"How can you be so sure that she was describing the very one you immediately thought of? Do you have any memory of your Lycan prowling the last day? Or did you only assume that that was the one, from your memory?" Ademar pressed, for obvious reasons. Informing Cephas of any sort of problem was never a pleasant experience.
"I've told you, I don't know! I thought she was speaking of the Lycan... The one..." Clotaire sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Now I'm not sure. I feel so foolish..."
"I suggest we check the cages," Ademar murmured, resting a hand on Clotaire's shoulder, briefly. "Before we go to Cephas. We can speak with the Lycans who came in before Sonja arrived. The ones she wouldn't have seen. We can see if any of them may be the Lycan she was searching for. Leave it to me."
"Alright." Clotaire agreed slowly. "But we must hurry. If Sonja finds that we did not immediately go to Cephas..."
She stopped only a few miles down the trail, confused. The Lycan's path had doubled back on itself, as if it had returned, from whatever its destination had been, by the same route. Its prints had then headed back in the direction of the castle, as if returning for the night. But it had not returned to the castle. She had not seen him, and neither had Clotaire.
The tracks continued forward, over a slight incline of hill and down, and she continued following, feeling that the answer must be forward. She followed the tracks through trees and across flowing rivers, and they always appeared once more on the other side. She followed determinedly, keeping her eyes alert to any sudden movements in the trees surrounding her. If there was an ambush, she would stand little chance. Born of pure blood, her father even being the first of their kind, she had a unique strength. But, unfortunately, the Lycans, by nature, were stronger in combat, and he may be a pure blood of his kind, for all she knew. At least, in all cases, she could outrun him in the end.
Time soon faded from her mind as she followed, thinking of little else then the tracks the Lycan had left behind. As always, this proved to be her shortcoming.
"There!" Ademar insisted, pointing out one of the Lycans who sat submissively against the wall, looking pointedly away from their guessing fingers. "He looks just as she described, and he was the second one in, tonight. I'm sure of it."
Clotaire stepped towards the bars of the cage, grasping them in his hands and leaning his face closer to get a better look at the Lycan, who remained sitting, as if he were not being critically observed. "Lycan." Clotaire called finally, and the Lycan looked up, listening. "Lycan, stand and come forward."
The Lycan stood without objection and moved to the bars, watching Clotaire carefully.
"You were out on watch yesterday?"
"Yes." the Lycan answered, nodding his head slowly, still watching.
"You know of Her Lady Sonja, yes?"
"Yes. I know of her." the Lycan affirmed. His eyes were unchanging in their level, and, unconsciously, Clotaire stepped back from the bars of the cage, leaving the Lycan his turf.
"Would she happen to be looking for you?"
The Lycan paused for a moment, then cocked his head to the side, wondering. "Her Lady Sonja looking for a Lycan? I cannot be certain that you know of what you speak."
"Her Lady Sonja was looking for a Lycan; a Lycan who matches your description and whereabouts, precisely." Ademar cut in, stepping forward challengingly.
The Lycan turned to Ademar, a smirk hidden at the corners of his mouth. "Then I suppose that makes me the one."
Clotaire hissed at the back of his throat until Ademar shot him a silencing glance. "She is out looking for you now." Ademar informed the Lycan, ignoring Clotaire's obvious distaste.
"And what does she want of me?" the Lycan asked.
Clotaire hissed once more and Ademar bared his teeth, both of them not liking the Lycan's obstinance, but having nothing to say of it. "What she wants of you, we do not know." Ademar answered, his voice stiff and cold, daring the Lycan to interrupt him this time. "But what she wants of you does not matter. You are to help us find her, as you know where she may have headed, and were the cause of this problem to begin with."
The Lycan held his jaw firmly set in place, as if to hold himself back from making another remark. "Of course." he said finally, bowing his head slightly and stepping back from the bars.
Ademar stepped to the door of the cage and pulled a key from his pocket, slowly unlocking the padlock while keeping his eyes on the rest of the Lycans in the cage, daring them to try an escape.
Clotaire slowly licked his lips, staring in concentration at the Lycan, who stared back, calmly. "And your name?" Clotaire demanded finally.
The Lycan smiled. "Lucian." he replied, nodding his head firmly. "And you are...?"
Clotaire hissed in response and Ademar reached into the cage, grabbing the Lycan by the arm, roughly.
The tracks were befuddled, as if the Lycan had been pacing, one line of steps over the next. And he had gone back to his human form, so they were footprints.
