The Road To Cordia

  "There be one of them!" shouted by a male voice. A focused lantern washed her with its bright light. She blinked in surprise.

  "Where's the other one?" yelled another voice.

  "There!"

  Instinctively, Ja'Nil turned to look as the soldier's shout of triumph turned to a scream of terror.

  "By the Lord—" said the second man. "No, wait!" Ending in a scream.

  Before their very eyes, Ee'Rick seemed to transform into a hairy, slavering, snarling giant wolf. Moreover, a wolf who, at the very moment of discovery, sprang on the terrified soldier, its snarling mouth exposing gleaming razor sharp teeth.

  The soldier threw his knife at the approaching horror, and then turned to run. He didn't make it. The wolf was on him in an instant, ripping at his jugular. Blood spouted like a red fountain. Ja'Nil could hear choking sounds as the wolf tore out the man's throat. The soldier's feet drummed on the stony ground, displacing rocks and pebbles, and then he became still.

  Both Ja'Nil and the remaining soldier had frozen. The soldier unfroze first. He dropped the lantern he was carrying and swung a heavy, iron-studded cudgel at Ja'Nil's head.

  Automatically, she ducked and rolled away.

  He came after her.

  Scared half out of her mind, Ja'Nil came out of her roll, went up on one knee, pulled the knife from her belt, and threw. As usual, her aim was perfect. The shining blade buried itself to the hilt, straight into the oncoming soldier's heart.

  He stopped, looked down at the knife sticking out of his chest, and then raised his eyes accusingly at her. He dropped the cudgel he was carrying and put his right hand on the knife, trying to pull it out. He hadn't the strength. The knife quivered and stayed put. He sank to his knees, all the while staring at Ja'Nil.

  "Help me," he said to Ja'Nil. "Help… " Blood poured from his mouth and he fell face forward. Dead.

  Ja'Nil took an unsteady step toward the fallen man. "Oh no." she said. "Oh no." There was the sound of a growl behind her.

  No more, I can't take anymore.

  She turned slowly. The wolf was staring right at her, blood seeping out of his side where the soldier's knife had sliced him. "You're bleeding," she said.

  Out of the shadows stepped another soldier, also carrying a cudgel.

  "Watch out!" she yelled.

  Too late. The heavy club crashed down on the animal's head and he sprawled, unconscious, onto the rocky ground, his thick pelt gleaming in the moonlight.

  "Don't hurt him," she called out idiotically, and started forward, only to be grabbed by still another soldier. She turned, instinctively kicking out. She connected with his stomach. The soldier grunted, but held on to her.

  She tried to fight with her fists, but he simply laughed. When she managed to hit his chin, he stopped laughing and hit her in the face with his fist. Her nose started bleeding, and the moon and the stars whirled overhead.

  * * *

  Someone rudely kicked her in the stomach. Ja'Nil groaned, and tried to open her eyes so she could identify the sadist. But apparently, someone had already kicked her in the head, because when she tried to open her eyes, her head protested by sending a jagged path of pain from her eyes right down the middle of her skull into her neck.

  "Stop it," she mumbled. She was speaking to both her head and the person kicking her.

  "This one's still alive," said a jovial male voice. "She's complaining already."

  "Figures," said another voice. "That's what females are mostly good at."

  "Ifs ya can complain, ya can walks on ya own," said the first voice, as she was unceremoniously dumped to the floor.

  Getting dumped jarred her poor head, but at least the stomach kicking was over. She rubbed her eyes, wiping away clotted blood, and managed to open both of them this time.

  She sat on a smooth stone floor at the feet of the soldier who had hit her in the face with his fist. Apparently, he had been carrying her, belly down, over his shoulder. Ja'Nil glared at him.

  "On ya feets, then," he said, grabbing her by the neck of her tunic and dragging her to her feet. "Moves it." He gave her a push, and she stumbled forward, following another soldier that carried what looked like a fur stole over his shoulders.

  A fur stole?

  It was the wolf. Rope had been wrapped several times around the animal's snout. Both his front and back legs were also tied together.

  That means he's still alive, right?

  She was still dizzy and she was being rushed somewhere that she was sure she didn't want to go. "Who are you?" she asked, trying to slow them down.

  "Shattup." He gave her another push, moving her along.

