Dark Moon Brother
Part Nineteen
Just as he had promised, Wendell had left a fast carriage with fresh horses waiting for them at the front of the palace. Wolf led his confused charges through the hallways and across the many state rooms at a hurried pace. He wished that he was in a position to stop and let them admire and gasp over the things they saw, but his panicked heart beat on furiously, allowing him no rest. He glanced back over his shoulder at them. They were gamely following him, though it was clear that they were both in a state of shock and disbelief. He inwardly cursed the number of fairies and elves that had happened to appear as they went, causing his visitors to stop and gasp in excitement every time. But he held his anger in check. He couldn't very well scold them, especially the doctor. He needed her, and Virginia needed her. He would get the woman to his mate but whatever means necessary. His cool, calculating response to the nights events did not surprise him, really. It was a reaction born out of pure necessity. It was his wolf-self, taking control of a ghastly situation, just like it had done so many times before. But he did not deceive himself. He knew he was exhausted, shocked, irrational. It would catch up with him eventually and he would go totally wolf-wild. He'd be no use to anyone then, he cautioned himself, so, from time to time, he allowed his human emotions of despair and grief an outlet, and so delayed the inevitable. He sobbed as he ran, ignoring completely the stares and the whispers of those who looked upon him.
Virginia. His darling, succulent mate. Always so willing and loveable. He forced himself to accept that her life hung in the balance, and those scales could tip either way for her. Maybe they already had. Maybe she lay cold now on the floor in their house. Had she called out for him? Had Caelum seen his mother die? He ripped at his hair in anguish as the three rounded a final corner and scrambled down the steps to the waiting carriage. Wolf turned to all but toss the doctor in the back of the carriage, nearly pulling the door off it's hinges. When he saw that they were settled, he leapt up to sit beside the driver.
"Do you know the way? Good, then go, man, and quickly!" he said, knowing that his wolf-calm had settled over him once more. He knew his eyes glittered the woodland green, but to his credit, the driver bit down on his obvious fear and swiftly started the horses running down the gravelled driveway, stones flinging up in the air as they went. He heard a whooping, and looked down to see Natalie leaning out the carriage window, her face a picture of excitement. He half-smiled at her. It was impossible not to expect her to gape and gasp at every turn. Poor woman probably thought it was all a dream. He wondered what the priest was thinking of it all. He hadn't expected to find Frederick in the park, but was immensely glad that he had. There had been a moment, when he had come through the mirror, when he had looked back and forth across the great expanse of the city and had been completely overwhelmed by the task he had set himself. How on earth could he find a doctor here, and how could he then persuade one to come within range of the mirror? He had set upon the man Connor, but the priest's mind was clearly gone now completely. He was useless. Then, Frederick had stepped forward. Wolf had remembered the boy, or more to the point, he had remembered not killing him, though at the time he had not known why. He suspected that the boy had tried to help him escape from the others. Why he had elected to help him once more, Wolf didn't know, and right now, he wasn't particularly concerned about it. But he had helped, Wolf knew that for sure. He knew that his hasty, blundering performance at the clinic hadn't been anywhere close to securing the doctor's help. It had been Frederick, with his soft, clever words, who had decided it for her. But Wolf had little time to think about the irony of the whole situation, because even now the speeding carriage was drawing close to the turn off track that lead to his farm. Wolf found himself listening halfheartedly for the easily recognizeable howls that announced a death to the wolfen community. He strained his ears, but heard nothing. He almost collapsed with relief. She still lived, at least at this very moment.
Wolf had left the gate open, and as they passed through now, he couldn't avoid the vision that flashed through his mind, of a happy and carefree young half-wolf who had greeted them there just a few weeks ago. Now, the darkness covered the broken body by the side of the road, but Wolf could see in his mind exactly what lay there. Another death on his conscience. Wolf dreaded having to send the message back to the boy's family. The axe head glinted as they went past, and Wolf cursed that the gentle artist who held brushes in his delicate hands had died with such an ugly weapon clutched in them. But he did wonder just what damage James had dealt the werewolf. Though he had scanned the night ceaselessly on route to the cottage, there was no sign or sound from the monster. He hoped that wherever it ran, though the forest or elsewhere, that people and animals were not foolish enough to confront it. He had seen the paw prints of the thing, seen the damage it could inflict. And he, Wolf, had brought it here. Griselda had been right to admonish him for it. Had she foreseen this? No, he didn't think so. She had acted in good faith. But magic had played an awful trick on them all this night. The cottage came into sight finally. Light blazed from every window. Many people, wolf and human milled around, inside and out. Word had spread, and Wendell had turned out the guards. He heard the soldiers talking amongst themselves as they were stationed all round the farm, keeping watch. Wolf was thankful for the attention, but worried also. If his Virginia died, and Wolf went wild, some of these folk would be in as much danger from Wolf himself as from Elias.
