s breathing returned to a normal rhythm. His giant, dark eyes glazed over, and a milky residue seeped from the corners of his eyeballs. The gorilla’s head drooped down as the powerful magic took hold.

“That’s better,” said Korwin as tossed the empty container aside. He approached Rawrf again. “Bring back that wolf. I need him alive. You understand?” The elf stared at the gorilla, only a foot or so from its broad face.

“Yes. Rawrf say yes,” answered the ape, still staring blankly.

Korwin reached up and unlocked the collar on the gorilla’s neck and then the restraint on its ankle.

“Now!” yelled Korwin.

The Ghast Gorilla leaped into action, lumbering in the same direction as the wolf had. He was gone, but the sound of snapping limbs and twigs attended his departure.

Rawrf clumsily rushed through the forest as his big, dark knuckles slammed into the ground with each powerful push forward. Normally, the Ghast Gorilla would be right at home in the forest, capable of running, climbing, and swinging through the trees with little difficulty. The orange potion, however, clouded his mind and slowed his reflexes. The magic was potent enough to usurp his limited intelligence, but it also inhibited his formidable and ferocious instincts. He was forced to obey, even though every impulse urged him to slay the wolf and put an end to an old enemy.

It was well-known in the world of Illyia that Ghast Gorillas and Shade Wolves were the very sorest of enemies. For ages they had battled across the southern continent. Ages ago, both races had claimed the Mythik Forest as part of their respective territories, but even in such a large region, clashes were frequent and always bloody.

When the Draghone clan branched out from their lands in the north and east and settled at Thornmount to secure the frontier forest borders, they unwittingly became allies of the Shade Wolves based on nothing more than proximity. Confrontations between the wolves and the gorillas often involved the village, and the Draghone had no choice but to defend themselves. The gorillas were the intruding attackers, and so an informal bond formed between barbarian and wolf and evolved out of necessity. It was a bond that had strengthened through countless sacrifices and soaked in bloodshed.

Rawrf was part of the gorilla troop that had been pushed from the Mythik Forest many years before. In a great battle with the wolves, they lost and had retreated across the River of Ash and claimed a new territory to the south called the Woods of Dorn. While a few gorilla families remained in the Mythik Forest, most of the Ghast troops sought refuge with their kind and joined forces in the south. But it was not their true home, and every morning they cursed the treachery of the alliance between the Shade Wolves and the barbarians that succeeded in robbing them of their land. With each new generation, the Ghast passed on their hatred for the Shade Wolves. The tradition rekindled the fiery desire for war and death.

This feud motivated trading caravans and travelers to go well out of their way to avoid the forest and the aptly named River of Ash.

Everyone on Illyia knew some chapter of this area’s history. Whether wrapped in tall tales, legends, or myths, the war of the beasts was common knowledge. But Korwin Widestep wasn’t from the world of Illyia. He was an ignorant trespasser from Ohsmar and had no idea of what he had set in motion. He not only sat on a powder keg that could hurl the whole region into war. He had just lit the fuse.

The gorilla searched on and on, but had no luck in finding the wolf. Working through the forest’s depths, he finally heard something. A beast howled until cut short by a distant yelp that pained his ears. Scraping and clawing through the thick woods, Rawrf followed the cries of his intended target. Soon, he shoved his bulky frame through a thick hedge and emerged from the other side. The Shade Wolf was there.

The wolf stood near the edge of a rocky cliff near a stream that cascaded over the rim. It seemed unaware of Rawrf’s presence as it made no movement when the gorilla closed in.

The specter was still enduring some phase of transformation. Blue-white streams of ghostly energy passed in and out of the wolf, each episode inflicting pain. Once black from nose to tail, the Shade Wolf was now ablaze in this blue supernatural force. Rawrf watched as the wolf grew larger, its snout and teeth stretching longer, and its legs taller. Even the canine’s bones became more jagged and sharp.

The Ghast Gorilla species of Illyia was violent and ferocious, but even they would not venture so close to such an unnatural sight. The potion’s powerful effects, however, overpowered Rawrf’s natural instinct to flee, and the concoction compelled him to obey his enslaver’s commands.

With a loud roar of his own, he leaped forward, holding his large fists in the air. As he landed, he slammed his massive hands down on the wolf. In his drugged haze, Rawrf watched his fists pass near the blue-white hide of the wolf and crush the ground instead.

Just as a gorilla would avoid a fight with an unnatural foe, a Shade Wolf would not take on such a large and powerful enemy alone. The wolves relied on their superior numbers to confuse opponents with noise and movement, finally prevailing with a series of coordinated and lethal attacks. Going one on one with Rawrf was suicide, even for the most skilled Shade Wolf. One lucky strike from the bone-crushing arms of the gorilla, and the scales would tip in the ape’s favor. But neither creature was in its right mind as all instinct gave way to rage, hate, and magic.

The wolf struck first, racing in and tearing at the gorilla’s left thigh with wicked precision. The blue energy-infused fangs sliced deep into the muscles of Rawrf’s leg and the ape screamed in pain. The gorilla countered by swatting at the wolf with one of its large arms. This time the blow connected squarely and sent the blue wolf hurling through the air. It struck a tree, releasing a burst of blue-white energy as it hit the trunk and slid to the ground. The spectral wolf stood up; shook its whole body, and unharmed, resumed the fight.

This time the beast did not hesitate. It acted as wolves characteristically never do: it moved in for a point-blank frontal attack. Rawrf’s huge arms, massive chest, and his own mouthful of powerful fangs awaited the charge. The wolf raced in and leaped to the gorilla’s chest. Aiming for the ape’s throat, it bit hard but missed and crunched the gorilla’s shoulder instead.

In response, the Ghast Gorilla wrapped his arms around the wolf and struck at the creature’s unnatural body as best he could. But with each forceful blow, it only seemed to infuse the wolf with more energy and strength.

The wolf’s teeth continued to tear deeper into the gorilla’s flesh even as it received punishing blows from the defender. Rawrf dropped to the ground, slamming his shoulder and the wolf with it.

Back and forth they went, tossing and turning in a tempest of fangs, fists, and fur. Rawrf was punching, kicking, and tearing at the wolf as it chomped different parts of the gorilla’s body. Nightmare sounds of howls, roars, screeches, and moans seared the air. The two fought on, their epic battle destroying bushes, trees, and even pulverizing rocks.Circling overhead in the night sky, a lone owl peered down upon the fight, watching as the two rolled closer and closer to the cliff’s edge.