  "Are you the Queen's soldiers?"

  "Lord Raptor's," answered the one carrying the wolf.

  That's what she had been afraid of. "Where are you taking us?"

  "Here," said the man behind her, as he reached around her and opened a solid-looking door.

  * * *

  The door opened into a bare, square, windowless room. Multiple lanterns hung from various parts of the ceiling. The only furnishings a battered looking table and two equally battered chairs. A half dozen iron rings were buried in the far wall; chains with different size manacles hung from the rings.

  Not one thing about that room appealed to Ja'Nil.

  She tried to back up, but the soldier behind her gave her a vicious shove that sent her face-first into the room. She landed on her hands and knees, scraping her palms and putting a large tear into the right knee of her leggings.

  It was getting harder and harder to get up each time she was knocked down. Before she could get up again, the door slammed shut, and one of the soldiers leaned his back against it.

  The man carrying the unconscious wolf dumped the animal on the floor near the wall with all the chains. He took one of the manacles, measured it against the animal's neck, shook his head, and dropped it. Another manacle proved to be just what he was looking for. After snapping it around the wolf's neck and tugging on the chain to make sure it remained firmly attached to the wall, he bravely kicked the unconscious animal in the ribs, and ran for the door.

  Ja'Nil gave a bitter bark of laughter at his cowardice. Both soldiers glared at her.

  "Laughs all ya wants," said the scared soldier. "Ya won'ts be laughin' if I unties him, takes that there neck-cuff offen' him, and leaves yous two alone."

  Without another word, the soldiers exited the room, locked the door behind them, and left her alone with the tethered wolf.

  She studied the unconscious animal.

  Did I really see what I thought I saw?

  Ee'Rick must have fallen and… yes, and what?

  "It's not possible to change from one species to another," she said firmly.

  She studied the wolf again. He didn't look anything like Ee'Rick… except for the ring on his right front toe.

  Ridiculous. It's not a ring, just something that was caught on his paw.

  It looks like a ring.

  Well, it's not.

  Go take a closer look. He's unconscious. He can't hurt you.

  Just as she thought those words, the wolf's eyes popped open. He was staring right at her. Slowly the wolf's tail began to slap against the floor.

  Maybe it's a tame wolf, she thought. Then, she remembered how it had ripped out the soldier's throat.

  Jadẵ, not so tame.

  The slapping of the wolf's tail against the floor was getting on Ja'Nil's nerves. "Stop wagging your tail," she ordered.

  He did.

  It was not possible.

  "Are you Ee'Rick? If you're Ee'Rick, wag your tail twice."

  Slap. Slap.

  "Oh Lord. You really are?"

  Slap. Slap.

  Slowly, she got to her feet and approached him. His yellow eyes watched her closely. "You won't bite me, will you?"

  Nothing.

  "Wag once for no and twice for yes."

  He slapped his tail against the floor. Once.

  "Well of course, if you're
Ee'Rick you won't bite me, will you?"

  Slap.

  She was closer to him now. The ropes around his legs and snout were so tight they had cut through his thick fur into his skin. He squirmed and let out a low growl. She jumped back.

  "Are you sure you're Ee'Rick?"

  An irritated, Slap. Slap.

  She started to giggle. "You meet the most interesting people when you travel." Dropping to her knees, she began to untie his front paws. She didn't quite have the nerve to untie his snout first. Ee'Rick was a wolf with very big teeth.

  CHAPTER 31

  The knots were so tight that it took over an hour to get him untied.

  "Your fur is all bristly," she said, after absentmindedly scratching him behind his ear. He had the nerve to growl at her. Finally, his mouth was free. He gave a prodigious yawn. Yep, very big teeth.

  She was trying to figure out how to take off the neck-manacle, when she heard someone put a key in the door. The hair on Ee'Rick's back stood straight up, his lips curled back, showing his impressive teeth, and he snarled a deadly warning. Ja'Nil looked around frantically. There was nowhere to hide. The lock turned and the door started to open. She ran to the wall at the side of the door and plastered herself against it. When the door opened, it would hide her and… and what? Maybe she could run out behind them and get help? Help from where?

  The door was flung open with a crash. It slammed into Ja'Nil and bounced back. She gasped with pain. A soldier, not one she had run into before, dressed in Lord Raptor's colors, heard her. He grabbed her by her hair and threw her onto the floor in the middle of the room.

