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Jacin

For probably the millionth time, Jacin asked himself how he got into this mess. He usually tried his hardest to follow school rules (even the stupid ones) and he worked hard in all of his classes. So what was he doing, wandering around the castle at night with no supervision, about to sneak into the Black Woods, which students were expressly forbidden from entering after sundown? He should've just grabbed Winter and walked out of the library as soon as he saw Thorne there! But he didn't. And now both Winter and he were part of a suicide mission!

Thorne was leading their group of idiots through the halls of the school. Already he'd taken them through secret passages Jacin didn't even know existed. They'd just slipped behind a statue of Marok Blackburn in the Hall of Headmasters and were creeping along a stone tunnel. Jacin squinted as he tried to make out anything in the pitch black of the passageway. He kept one hand on the cold stone wall and the other firmly closed around Winter's wrist behind him. No way was he letting her wander off this time. It was just too dangerous.

There was a reason Care of Magical Creatures was only held on the outskirts of the woods (unless Jael was feeling particularly murderous). They were filled with all kinds of magical creatures, from harmless fairies to dragons. The deeper you went into the woods, the more fearsome and dangerous the creatures became. So the fact that there wouldn't be any werewolves romping around wasn't exactly comforting for Jacin, not when there was supposedly a colony of acromantula living in there.

Of course, if it had been a full moon, Jacin would have probably locked Winter in her dorm and kept her there until sunrise. Werewolves were savage, murderous, bloody creatures, the only one to hunt humans above all else. Jacin still remembered that werewolf attack that happened years ago. He and Winter were staying at school for the Christmas holidays. The school was a lot more lax about enforcing its rules, and Winter had dragged him away from the castle the night of the attack because she wanted to show him the fairies the staff had used to decorate the trees on the fringes of the Black Woods. Jacin had been annoyed about it at the time. He didn't care about a bunch of stupid little winged people that spend their short lives staring at their own reflections! Now, he couldn't have thanked Merlin enough.

The werewolf had been killed by the time they returned to the main building, but the bloodied walls and mangled corpses of students were still there. The survivors were either sitting apart from the carnage staring at the mess of gore lying before them in shock and disbelief, weeping over the bodies of their fallen friends, or weeping over themselves as they clutched at bloody gashes on their bodies inflicted by the beast's teeth. Winter had been inconsolable, shrieking and screaming and crying no matter how hard Jacin tried to keep her calm. She'd spent the night in the hospital wing with the survivors, and Jacin had stayed by her bedside, not allowing himself to sleep even when her wails finally quietened into soft snores. Werewolves were monsters, heartless, soulless beasts. And Jacin wasn't going to let a single one near Winter.

Jacin had to squint against the suddenly blinding starlight that greeted him as he crawled out of the passageway and onto the school grounds. He was between the roots of a weeping willow with tiny globes of light flickering on its hanging leaves. The Star Tree.

He finished crawling out into the open and helped Winter out of the tunnel. The lights of the tree brought out the grey and silver flecks in her eyes.

"Told ya I'd get us out of the castle." Thorne said smugly. "You may all start singing my praises now."

"Why should we? You do enough of that yourself." Cinder drawled in reply.

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm so darn amazing!"

Kai smirked. "Thorne's giant head aside, should we get moving? This peace agreement's not going to negotiate itself!"

Thorne shot him a look. "That is probably the most boring pep talk I've ever heard."

"So how should we go about this?" Jacin asked, changing the subject. "The centaurs aren't exactly friendly right now and there's no way I'm putting Winter in danger."

Winter placed a hand on his arm and smiled softly. "There is no need to worry my guard. I won't come to any harm."

Jacin tugged his arm out of her grip. His skin tingled where the warmth of her hand had seeped through his shirt.

"The centaurs had specifically targeted you last time." He reminded her. "I'm not taking any chances."

"Maybe we should just wait on the outskirts of the woods." Kai suggested. "It would be a bad idea to trespass to deeply into the centaurs' territory, and we already know they inhabit those parts."

It was a good idea, and it would keep Winter away from the less friendly creatures of the Black Woods. They all made their way to the forest, stopping in the same clearing Winter had had her Care of Magical Creatures class. And they waited. And waited. And waited some more.

"When are they going to show up?" Thorne grumbled.

Cinder shrugged. "I guess we're just not deep enough into the woods."

"This is the place where they attacked Winter." Jacin said. "It's definitely deep enough."

"Well unless centaurs can turn invisible, it's not."

Winter raise a hand. "I agree with Cinder. We must go deeper. The centaurs might be less territorial at night."

"Alright then." Kai clapped his hands together with a grin. "Onward!"