The steaming horses drew up to the house and Wolf leapt down from the carriage, running before it had even stopped moving. Wendell was at the doorway, but Wolf scarcely noticed him as he stepped aside to let him pass. All his attention was on Virginia. They had moved her onto the kitchen table, he saw, and she lay just as pale and motionless as she had been all along. Someone had put a soft pillow under her head, and thick blankets covered her. Standing close by, with hands under the blankets, were Elsie and his brother Willem. They had maintained a life saving pressure on the wound all this time, and they looked exhausted for it. Wolf went immediately to Virginia's side, reaching out to touch her cool lips and forehead. Her breathing was slow, shallower now than it had been, and her heartbeat was weaker, and racing now, as it fought to supply blood to her vital organs. There was a rustle and a purposeful step behind him and he turned to see Natalie enter the room, her black emergency field kit already half open as she caught sight of her patient. Wolf saw her taking in the whole room, the bloody scene, and held his breath in anticipation. The whole trip would have been in vain if she went to pieces right now. She took a deep breath, and Wolf could see plainly the professional doctor's manner that settled over her. She began barking orders, and people leapt to obey.
"Okay. Right, now, apart from you, you and you, everyone else, out!" she commanded, and people scurried here and there, muttering and tearful, but doing her bidding all the same. The last one to leave was Tony, carrying a shocked looking Caleum with him. The man looked ashen, and he stared at Wolf uncomprehendingly as Wendell ushered him out the door. Wolf did not like the way Tony had looked. It was as if he had already given up his daughter to death.
"What's happening to me, Shaman?" she asked, hearing her voice echo in the nothingness.
"You're in the place between the worlds, girl. Your mortal flesh even now hangs by a thread, see" said the old woman, pointing to the silver line attached to Virginia. As she looked, she saw that it had indeed thinned out so that it was no more than a hairs breadth in width. So, the old saying had some truth to it after all. She felt that she should be protesting this turn of events, but it was becoming so hard to focus, so hard to ignore the lure of the white light. It called to her.
"If my body dies, and I don't go into the light, what will happen to me?"
"You'll become a ghostie, of course! Silly girl! That's what happened to that old witch who seduced your mother, you know. Even now, she clings to the earth, hating and plotting"
"My mother, she went into the light, didn't she?"
"What does your heart tell you, child?" said another voice. It was one she knew well. She turned back to the glowing disc of whiteness. Christine stood there, on the other side. She took a step towards her, but Christine held up her hand.
"No, my daughter. Do not come here yet. Don't leave your man and child like I did. Many more years should pass before we ever meet again, beautiful Virginia"
"Oh, mother, I can't leave you now" she wept.
"You can, and you will. Look!" Christine said, and then in the empty space, a vision unfurled. She saw herself as if from above. People were bent over her, but she couldn't see what they were doing. Wolf was there, bending over her, his head resting against hers, and his shoulders shook gently. She looked back and forth between herself, Shaman, and her mother.
"I will try" she said. Christine smiled at her, in the proud, loving way that she had longed so many years for. And so she turned her back on the light and strove to return to the living world.
Dr Natalie Greene had never seen such an extensive wound on anyone still living, but there was no point in telling the others that. She had kept the two wound holders with her, as they looked competent and calm enough, plus Wolf, who had let her know quite clearly that he wouldn't leave anyway. She sighed and surveyed what she had to work with. Well, it was certainly not the sterile, cloth draped environment she was used to, but infection was the least of this girl's worries anyway. Natalie set up her instruments on a side table, thankful for the sudden instinct that had made her pack the extra suturing materials. Donning clean gloves, she began to survey the wound carefully, bending down to get a close look at the damage. As she made her way down the length of it, she began to breath a little easier. It was deep, certainly, but by some miracle, no major arteries had been severed, and apart from a small section of intestine, most of the major organs had escaped injury. It was simply the sheer size of the wound, plus the blood loss from so many secondary veins and arteries, that placed the girl in so much danger. But the wound pressure had held off the inevitable. Natalie could only hope that the shock and blood loss would not be so great as to bring about a total organ collapse. Taking up a length of suture line, she threaded the needle the way she had been taught by her father, and turned back to her patient. Taking a deep breath, she began to sew.
