Chapter Twelve– Peaceful Night

It was a windless night. The clouds had long cleared, but the stars were oddly faded and the moon was dark. A lazy pillar of smoke spiraled up into the sky, blotting out some of the twinkling points of light.

Kevin sat, legs crossed, in front of the fire. The flames cast weird shadows across his face, making him look like a shadowed wolf. His eyes were closed, and sometimes, when the fire crackled and dimmed, he would feed a twig or a stick into it.

Lise was sitting across from him, leaning back on Hawk. He was lying curled up in a blanket, sleeping uneasily. Every once in a while he twitched and muttered or sobbed, a short, cut-off muffled sob that caught in his throat. Carlie and Angela were both sleeping next to Flammie, who rumbled loudly with the contented snores of a well-fed dragon. Duran was patrolling the camp in a even circuit. Occasionally he stopped and walked off to investigate a noise.

Nothing disturbed their peace.

"Lise, why you leave Rolante? What if demon-beast not want you, want Elliot?" Kevin said, quietly. He slipped another stick into the fire and watched it crackle up higher, into a flickering barrier of orange light between him and Lise.

Lise sighed and opened her eyes. "I have to believe that it wants me. If I believed otherwise, I couldn't leave him all alone there. As it is, I've had no news of any kind from Rolante, so I must assume that everything is running well. If something happened, I would at least hear rumors."

Kevin nodded. "I not understand why demon attack you, other warriors but not me. It not make sense. I Warrior of Mana too."

"I don't know." Lise shifted her position. "Maybe it has something to do with the Moonlit Kingdom."

The solid sound of Duran pacing abruptly stopped. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Lise and Kevin looked towards where they knew Duran was. He was hidden behind trees, out of sight.

Duran swore, and then launched into a run. "Koren!"

They heard a scuffle, and then Duran came into the circle of dim light cast by the fire, dragging Koren behind him. He threwKoren to the ground. Koren curled up into a ball, whimpering. He had been crying. Duran turned and walked back into the forest.

Kevin looked at Koren with pity. "Why you try leave?"

Koren didn't answer.

"Leave him alone." Lise said, softly. Kevin nodded.

Time passed. Duran came back from watch. "Your watch, Kevin."

"Gah, right." Kevin stood up and stretched, and then walked out of the circle of light.

"Strange, that I haven't seen the beast since it attacked Wendy." Duran mused, sitting cross-legged with his hand on his sword.

"I think it's afraid of us." Lise said, and poked the twigs in the fire around with a stick. The fire flared up briefly, and glinted orange off of blank white eyes behind her.

"Lise! Turn around!" Duran yelled, and stood up and drew his sword. Lise jumped up and spun around, accidentally tripping over Hawk in the process.

"What the hell?!" Hawk said, sitting up, jarred awake.

Kevin came crashing back through the forest, in his wolven form, wolf's muzzle drawn back in a snarl. "What is it?"

Duran blinked, and sheethed his sword. "Sorry, I thought I saw something."

(You did.)

"Did you hear that?" Duran snapped, glancing around the campsite.

Lise sighed. "Duran, you're tired and you're seeing things. Sit back down." she said, standing up and brushing herself off. "Sorry, Hawk."

"Whose watch is it?" Hawk said, rolling up his blanket.

"Mine." Kevin said. He turned and headed back to his post. "Gah, sorry."

"How can you fight something that keeps running away?" Duran muttered, but he sat down.

Hawk shrugged, and moved to the outskirts of the flickering circle of fire-light. "Carlie's still asleep." he reported, dryly.

"Good. Wake me up in the morning." Duran said.

After a while, Lise had to assume he was asleep, the only difference from him being awake that his breathing was deeper and his eyes were closed.

"Hawk . . . you seem to be feeling better." she said, quietly.

Hawk laughed bitterly. "Oh, good." He lay back, looking up at the sky. "I'm not. I've just had a chance to think about it, now."

Lise nodded, her face shrouded by the flame's shadows. "I'm going to put the fire out . . . do you mind?"

"No. You going to ask Kevin?"

"He can see in the dark. I asked him."

"Ah."

Lise waited a moment, but Hawk remained silent, so she turned the embers over and waited for the fire to finish dying. Eventually, she went to sleep.

The fire died.

Hawk stayed awake, and watched the dark, cold sky.

Kevin paused. He could smell blood, faintly, on the wind. "Hawk?" he said. "You still awake?"

"Yeah."

"I think . . . wolf-daemon around here, hiding."

Hawk bolted up. "Where?!"

"Dunno. Maybe . . . over by Koren? You go wake Duran and Lise and Carlie and Angela."

(No need . . . just let me take Koren . . .)

Hawk swore and prodded the other Warriors of Mana awake. Carlie was up first.

"Demon-wolf here?" she said, increduliously. "Where?"

"Don't know." Kevin said. "But I smell it, really, do."

The daemon choose this moment to unveil itself, stepping out through a tree, shadows cloaking it. Behind it, around it, a thousand beady eyes glittered.