Jacin wasn't sure how long they walked, just that it was too long. He watched as the trees turned from friendly looking oaks and ashes to twisting shadowy willows, their branches, bare despite the lingering summer weather, like black claws reaching towards the stars.

The dry dirt and rocks shifted and cracked loudly under Jacin's feet. He was sure that all the inhabitants of the forest could hear the noise of the group's steps. Despite the lingering summer heat, the air felt cold as ice. Jacin was honestly surprised that frost wasn't covering the tree trunks.

He held his wand out in front of him, ready to cast any of the spells he'd practiced with Wolf. His free hand was holding tightly to Winter's, who seemed unaware of the forest's growing hostility and hummed to herself cheerily.

"I don't like this." Cinder muttered, fidgeting nervously with the hem of her glove. "Not one bit."

Kai shivered. "That makes two of us."

"Three." Thorne added.

Jacin raised his wand. "Four."

"Oh, don't be so paranoid!" Winter chirped. "The forest can do nothing to us. We're visitors. The forest will have good manners and treat us with politeness."

"The forest has no such obligation to you intruders."

As soon as he heard the cold words, Jacin shoved Winter behind him and thrust out his wand. There was the centaur that had been holding Winter last time, the one Jacin had hit with the Stupefying charm. His silver eyes were narrowed into a vicious glare.

Glancing around, Jacin saw that their little group of five was actually surrounded by centaurs, all with arrows already nocked to their bowstrings

"Found the centaurs." Thorne joked weakly. The next thing out of his mouth was a yelp as Cinder stomped on his foot and hissed at him to shut up.

Kai took a step toward the centaur-wall, holding up his hands in surrender. "We don't mean any trouble; we just want to talk." His voice was calm and smooth as he spoke.

One of the centaurs frowned. Jacin hoped it was with interest rather than hostility. "Why would a small herd of children wish to exchange words with us?"

"It's about how the people at Artemisia have been intruding on your territory."

Jacin felt his eyebrows shoot up with admiration. By pinning the blame on the humans, the centaurs would be a bit more willing to cooperate. Jacin wouldn't have even thought of doing that! How many lessons on diplomacy has Kai had?

"We believe we know what monsters have been released on your territory," Kai continued, "and we understand your need to defend what is yours."

"Then you'll understand why we must water the soil with your blood for trespassing." Snarled the first centaur.

"But we aren't the ones who unleased the monsters on your land! We didn't even know of it before you mentioned it! We just came here to plead with you to limit your attacks to the ones who deserve it!"

"And who would they be?" Inquired the second centaur.

"The staff."

This sounded perfectly reasonable to Jacin (except for the fact that Kai was including his father in the "attack" group) but the centaurs thought differently.

They reared and snorted with rage, hooves kicking the air. The first centaur let loose and arrow which embedded itself between Kai's feet. "You want us to fight against the mature wizards, the ones who know the most spells and potions, based on your claims that they are the only ones responsible for this plague unleashed on the woods? Bah! You are merely trying to ensure our deaths!"

"What reason would we have for lying to you?" Cinder asked, "It's not like we're doing this for fun!"

"Besides, the monsters only show up, like, once a month!" Thorne added.

Big mistake.

"The monsters run through our trees almost every night!" Cried out one of the centaurs. "They trample the Earth under their feet and fight anything they come across for mere sport!"

Jacin frowned in confusion. Almost every night? But that's impossible! Werewolves only show up on the full moon! Then again, Cress's theory could have been wrong…

The thought ignited a small spark of relief in Jacin.

Suddenly, the centaurs looked up at something behind the group. Their eyes narrowed and they raised their bows, aiming them at a single point.

Jacin turned slowly, cautious that this could just be a trick. But the centaurs were aiming at a real thing. It was hard to make out its finer details in the dark of night, but Jacin could still make out the gleam of its sharp teeth and claws and its fierce eyes glowing in the darkness. Smooth as water, it prowled forward, revealing a large body bulging with muscle. Its short snout sniffed the air and its furry pointed ears pricked with interest.

Jacin trained his wand at it, but his mind was too full of shock to think of any spells. The moon was only half-full. So what was this werewolf doing out and about?

A/N: SORRY THIS IS LATE! I WARNED YOU GUYS, I HAVE A LOT OF STUDY TO DO!

The gang made it to the centaurs alright, and Kai is an awesome diplomat. But the negotiations were a total and epic fail. And now, they're face to face with a werewolf even though it's not a full moon!

Will the group live to make it back to the castle? Why is there a werewolf out when the moon's not full? Will Jacin really be able to protect Winter?

Please review!