Chapter 38: Werewolves and Vagabonds

Sadie, Charles and Gerald got to Drumaveg quickly but waited until nightfall to start their hunt. They started tracking for any giant werewolf prints which were not hard to find. Not that Charles, Sadie or Gerald had even seen their pawprints before but they made a good guess that they were following the right trail. As they passed through the tree line near a farm, they spotted one.

"That is one ugly son of a bitch," Gerald commented as he looked through his binoculars.

The werewolf was in the process of tracking its prey when Lilly pulled out her rifle. "We better shoot this bastard down before it kills any more cows," she said.

Charles pulled out his bow and Gerald unsheathed his sword. "Ready when you are," Charles whispered.

Sadie took aim through the scope and fired her shot. It hit the werewolf in the face and it roared out in pain. It turned its focus towards the three werewolf fighters and started running to them. Charles aimed his bow and began firing while Sadie kept shooting, but the wolf would not go down. As it closed in on them, Charles made the final shot and got the wolf in the eye. It collapsed and its body slid from the traction it had made across the grass. Sadie smiled at Charles.

"Not bad, Charles," she said.

"Thanks," he replied.

"Lass, Charles, we got company," Gerald said lowly.

Sadie and Charles shifted around to see two more werewolves. "Shit," Sadie growled.

Gerald confronted one with his sword as Sadie and Charles fired on the other. The werewolves charged the group and almost knocked the three down but they all rolled out of the way. Gerald turned and smiled brightly at his quarry. "Come on, ya bastard. Come and get me."

The werewolf growled and snapped its jaws before closing in on Gerald. Gerald ran towards him, slid underneath with his sword raised, and sliced the wolf's chest and stomach open. The wolf looked down at itself before falling to the ground, howling in pain. Meanwhile, Charles and Sadie were still battling with their prey. The beast was being worn down. Sadie abandoned her rifle and started throwing knives at the creature. One knife landed into the beast's skull and it went down. They looked around for other wolves but found none. Sadie smiled at the men and nodded in approval, putting her hands on her hips.

"Not bad, boys," she said.

Gerald laughed. "Not too shabby yerself, lass. Ya looked pretty bonnie fightin', too."

Sadie tilted her head to one side. "Bonnie?"

Gerald sheathed his sword. "Beautiful."

Sadie squinted her eyes in confusion. "Well, uh, thanks?"

Gerald laughed and started lighting a torch. "Come on, our job isn't done yet," and the man set his trophy ablaze. Charles and Sadie did the same.

"Is it just me or did that seem too easy?" Charles asked them both as they walked across the field.

"No, I just think we make a great team," Gerald replied.

"Ha ha! Can't argue with that. I think Lilly would be proud of us."

"Well, let's tell this guy his livestock are now safe and call it a might, fellas," said Sadie with delight in her voice. "This was actually kinda fun. I can't wait for the next one."

"Bloodthirsty lass, aren't ya?" Gerald asked her. "I like that in a woman." Sadie looked at the man and cleared her throat before walking ahead of the two. Gerald made a sad face. "Did I say something wrong, Charles?"

Charles glanced at Gerald. "No. She's just...in mourning, still."

"Oh. Right. I forgot she was married once. How long ago was that?"

"Almost two years ago. He died in May of 1899. Was killed by a gang called the O'Driscolls. They're all dead now, though. She went and killed the majority of them."

Gerald laughed softly. "Well, she sure is something else."


"Are you sure about this, John?" Abigail asked him as he loaded up his rifle with silver bullets.

"Yes I'm sure. I gotta keep you and Jack safe," said John.

There was a load roaring outside as he finished loading his gun. Abigail loaded up his sawed off shotgun with silver buckshot and handed it to him. "Just be careful, John. The boy and I need you."

John huffed through his nose and their foreheads touched. "I know."