(We came to claim Koren as ours.) it said, swinging its head from side to side drunkenly. Its muzzle was matted with dried blood, and blood still dripped from its jaws like rain from a cloud.

"No!" Carlie bounced forward, holding her flail over her head. "Carlie not let you get anyone, Carlie still mad over Heathie!"

The daemon-wolf stepped backwards and laughed. The swarm of rats around it hissed and chittered. (You don't want Koren. . . he is a burden to you. . .)

"No." Lise said, and Carlie nodded.

"Why not?" Hawk said, and laughed a little, bitterly, dryly. "It'll probably kill Koren and save us the hassle."

Behind him, Angela nodded, wraith-like in the dark. "He tried to kill us before, or have you forgotten that?"

(Your friends talk sense . . . you should listen to them. Give us Koren.)

Kevin bounded over, taking long, loping steps. He stood in front of the wolf and snarled. "This not about Koren . . . you leave now, stay away from camp!"

The wolf snarled back at him, and stepped farther back into the shadows. (Very well, Warriors of Mana! Your sweet sweet blood shall stain the ground and we will take Koren anyway!) The rats around it hissed and squeaked, a sea of tiny red eyes.

The wolf tensed, and Angela could feel magic gathering around it. She started to mutter the words for a spell, but Lise struck first.
Lise stepped forward and swung her spear over her head, the tassles hanging off the tip catching the wind. "Jormagund, great world serpent, lord of all earth, heed my call! I remind you of your debt to Rolante!" She planted the spear in the ground, and the earth trembled.

The wolf howled, trying to drown out Lise's voice, but it was too late; the words had been spoken. The ground rumbled, and split open beneath the wolf, which vanished instantly, fading into nothingness. Its rats fell squeaking to their deaths, clawing at each other blindly in panic. Angela thought she saw a swiftly moving coil, perhaps scales, a huge, unblinking eye in the dark fissure, but it was gone quickly. The crack closed, leaving a jagged line and small mashed bits of rat in the ground.

Lise knelt and touched the crack with her spear. "Thank you, Jormagund." she murmured.

(Did you think that would hurt us? Scare us?) The wolf laughed, from behind them. (We have challenged Jormagund itself before!)

This time, Angela was ready. "Inferno of the sky, fire of the night, Salamander's light, blaze down upon my enemies!" She paused, feeling warmth flare around her and gather into her. "Meteor!"

The sky around the wolf blazed with flame, raining down and catching its fur. The wolf twisted in pain and stepped out of the way.

(All other powers in this world, obey us! You silver you black moon stars sky all! Death Word!)

The spell hit them like a tsunami, bringing Angela to her knees. Duran stepped between her and the wolf, sword drawn. "I've cast Bladesharp on this many times, wolf."

(Jinn spirit of wind your child calls upon you we call upon you–)

"Duran, move! You in way!" Carlie ordered.

"What?" Duran said, but stepped aside.

The wolf swung its blind gaze to Carlie. (We remember you. . . Jinn lord of wind your children--)

"Pure holy Light, source of all power, Goddess's gift, gather in my hands! Holy Ball!" Carlie lashed out and hit the daemon in the muzzle with her morningstar. There was a sharp cracking sound, the wolf recoiled, and light, white, blinding, flared around it. It shrieked, like the death-scream of a rabbit, and vanished.

(We are scattered! The shards! No! We are not yet full. . . but when we gather our other souls, we shall scatter your sweet crimson flesh to the winds!)

Kevin snarled. "No! We kill you, wolf-beast!"

There was no answer. Kevin sighed and changed back from his wolven form into his normal self.

Gradually, the sun dawned, and Duran started to collect and roll up the sleeping blankets. He gave them to Flammie.

"Collect our other souls?'" Lise mused, while she covered the fire with dirt. "What could that mean?"

"Shards. . ." Hawk said, under his breath. He watched the sun, arms folded, and thought about what the wolf had said.

"The Mana stones." Koren said, quietly. "The shards of the Mana stones."

"What?"

Carlie bounced over, swinging her morningstar cheerfully. "Carlie thinks so too." She glanced at Duran, who was busy fasteningthe camping equipment to Flammie and talking to Angela. She looked back at Koren, leaning carefully against a tree, blood still leaking from some of his wounds.

Carlie grinned mischievously. "Goddess's light, source of our power, heal these wounds!" she chanted, and gestured at Koren. "Light Heal!"

"What are you doing?!" Hawk spun around, knives out, but it was too late. Light bloomed around Koren, healing him.

"Th . . . thank you." Koren fainted again, exhausted.

". . . damn you." Hawk growled, but he sheathed his daggers.

Lise knelt down. "Kevin, help me carry him over to Flammie." Kevin nodded, and they placed Koren in Flammie's claws. Flammie purred.

They left, before the sun had truly risen yet, heading for the Mana stone of Fire and the desert where is resided.