It was close to three hours later when she at last tied off the last stitch and stood back to admire her handiwork. Her back ached and her eyes felt strained and puffy, but she was pleased nonetheless with the result. Where there had been a long gaping gash, now a neat row of sutures ran down the length of the girl's torso. It would be painful when she woke. If she woke at all. Her patient's blood pressure was still dangerously low. Natalie inserted a drip line in her forearm and started fluids with antibiotics, but what she really wanted was blood.
"Wolf" she said quietly, and he looked up at her. He hadn't moved an inch, nor said a word the entire time. His face was drawn and haggard, his eyes glazed with exhaustion. Natalie had seen many things in her time, but this level of devotion, never. She wondered if any man would ever look at her the way this man looked at her patient. A patient whose name she didn't even know.
"Wolf, what is her name?" she asked. He stirred, but did not take his eyes off her.
"She is Virginia. My mate for life, doctor. Will, will, she live now?" he choked a little as the words came out.
"I don't know, truly. But what she needs most is blood, to replace what she's lost. I don't suppose you have blood banks here, huh?"
"No, we don't. Will mine do? Or, her father is outside"
"Her father? Good, lets get him in here" she said, and the other man who had assisted, who Wolf had introduced as his brother Willem, turned and growled at the door. Natalie had no time to wonder about why he had growled instead of just called out, because there were sudden voices outside, and the door opened to reveal a large, older man who stared blankly into the room.
"Are you Virginia's father? Do you and she have matching blood types?" He took a moment to focus on her.
"I, ah, yes. Yes! We do have the same type"
"Are you absolutely sure of this? Yes? Then come here, roll up your sleeve. I can't worry about blood borne transmissions now, and there won't be enough time for me to get back to New York and back here, wherever I am, with blood, do you get it?" she said as the man nodded and went to sit in a chair. Quickly, she stuck a long needle in his arm. At least he was a large man. She was hopeful of getting a least one unit out of him. Together with the fluids, it might be enough to save the girl.
"Take all you need, doctor. She can have it all if she needs it" he said, gamely trying not to look too closely at the bright red blood flowing into the syringe. Natalie smiled encouragingly at him. As soon as she had a full syringe, she went over to Virginia and set up the field equipment to allow the blood to infuse slowly into her. Natalie held her breath. It was highly dangerous, just to take someone's word that they had a compatible blood group, and if he was wrong, the girl would die within minutes. But then, she woud likely die from organ failure without the blood anyway. She checked her patient's vitals over and over whilst the others in the room stayed silently watching. After ten minutes, she knew. There had been no fatal reaction. Natalie turned back to take more blood from Virginia's father, adding it to the bag that slowly dripped into Virginia's veins. She turned to Wolf, touching him on the shoulder, to make him meet her gaze.
"I've done all I can. If she gets through the next six hours, I'll be happier, but right now, I can't say what her chances are, I'm sorry. It's up to her now, Wolf. We need to get her comfortable. Can you bring a bed or a mattress down here? And, we need warm blankets, lots of them" she said quietly. One by one they stirred, going about the cottage, talking in hushed voices as they got the things together. Wolf and his brother dragged down the mattress from their bed and laid it out on the floor, and together, they carefully lifted Virginia down from the bloodstained table. They covered her with woollen blankets and Wolf lay down next to her, using his own body heat to help keep her warm, but not before Natalie had seen what was revealed when he had stripped off his bloody clothes. She blinked several times. Yep, he really did have a tail, just like the one she had glimpsed on his son. No one else in the room so much as batted an eyelid. Well, no wonder he'd said everyone calls him 'Wolf' she thought, going out to the garden to clear her head. Almost at once, a strange, very richly dressed man came up to her. He wrung his hands nervously.
"Oh, oh, miss, will she be alright? She's my step sister, you know"
"I hope so...?" she smiled at the man. He seemed sweet.