John turned and walked out of the house with a rifle in his hands. The horses were neighing loudly as he saw took his lantern, lit it, and saw a creature stalking his barn. He aimed his gun and shot at the beast, hitting it in the shoulder. The werewolf howled and turned around to face John. John aimed again and fired. The next bullet hit the chest and the creature roared. It started running towards him and he fired again. He hit it in the leg as it got closer.

"Dammit!" He took aim one more time and shot the beast in the head. It collapsed to the ground and John sighed in relief. That was close. As he went to go check on the animals he heard another howling in the night. He reloaded his rifle and looked around. It was hard to tell anything in the dark so he picked up his lantern and scanned the area. "Come on, where are you, ya son of a bitch?"

John heard a growl behind him. He dropped his lantern, turned and shot in the dark. The beast bellowed loudly and charged him. By instinct, John pulled out his sawed off shotgun and shot the werewolf in the face.

The werewolf stopped in its tracks and let out a loud roar. John quickly shot the beast again and it dropped. The owner of Marston Ranch grabbed his lantern and looked around once more. Everything was silent. After taking a big sigh of relief, he went to the barn to check on the animals. None had been hurt or killed as far as he could tell. Now John just had to burn the bodies as Gerald had instructed. He lit a match and tossed it on one dead body and it immediately burst into flames. As he went to light the other one on fire, Abigail poked her head out of the house door. "Is it safe?" she yelled out.

"I think so!" John yelled back.

Abigail came walking out and gasped at the dead creature in front of the house. "Oh my God. They're disgusting!"

John studied the deceased werewolf and nodded. There were patches of skin and fur missing, exposing muscle and bone. "Yeah. I don't even know what to say." Abigail nodded as John lit the carcass on fire. It burst into flames and John took a step back. "Jesus!"

Abigail jumped back with a gasp. "Careful, John!"

"Ma? Pa?" Jack said behind them both. As they turned around, Jack was rubbing his sleepy eyes. "What is that thing?"

John quickly picked him up and walked to the house. "Nothin', Jack. It's nothin'."


After stopping for the night in a town called Northampton, Dutch and Hosea got back on the road. They still had a long journey ahead of them, at least four more days of traveling before they'd get back to Moycullen. Dutch missed everyone at home and so did Hosea and they were both more than anxious to get back. "So how well do you think Arthur and Lilly are going to fare in Scotland?" Hosea asked Dutch.

Dutch took a deep breath in. "Oh, they'll be fine, Especially now that Lilly is a werewolf. Now she doesn't have to rely on Adair so much."

Hosea sighed. "I kinda feel bad for Adair."

Dutch's brow quirked up. "Why?"

"Well, I don't think Lilly lets her out enough."

"Hmm, you may be right. It must be difficult for a goddess to share a body with a human when the human is the pilot."

Hosea chuckled a little. "I bet. I just remember the good ole' days when all we had to worry about were lawmen and gettin' shot at. Now we got supernatural beings, witches, and a goddess to deal with."

"Yes, but back then we'd never have a chance to meet a king, either."

"True." Hosea started coughing as he held Aoífe and he covered his mouth.

"How you keepin', old man?" Dutch asked him while bouncing Arthur Jr. on his knee.

"Oh, you know...been better. I don't think the English climate agrees with my lungs."

"Hmm." Dutch looked out the window of the carriage. "We have had quite the ride, huh?"

"Oh yeah, quite the ride."

Dutch sighed. "Well, we did it, Hosea. Whatever else happens, we did it."

"I know."

Arthur squealed at his grandfather and Dutch laughed wholeheartedly. "We're old men, Junior. Let us live in our memories."

Hosea laughed and bounced his granddaughter up and down on his knee. "Yes, very much old men."

Dutch smiled at Aoífe. "Do you think retirement suits us, Hosea?"

"Well, it certainly suits me. I'm gettin' too old to be a thief and a conman. Why do you ask?"

"Well," Dutch said with a long sigh. "I suppose I miss the old life a bit."

"What's to miss? You miss gettin' shot at and chased by lawmen?"