She stopped there for a long time, looking at the surroundings. What had perplexed the Lycan so, that he had stood and paced aimlessly? There was no hint in the trees, in the sky, on the ground or the smell of things. Whatever had caused the Lycan such thought had been purely internal. She thought of him pacing alone in the trees, the sun shining down on his head as a light brush, a warm touch, as he paced in his own time.
What did a Lycan have to pace about anyways?!
She looked over the ground and spotted where his footprints went on. They continued in a direction away from the castle, at long human strides. And she continued following.
"She's following his trail, that's for certain." Ademar observed, standing upright from his crouch near the ground.
"What lies in that direction?" Clotaire asked.
"A village. Thirty miles from here." Ademar paused then, turning. "Did you pass by the village, last night?"
The Lycan had his head bowed submissively, unusually quiet since Ademar had backhanded him for a particularly snide comment. "I did not pass by." the Lycan said, still staring at his feet. "I was patrolling the borders of the clan's land, and the village lies on those borders. I observed the people there to ascertain there was no threat."
Ademar and Clotaire both looked at him, then at each other, doubt clearly written across their faces. "Perhaps we should have informed Cephas, after all." Clotaire murmured quietly.
"Silence." Ademar hissed, obviously weighing out the situation in his mind. He turned another threatening eye on the Lycan. "You are certain you did not enter the village... Bite anyone... ?"
The Lycan continued to stare at his feet, his jaw clenched in repressed anger. "I am certain." he mumbled. "I only watched on the outskirts of the village, as I do every day."
"He could be lying." Clotaire whispered back to Ademar.
"He could also be telling the truth." Ademar replied, still thinking.
"But if we were to stumble into a village full of Lycans, just the two of us..."
There was silence as all waited for a decision on their next course of action. A slight breeze stirred the leaves in the trees, and the Lycan looked up carefully towards the sky. "Dawn..." he murmured.
"Dawn is still hours away. Calm yourself, Lycan." Ademar hissed. "Do not be so eager for our deaths."
The Lycan shrugged to himself, unnoticed, and went back to his surveying of the tracks that made their way deeper still into the trees.
"Perhaps if we return to the castle now, we would have time to gather a greater number of our men to travel to the village, in safety. If we leave now..."
"There is not much time. The village is a fair distance from here... Surely Sonja will have the presence of mind to make her return shortly."
"But if she does not?"
"What if she does not? There is not much we can do about that."
"I will go for her."
Ademar and Clotaire looked up from their argument to stare at the Lycan, who sat back calmly in a crouching position, waiting for their permission. He was obviously ready to go.
Clotaire began to chuckle darkly, shaking his head. "I'm sure you would love that, Lycan. The opportunity to get Viktor's daughter while she is alone..."
"You have no other options." the Lycan pointed out, risking his interruption. "I have done no harm, before, and will do none now. I wish only to help, as has always been the duty of my people."
Clotaire glanced nervously to Ademar, who was watching the Lycan carefully, as if to catch a lie in his eyes. At last he gave a snarl of defeat, showing his teeth, then turning his head from it. "We will accompany you, Lycan." Ademar explained, glaring. "So far as the night permits us. After that, Sonja is your sole responsibility. Until she returns safely to the castle, you will be a hunted man, and will not be welcome, alive, in these lands."
"Then we leave now." the Lycan stated abruptly, nodding to himself and rising to his feet, taking off into the trees.
Clotaire watched the Lycan's departure, then turned to Ademar in confusion. "Why are we going? The sun will be up before we can make it to the village and then back."
"We will go as far as we can." Ademar explained. "When we can go no further without being caught in the daylight, we will turn back. I hope to find Sonja on the trail returning before we must make our retreat."
A village.
Immediately she froze, startled. The Lycan's tracks had led straight to a village. She had been told that, in earlier days, Lycans had attacked entire villages, turning all humans within sight into Lycans as well, bloodthirsty and crazed, with no freedom or strength of mind, or choice.
An entire village of Lycans...
She nearly turned and fled, but her curiosity held her in place. All was silent. If the people had been turned into those savage beasts, the village would be teeming with noise and action. So perhaps he had done nothing. Only observed.
Quietly she left the line of trees and crept through the street, lined with houses. Inside of them she could hear families quietly slumbering, their breaths sweet and shallow, peaceful dreams, no doubt, swirling through their minds. The street was empty, pebbles crunching softly beneath her feet. The moon lit upon her face, and she glanced up to the clear star-studded sky, happy, at last, to have found what appeared to be yet another peaceful haven.