"Oh, forgive me, I'm Wendell, um, King Wendell, that is". Natalie tried not to stare at him. A King? Should she curtsy or something? But darn it, she was so tired! She hadn't slept in over 24 hours. And to think, she could have been safely tucked up in her bed by now, had she decided to call the cops on the man with a tail. Oh, well, this place was just as good as a dream, she thought, yawning widely. The King cleared his throat.
"You look exhausted. Please, come and lay down here, in my carriage. It's quite big enough to stretch out in. We'll come and get you if anything happens" he said, gesturing to one of the opulent coaches drawn up outside the house. Natalie needed no further invitation. Perhaps, when she woke, it would prove itself a dream after all.
"Go, girl" said the Shaman spirit. She looked back over her shoulder.
"What's down there?"
"Pain. And love. They go together, you know"
"I do know. Thank you, Shaman. Once more you have shown me the way". The old woman spirit's eyes sparkled with humour.
"Well, dear old Snow isn't the only one who can play at being a fairy godmother, you know!" she chuckled. Virginia found herself laughing too.
"I won't remember all this, will I?" she said, feeling a sudden tugging on the line of her life. She allowed it to carry her away.
Wolf cradled his love gently, like his heart. As she was. A deep calm, deeper even than his wolf-self calmness, had settled over him. Was this what acceptance felt like, he wondered? It was a new sensation. He glanced over at his brother, newly found just this night. Would he gain his brother's love, only to lose Virginia's? Willem sat crosslegged on the floor, eyes closed as if in prayer. Nearby, the priest Frederick was in prayer, though quietly. He whispered the words that Wolf had first heard during his captivity. He hadn't understood them then, and didn't now, but he found himself listening to the calm, peace filled words anyway. He didn't mind it. Any entreaties on his beloved's behalf were fine with him. All went to the same place in the end, even broken hearted half-wolfs.
Tony was laying out on the couch, recovering from giving a good deal of blood to his daughter. Wolf was pleased that Tony had been able to do the thing. He knew that the man had for a long time suffered under the weight of being an incompetent, bumbling fool, incapable of protecting his own daughter from the dangers of the Kingdoms. He'd had to stand by whilst Wolf had taken all the risks, and gained the love of Virginia for his troubles. Now, her rescue had been a true team effort, and Tony had contributed in the most vital way to the cause. Wolf found himself hoping that it would bring peace to the man, whatever the outcome. A quiet rattling of pans came from the kitchen. Elsie, good, dependable woman, was making hot soup and bread for the many who stood vigil, outside in the gardens, or here, in the house. Wolf cleared his throat and reached over to pat his brother on the leg.
"Willem. A thing must be done. Out by the main gate, in the ditch beside it, lies one of our kin. The werewolf slew him in the night, but he was brave, this boy. I am sure he wounded it, drove it off from Virginia. Will you go out to him, and perform the rites?". He watched as Willem stirred and nodded his head in agreement. After a moment, he leant forward to kiss Wolf on the forehead, before rising. He gathered up Stephen as he left the house and they went silently to do the honourable deed.
Wolf looked out the window to see the sky lightening with approaching dawn. It was a relief at least, to know that wherever Elias was, he would soon be reverting to his human form. With luck, no one else would die at his hands this night. A mixture of emotions roiled through Wolf at the thought of Elias. Hatred. Understanding. Sadness. The love of a brother, a friend. What would Elias do when he learned what he had done? What would Wolf have done? And what would go between them when they met again? Elias might have run off into the wilderness, but Wolf would find him, track him down. He knew this, but he didn't know what he would do with the werewolf when that happened. Best cross that bridge when he came to it, he thought soberly.
Virginia breathed deeply, slowly, beside him. The morning light, the dawn coming in through the window, gave her cheeks a healthy glow, a colour he hadn't seen in many many hours. He breathed in sharply, looking closer. No, it wasn't the dawn that lit up her face. It came from within, a sudden rush of blood to her skin. Her eyelids fluttered for a moment and he held his breath. Her lips moved, her nostrils flared and her hand, held so cold in his for so long, twitched ever so slightly. He bent over her, and kissed her mouth.
"Virginia" he whispered haltingly, then, stronger, "Virginia, come back". Elsie heard him, and so did Tony, and Wolf was partially aware of their sudden attention. Elsie moved quickly to the door and out, to fetch the doctor. Wolf continued to talk quietly to Virginia, his heart beating faster and faster as she started to come round. He saw her throat working, trying to speak. A long sigh escaped her.
"w, w, Wolf?"