"To know a man's secrets is to discover his weakness, and thus control his will"
― Jeremy Aldana
"Scott, would you rather get shot with wolfsbane or never talk to Allison again?"
Allison's eyes shot to Scott's back. She had been grateful for Lydia's presence when Frost split her up with Scott. However, after Lydia complained for the millionth time about going into the forest, Allison found herself awkwardly walking behind Scott on the path in silence. "Wolfsbane," he said turning to look at her causing her to raise her eyebrows. "You have the radio." She looked down at the radio in her hand.
Holding the radio out to him, he refused to take it and turned back around to continue walking. "Scott said, wolfsbane." She said into the radio.
"Of course, he did," Lydia muttered as she caught up to Allison. "Ask Snow something about Isaac." Allison frowned at Lydia. "She started this."
"Snow, would you rather go out on date with Isaac or spend 20 minutes making out with him?" Allison asked holding down the talk button. She let go of the button, and the response was almost immediate.
"Date because who says we wouldn't make out for longer than that on a date?" The girls could hear the grin in her voice. "Stiles, would you rather eat poop or make out with Derek?"
Stiles didn't immediately respond and as the silence lengthened they all tensed up. When Snow's anxious voice came back over the radio asking "Stiles? Are you ok?,"the group held its collective breath. Snow screamed "STILES!" and it echoed oddly through the woods and the radio. Scott took off like a shot, but stopped about ahead of them when the radio crackled to life again.
"Chill, yoda. I'm still standing. Well, I'm sitting. Tripped on a root and dropped the radio and flashlight. But I'm glad to know you'd be devastated if something happened to me."
Frost's voice came over the radio. "Even Derek was worried about you, Stiles. Okay, that's a lie, but, seriously, You're sure that you are okay?"
"Yeah, just bruised my manhood a little," Stiles answered Frost. He brushed his pants off and reached for the flashlight as he stood up. The light started to flicker and dim so he shook the tube in his hand until the light went out completely.
"Great the batteries are dead. " Stiles muttered under his breath. His eyes took a minute to adjust to the darkness. Putting the radio up to his lips, he started, "Frost…" when something stopped him dead in his tracks.
A chill shivered up his spine as he stared at something that could only be described as darkness absorbing darkness. All the night sounds of the forest stopped, throwing the path into an eerie unnatural quiet. Blind terror clutched at his heart as the darkness moved close enough for him to see red eyes and white gleaming teeth. They represented the only color in the whole hulking mass. As it moved its massive bulk with a fluid grace, there was no sound- not the crunching of leaves or the swish of air moving. Stiles froze in place as he became incapable of moving or making a sound to alleviate the dread that pumped through his system. His breathing became short and fast.
The creature growled low breaking the paralyzing fear just enough for Stiles to scream high pitched, "Barghest!" into the radio before dropping it and spinning to run back up the path. Each step jarred his whole body as he ran. He tripped on something he couldn't see. This is it. Face first in the ground, his whole body tensed for the pain of rending teeth and tearing claws.
All the werewolves took off at sprints at Stiles cry of "Barghest!"
Scott moved faster than he had in his entire life. His best friend would not become a victim of the barghest. He barely registered Stiles coming towards him before the boy tripped face first on the ground reveling a dark mass with two red gleams launching itself after the human. Scott bent his knees and leapt forward slamming into the barghest with a thud. He hit the ground hard and rolled to his feet muscles screaming in protest. Scanning the ground he saw that Stiles remained face first but seemed unharmed. The barghest rushed him again.
Scott's claws extended. The barghest launched itself at him. The force of the impact knocked Scott flat on his back. Massive doglike jaws snapped inches from his face as he drove his claws into its neck. Gerard's scent permeated from the barghest. Ugh, rot and death. Using his feet, he kicked the beast back as far as he could.
The barghest landed on its feet without a sound and moved quickly towards him again. Derek in full on alpha werewolf leapt on its back and pulled it down. The two monsters rolled across the ground and then stumbled back onto their feet. Derek growled low. The barghest attempted to go left but Derek blocked him.
Stiles heard the impact just above him and tighted his muscles even more. Something hit the ground and rolled in the leaves to his left. Realizing he wasn't dead, He pushed up off the ground and rolled over. The barghest lunged in front of him. "Shit," he scrambled backwards. To his left, Scott hit the ground with the barghest on top of him. Scott blocked with one arm and the barghest's jaws snapped inches from his face. He drove the claws on the other hand into its throat.