  Maybe this time I'll just stay here, she thought, as she lay flat on her back staring up at the cobwebby ceiling and the dusty lanterns.

  "There's no need to be so rough," said a very familiar voice.

  Ja'Nil jerked her head up. Oh, no!

  Standing in the doorway was Lord Raptor, and next to him, with the same graceful movements, the same friendly smile, handsome as ever, was O'Keeven!

  "Ja'Nil, sweetheart." He seemed delighted to see her. Kneeling down beside her, he reached out a hand. "Are you hurt?"

  Still on her back, Ja'Nil wiggled and scrambled away from him.

  "She doesn't seem to like you," said Lord Raptor.

  O'Keeven sighed, "She's never understood me."

  She scrambled to her feet and spat at him. It landed short. She needed more practice in spitting.

  Lord Raptor ignored her and turned his gaze to the manacled wolf. "Is this the animal you claimed attacked you?"

  "Well, one wolf pretty much looks like all wolves."

  "Really? You said you could identify him."

  O'Keeven, catching the unspoken implications, studied the wolf intently. "Yes, I would say it's the same wolf. Same color, same size, same gold ring on its toe." Both men stared at the wolf's right front paw.

  "So it's true," said Lord Raptor. "Those of the Clan of the Golden Wolf really are shape-changers."

  "Strictly speaking," said O'Keeven, "I've never actually seen him change."

  Lord Raptor tossed some gold and red colored coins on the floor. "Get out," he said to O'Keeven.

  O'Keeven's dark handsome face hardened for a moment, then resumed his usual cheerful expression. He carefully picked up all the coins. The last one was near Ja'Nil's feet. She backed up to get away from him.

  He jiggled the coins in his hand, winked at her, and moved to the door. "If I can be of any further assistance, my Lord," he said to Lord Raptor.

  "Get out."

  O'Keeven left.

  Lord Raptor moved closer to the wolf, but stayed safely beyond its reach. "So you creatures really do exist."

  The wolf snarled at him.

  "I wonder why you don't change back into human form. Why is that?"

  Another wolf snarl.

  "Why is that?" Lord Raptor had raised his voice. He turned to look at Ja'Nil. "Answer me."

  "You're asking me?"

  "At the moment, your furry friend is incapable of speech. Why hasn't he changed back into human form?"

  "I don't know. Maybe the neck-cuff is too tight."

  "On the contrary, it would be looser."

  Ja'Nil had wondered herself. "I don't know," she said. "I'm not even sure… " She died off.

  "You're not even sure what?"

  "He's an unusual wolf," agreed Ja'Nil. "Very large and all that, but… "

  "Well?"

  She started to say, "Maybe he can't change." but changed it to, "Just because O'Keeven said he could change doesn't mean anything. O'Keeven lies just for the sake of lying." She smiled slightly, but only slightly because Lord Raptor scared her to death, and because she was aware of what a dangerous tightrope she was walking. "You probably paid him for nothing. He'll do and say anything for money. Anything," she added sadly.

  "Nobody cheats me," said Lord Raptor. "Are you saying that you've never actually seen this creature change shape?"

  Ja'Nil took a page from Ee'Rick's book and just shrugged.

  Lord Raptor swerved suddenly from his study of the wolf to fix her with a nasty stare. "How did you escape from the dungeon?"

  Ja'Nil said nothing.

  "Who helped you?"

  "Nobody helped us." After all the work they had done to get out of that hole, she wasn't about to let anyone else take the credit.

  Lord Raptor raised an eyebrow. "You fly, then?"

  "Of course not."

  "It's said that marginal people have all sorts of strange abilities."

  "I'm not marginal!"

  "Fisherfolk," he sneered.

  She glared back at him, forgetting for the moment that he terrified her.

  "Show me how you fly."

  "What?"

  "Fly around this room," he said. "I want to see."

  The man was crazy. "If I could fly, I'd go so far away, that I would never see Cordia again."

  His face seemed to swell and darken with rage. "Fly," he screamed. "I want to see you fly."

  "I can't!"

  He suddenly became very calm. "Imagine my soldiers flying," he said. "No one would be able to stand against me." He suddenly seemed to recall where he was. "I am the ruler of Cancordia. It's your duty as a loyal citizen to obey me."