Ahead a house door opened, and a simple farmer stepped out, his hand covering his mouth as he yawned and stretched tiredly. Sonja hid herself behind the wall of another building and continued to watch the man, curious. He picked up a shovel from against the side of the building and slung it over his shoulders, resting his arms as he made his way behind the house and into the field beyond, ready for an early start to the day's work, no doubt.
Sonja stopped. The day.
She was out of the village in the blink of an eye, her legs pumping wildly, her arms swinging at her sides as her eyes widened in panic and horror. Not again! Not again, and this time so far from home!
A tree branch reached out and scraped her face as she fled, but she ran through it, no time to stop. The sun... What time could it be? How long did she have? And how long, at inhuman speed, would it take her to return to the castle? ...
There was not enough time!! Not enough time, not enough time... But she had to try!
"Lycan!" Clotaire called, stopping his strides, breathing heavily. "Lycan!!"
Seconds later the Lycan appeared beyond the trees, in full form.
"Find her!" Clotaire yelled, snarling. "Find her and help her! We can go no further!"
The Lycan barked his guttural response and tore back through the trees, disappearing from sight.
"Quickly." Ademar breathed, grabbing Clotaire by the arm. "We must hurry back. We have gone too far. There is not much time for us."
"There is no time for her." Clotaire murmured, his face drawn in pain. "No time..."
"He will help her. Come, Clotaire, come!" Ademar insisted, pulling on his arm.
The two of them turned and fled, flying through the trees, nearly invisible in their haste as they returned.
She felt tears streaming down her cheeks and horrified sobs shook her. She tripped several times, and fell, but always she flew back to her feet and on, on through the trees.
How foolish she had been! How she deserved what was coming to her! She couldn't even remember, now, what had brought her to this. To her end. To her death. And she was so afraid. Afraid of burning alive...
She cried, feeling the trees around her beginning to stir, daylight on its way. And there was nothing she could do. Keep running? She had no choice! Her muscles cried out for rest, and each step became more difficult, but all the more necessary. She was fighting herself, fighting destiny. She would die. That was her fate. To die...
And then, as if from nowhere, a hand forcefully grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop, nearly toppling her backwards, and she cried out. A muzzle and smoldering black eyes...
And then the face of the Lycan, his eyes intent and clear. "Stop." he said, grabbing her other arm and steadying her. "There is a barn, nearly three miles due South East of here. Now run!!" She barely had time to blink before he had turned her and pushed her in the right direction, pulling her along beside him.
And she understood. There was hope...
Her feet began to fly, once more, pulling strength from beyond herself, and she sped past the Lycan, leaving him behind and further, out of sight. The miles flew beneath her feet, a red morning rising before her fearful eyes. And she sped on, air howling past her ears as she went.
And through the trees she saw the barn, standing solitary on an open field, which was soon rustling past her feet, and she was at the door, breaking the lock with one pull of her arm, and she threw herself inside.
The sun was not up, quite yet, but she knew the problem immediately. There were gaping holes between the planks of wood which made up the walls of the structure. Gaping holes! She screamed in frustration and threw herself throughout the barn, searching for a hiding place, a hole, a box, or anything in which to hide from the scorching light of day, but there was nothing! Only bales of hay and panicked livestock screeching, squealing...
The Lycan threw himself into the barn after her and turned back, changing into the form of a man as he slammed the doors closed and locked them. The livestock hollered only louder still.
"Why have you sent me here!?" Sonja screamed at him, standing helpless, her arms spread wide. "It's barely held together by a few nails, and you have sent me here!!"
The walls of the barn were beginning to glow. The sun was nearly on the horizon, rising quickly.
The Lycan threw himself towards a corner, grabbing whole bales of hay in his hands and pulling them together, lifting them and forming a barrier, breathing heavily as he worked quickly, the sun rising higher and higher, the walls beginning to glow brighter and brighter, only a few seconds before light would reach them...
Sonja threw herself to the ground and covered her face in her arms, weeping bitterly, terror and sorrow combining and holding her still, unable to move for her life. Her life...
The Lycan rushed forward and picked her up into his arms, threw her behind the bales of hay, and jumped down over her, covering her with his own body, completing the barrier against the sun just as the barn filled with light.
Sonja continued to weep, sobbing into the dirty floor of the barn, her hands over her face, gathering the tears of her terror. And the Lycan carefully raised his eyes, surveying the light before him, then looked down at the face of the Vampire, tears on her cheeks, but not a single ray of sunlight. "You're safe." he murmured, still struggling for breath. "You're safe..."