Stiles smelt it and began gagging. Shit covered in garbage rolled in vomit. He missed what happened next but when his stomach stopped convulsing, Derek in full werewolf mode blocked the barghest. Isaac drug Scott up off the ground a few feet away. Both he and Scott wore their werewolf faces.
A hand grabbed Stiles arm pulling him up as well. White hair fluttered into his vision. "Snow?" She yanked him into an impressively tight hug before releasing him.
"This is a bad idea," she whispered as she turned to the werewolves circling the barghest. It stopped and went completely still. Her face paled. The barghest disappeared. "Oh, no!"
"What the hell?" he heard Isaac say.
Derek turned to them. His eyes stayed red and his claws extended. Snow stepped away from Stiles towards Derek. "It's still here."
The sound of leaves under feet heralded the arrival of Frost who took one look at the group and said, "Where are Allison and Lydia?"
Scott and Derek shared a look. The alpha wolf nodded his head and said, "Go." Scott flashed around them back up the path.
"I am not running through the woods in the dark," Lydia state emphatically as Scott took off down the path.
"Are you afraid of the woods at night?"
Lydia shot her a 'bitch, please' look. "I do not suffer from Nyctohylophobia. I just have no desire to damage my anterior talofibular ligament. I just bought a pair of nude Manolo Blahnik heels that I am planning to wear on my date with Aiden."
"Which twin is that?"
"The straight one." Lydia said with a flick of her hair and a smirk.
Allison nodded as though she'd known that all along and continued down the path slowly, unwilling to leave Lydia by herself.
"What did Snow say we were hunting?" Lydia asked.
"A barghest or black dog."
"How do they plan to find something that can walk without a sound?
"What do you mean?"
"'He takes the form of a huge black dog, and prowls along dark lanes and lonesome field footpaths, where, although his howling makes the hearer's blood run cold, his footfalls make no sound.' That's how W.A. Dutt described the black shuck in Highways and Byways in East Anglia. Some accounts place them as part of the Wild Hunt and that injuries caused by them will never heal."
Allison looked at Lydia eyes wide and jaw slack. "Sometimes you have a scary amount of knowledge."
Lydia pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes at her friend. "None of you wanted to tell me about the supernatural last spring and I was used to resurrect Peter. So I took matters into my own hands this summer."
A noise on the path caused Allison to snap her bow up. She drew the string and arrow back. Her eyes focused on the dark between the trees. When she saw that it was Scott, she released the tension in the bow.
"Is Stiles okay?" Allison asked.
Scott nodded, but his eyes scanned around them. "The barghest attacked him, but I got there in time. We had it cornered and then it just, I don't know, disappeared."
"Incorporeal." Lydia said.
"What?" Allison and Scott both asked.
"The barghest, it became incorporeal. According to the bestiary, barghest and their variations only need to be visible or corporeal when attacking something. That's why it doesn't make any sound when it walks. Werewolves can't go where it goes."
"I thought you hadn't finished translating it yet," Allison said.
"It's in alphabetical order."
Frost looked at Snow eyebrows raised. "Well?"
"I can't keep up with it like this," Snow whispered.
Derek said, "They were going to find out eventually, Snow."
"I hate you all." She snapped and then began slipping out of her tennis shoes. Her expression iced over as she pulled off her socks.
Isaac's eyes grew wide as she peeled her shirt off. "What are you doing?" He turned his back on her when she started unbuttoning her pants.
"Um..Yeah, Why are your clothes coming off?" Stiles said slapping a hand over his eyes and then cracking his fingers. Snow's clothes landed in a pile with her shoes. He blinked and Snow was gone. Instead a large glowing white dog with red ears stood in her place.
"Frost? Did she just?"
"Yeah, Snow can be Cwn Annwn." He gave her a wide-eyed look. Isaac turned around an odd look on his face as he took in the white dog. "Hound of Annwn. Part of the Wild Hunt. Fairy dog. She can go where the barghest goes." When Stiles didn't' respond, she threw her hands up and said, "Google it."
She grabbed Snow's clothes and shoes as Snow turned around a few times before taking off up the path. Derek, Isaac, and Frost took off after her. Stiles pulled out his phone and yelled, "How do you spell that?"
Phew…done. This chapter was a beast to write! The story wanted to tell itself one way and I just wasn't ready for it. Plus there's a werewolf/barghest fight scene. Fights are extremely difficult to write well. So here it is, I'm not sure that it's that great but review and let me know what you think.