  He was crazy.

  "The Princess -"

  "The Princess is under my command!" He was screaming again.

  Ja'Nil said nothing. She could feel all his hate and rage washing over her like a moving wall pressing on her, pushing her somewhere she didn't want to go.

  The soldier standing guard by the door shifted uneasily. Ja'Nil looked at him imploringly, but he refused to meet her gaze.

  The chained wolf crouched down, as if getting ready to spring. The clinking chain drew Lord Raptor's attention.

  "Does he fly, too?" Now his voice was pleasant, his manner calm and agreeable.

  Ja'Nil stared at him in horror. Lord Raptor is both evil and powerful, she thought, but most of all, he's crazy. It doesn't get much worse.

  "Well," said Lord Raptor, "Can he fly?"

  "He's a wolf, for crying out loud," she said. Her lower lip trembled. "Just a wolf and I'm just a girl. I can't fly. He can't fly. Ee'Rick can't fly."

  "Motivation," said Lord Raptor.

  "What?"

  "Motivation is everything." He was speaking very calmly, almost pleasantly. "Don't you agree?"

  "I don't know." What was he up to now?

  "For instance," he went on as if Ja'Nil had not spoken. "I imagine you were highly motivated to leave the pit dungeon, weren't you?"

  Ja'Nil didn't answer, which was all right, because he obviously didn't expect an answer.

  "I won't punish you for flying, you know. I merely want to see it."

  "I can't -"

  "If I were to set your pet wolf on fire, would that motivate you enough?"

  "What!"

  Lord Raptor turned to the soldier. "Give me your fire starter."

  Slowly the soldier unfastened a
flask from his belt and handed it to him.

  "Soldiers always carry fire starter, did you know that?"

  She shook her head, no.

  "They carry a remarkable number of handy things." He was smiling.

  "Believe me, please. I can't fly. I've never flown. I've never known anyone who could fly. We escaped because Ee'Rick lifted me up until I could open the trap door. That's all. It had nothing to do with flying."

  "No," said Lord Raptor, almost gently. "Not possible. I've had others down there, you know. No, the only way you could have gotten out was by flying."

  His calm, reasonable smile was making her feel crazy.

  "Please," she begged. What exactly was she begging him for, to be reasonable, to be sane? To not be Lord Raptor?

  He opened the flask, turned abruptly and threw the liquid contents all over the wolf, who responded by giving a bloodthirsty howl and leaping at his tormentor, only to be brought up short by the chain.

  "You don't have to fly very far," said the madman to Ja'Nil. "Just around this room." Then to the soldier, "Get one of the lanterns."

  The soldier reluctantly left his post by the door and positioned one of the rickety chairs under a lantern. He stepped up on the chair, which teetered for a moment, then held steady as the soldier took down a lantern and offered it to Lord Raptor.

  "Are you sure you won't fly?" Lord Raptor asked her again.

  "I can't fly."

  "Pity," he said, taking the lantern and turning toward the wolf that was soaked in fire starter. The wolf's eyes blazed with hatred as he crouched low, never taking his yellow eyes from Lord Raptor.

  "Wait," said Ja'Nil desperately, "Maybe we did have help."

  "I knew it." He turned to her, eyes gleaming in triumph, the burning lantern hanging carelessly in his hand.

  "What kind of help?"

  What should she tell him?

  She looked down at the beads encircling her wrist. They made a pretty sound as they slid together. "I don't want to get anyone in trouble."

  With his free hand Lord Raptor grabbed her arm and shook her. "Tell me or I'll burn that wolf of yours alive."

  The wolf growled, making the hair on the back of Ja'Nil's neck stand up.

  "It's possible. I mean, it's not impossible that one of the soldiers. After the others had gone, could have come back and—

  "You're lying! Don't lie to me. I won't be lied to." Suddenly, with reptilian swiftness, he turned and threw the open lantern at the captive wolf.

  "No!" She knew she was screaming, but the sound seemed to take forever to be heard. In the meantime, the wolf, desperation in every part of his body, bunched his muscles and tried again to spring, but oh, so slowly toward Lord Raptor. All the while, the lantern languidly tumbled end over end, on its way to deliver its message of agony and death.