"Not so much that, Hosea. I suppose I miss the action of it all. The robbin' and the swindlin' and such. I suppose bein' idle doesn't suit me."

Hosea chuckled as he looked out the window. "I guess maybe I miss it too...a little bit."

"Hmm. We really should get ourselves a farm."

The gray haired man nodded. "Perhaps, but why not help Lilly tend her farm instead? I enjoy livin' in a manor, don't you?"

Dutch looked at his friend and inclined his head. "Yes, we could do that. It would be hard bein' separated from these little darlings, anyway."

Dutch tickled Junior and the baby giggled and squirmed. Suddenly the carriage stopped and Dutch heard hooves stomping outside. "Hey! You! In the carriage! Get out here now!" some man shouted.

Hosea rolled his eyes. "Oh for chrissakes, now what?"

"I said get out now!"

Dutch poked his head out. There were ten men on horses outside and one of them he recognized from yesterday. "Oh, looks like that man who tried to rob us has friends."

"Oh, that's just great!" Hosea shouted.

Both the men put the babies down and then exited the carriage with their hands up. "Excuse me, gentlemen," Dutch said, "but what exactly is this about?"

"We're robbing you, that's what!" their obvious leader yelled, aiming a gun at the both of them.

Dutch sighed in mild amusement. "Now look, I think that's quite unnecessary, don't you?"

The man from yesterday also pulled out a gun. "You bastards made a fool out of me yesterday."

As the man kept talking, Dutch noticed a giant red wolf coming up the road. He smiled and glanced at Hosea briefly. "Hey, isn't that The Morrigan?" he whispered from the corner of his mouth.

Hosea looked past the men and chuckled. "Yes, I believe it is."

"Hey! I'm talking to you bastards!" the leader yelled.

Dutch sighed. "Well, sirs, I believe you have a problem other than us not listenin' to your shouting."

"What the hell does that mean?"

Suddenly the horses started neighing and stomping the ground. They were nervous and could smell the wolf behind them. One of the men turned around and screeched. "Wolf!"

The other men turned around and started shooting at the wolf. Dutch and Hoses watched as The Morrigan remained unharmed. She bared her white fangs and snarled as she approached. She was ready to pounce when they all turned their horses around and went running down the road past the carriage. Hosea and Dutch burst out laughing and pointed at the escaping men.

"Haha! Did you see their faces?" Dutch said while giggling.

"Yes! I think some of them made in their pants!" Hosea replied as he laughed.

They turned back around to see that their driver was gone. "Huh. Well, shit. Looks like he got scared away too."

The Morrigan shifted into her goddess form and bowed a little. "Gentlemen. So nice to see you again."

"Likewise, Morrigan," Hosea said. "How'd you know we were in trouble?"

The Morrigan approached the carriage and looked in on the babies. "Oh, you know...visions and all that. I've gotten more clarity now that Dothur and Willow are gone." The Morrigan smiled and poked each baby in their tummies which made them both giggle. "Hello, little babies. Oh, I just love human babies. They're just so innocent and...chunky, I think is the word Lilly used."

Dutch spotted their driver behind a boulder in the distance and he laughed. "It's alright, son. You can come out now!"

The man slowly stood up and walked back to the carriage. "What...where did that wolf go?! And who is this lady?!"

"Oh, don't you worry about that. Just come back and drive us, would ya?"

The man, obviously shaken, climbed back up into the driver's seat. The Morrigan giggled at him then looked at Hosea and Dutch. "Well, I think you boys can handle things from here on out."

"Well, thanks for savin' us," Dutch said with a smile.

"Yes, thank you," Hosea added.

"You're welcome," The Morrigan said. Dutch and Hosea climbed back into the carriage and picked up their grandchildren. "Take care!"

"We will! Driver, let us continue on!"

The carriage started moving and the men waved goodbye to The Morrigan before she shapeshifter into a red hawk and fly away.

"Huh. I didn't know she could do that," Dutch said.