To Hold Back The Dark - Chapter Six
The silence in the cave was almost unbearable. Michael warily eyed Allanah, who for her part, was refusing to look at him at all. It all seemed so stupid. Just as he reached the heat of passion in her arms, he suddenly realized what they were doing. It wasn't the right time or the right place for what was happening and he pulled away from her and hurriedly dressed. As she looked at him with hurt and confusion in her eyes, he struggled to find the words that would make everything all right again. He guessed that she must have given up on him, because soon she had dressed and was ing at everything but him. As usual, when it came to his heart, he messed things up royally. Maybe he could make things right.
"Annah, your family has plans for you. Your father is an Elf Lord and I'm just a mercenary. I can't get involved with you. It would effect our jobs," he shook his head, "There would be too much tension."
"Tension? With whom? Corin and Rhea wouldn't care. Neither would David. I don't exactly plan to go around the Kingdom hanging all over you, so no one else would notice."
"There would be too many distractions and problems. Dammitt, Allanah, I care for you a lot, but I don't want to have to marry you."
She sat up, pulling her cloak tight around her body "Whatever gave you the idea that I wanted to marry you?", her voice was cold, "All I had in mind was us giving each other comfort!" She knew that she was lying, but she was damned if she was going to let him get away with thinking that he meant anything to her, especially since it was all too obvious that she didn't mean that much to him. She began to wonder if her feelings for him were genuine, or if they had been born out of all they had recently been through. It was true that she liked him and found him attractive, but she could not swear that she was in love with him.
Michael felt stunned and hurt by her words. Mainly because he was in love with her. He was just afraid to say so. It also confused him that she could feel that his refusal to take her virginity was an indication that he didn't care.
Allanah suddenly felt that the cave was too small, "I'm going outside for a minute or two.", she dashed outside and leaned against the smooth, cold rock. She knew that if she had stayed inside another minute, she would have been crying, and she was determined that no matter what, she would not cry in front of him. A flash of movement to her left caught her eye and she stared intently through the dark. To her horror and surprise, she saw huge white wolf standing a few hundred yards away. The wolf snarled as it spotted her and then headed her way. She blindly reached for her sword and then cursed under her breath as she realized that she hadn't put it back on. She slowly edged her way back to the door, and stepped over the wood pile, keeping her eyes on the beast the whole time. The wolf slowly advanced, barring his razor sharp teeth. She quickly dashed into the cave.
"Michael, get yourself armed! There's a very hungry looking wolf heading this way!", she grabbed her sword and hastily, yet surely, strapped it on. She turned to face the door as a loud growl could be heard just outside.
"Aren't you overreacting a bit? A lone wolf won't bother us, not even a hungry one."
"Michael, I've never seen a wolf this big. I really think that this one could be what killed the horses."
"Shit," he buckled on his sword, "Maybe we can throw our meat out there to keep him occupied."
She shook her head, "He's just outside of those hides and probably ready to jump the minute those hides are parted. Now, do you want to volunteer to open that door? I really can't guarantee that I can kill him before he kills you."
"Smartass. All you had to do was say no. Maybe he won't even come in."
"He's hungry. He'll find his way in eventually."
Michael grabbed some of the wood from the pile and dropped it as close to the door as he dared, creating a line of wood from one side of the cave to the next, then he lit it.
"Good idea! Wolves never breach a fire," Allanah said.
"I hope it works!"
They watched the door for a minute more before the beast burst through the opening. The wolf stood and howled as it encountered the flames that roared in front of it. The sound was eerie, and not one a normal wolf would make.
"Damn! He is big," Michael muttered as he drew his sword.
With a nimble bound, the animal jumped clear of the fire and regarded them with cold, dark eyes. Without a sound he jumped for Allanah, just barely breezing by her blade. The pair hit the ground hard and Allanah struggled with all her might to keep those strong jaws away from her throat. Michael jabbed and slashed at the beast, yelling at it to leave Allanah, and silently praying that he wasn't hitting her by mistake.
The wolf tenaciously hung on, biting and scratching. Allannah let go of her sword and instead struggled to reach the knife in her wrist sheath. Every time it bit her, it stung terribly and once or twice she felt the sting from a glancing sword. She kept quiet though, so Michael wouldn't be distracted. Besides, when a person is fighting for their life, they don't moan about a few slashes received while being saved. Within a matter of minutes the attack was over and the wolf was backing away from her. There was as much blood on the animal as there was on her, but the look in the wolf's eyes let her know that he would be back. With a snarl and a bound, the beast was gone into the night.
Michael knelt by her and helped her sit up. She had a few scratches on her face, but the rest of her was covered in blood, some hers, some the wolf's. She had a long gash on her left forearm, which was obviously caused by his sword, and a few big gashes on her legs from the animal. There were numerous small cuts and slashes all over the rest of her.
"Can you stand?"
"I don't think so. Michael, we've got to get out of here. He's going to be coming back!", she clenched her teeth in pain.
"He may be waiting just outside that door."
"No. He was hurting. He'll go to lick his wounds before coming back for us. I'm just afraid that when he does return, he'll bring company."
"With you bleeding, we'll leave an all too obvious trail for them to follow, and I know the wolves could move faster than we can."
"Then stop the bleeding."
"Annah, I'm not Corin. I can't do much to help you, but I will do what I can."
He grabbed one of the blankets and quickly ripped it into strips for bandages, reserving some of the material for a cloth. He then gently undressed her and bathed her wounds with the remaining water. She flinched every time he touched her, as much from the pain as from the still fresh memories of his earlier touches. He apologized the entire time for hurting her, and then he tightly bandaged the wounds.
"Girl, you've got more bandages than clothes!"
"I have some clothes in my pack.", her voice was soft and low, and her eyelids felt heavy, "I feel too tired. Almost as if I've been drugged."
"You just need some rest to recover from the blood loss.", he rummaged through her pack and selected the warmest clothes he could find.
He carefully dressed her and then tucked a blanket around her, "You sleep for a little while. We have a few hours before dawn, and we can leave then. I'll get everything packed."
"All right. Maybe some sleep will do me good. I do know a few spells that may help me heal," she murmured something softly as he began gathering their belongings. He assumed that it was the spells.
"I don't know how fast we can go with you hurt like this. You need either lots of rest or a healer. I'm not even sure what to take with us. We can't pack everything, because if I have to carry you, I won't be able to handle it all. The hides will have to stay, we certainly won't be needing them again. I can leave most of the meat behind, too. I can leave the rest of your clothes, which will free up more room in your pack for food. And we forget these plates.", he talked even though he knew she was asleep. "Maybe the wolf will be satisfied with what meat he finds here and not even think about tracking us down for a fresher meal. There, that's all packed. Now, I think I'll settle down for a little nap myself. That wolf shouldn't be back this soon, and if he does, well, then I'll deal with him then."
He leaned against the wall, his sword drawn and laying on the ground beside him, and soon dozed off.
Michael awoke just as the sky was beginning to lighten. He searched outside but found no further evidence of the wolf, only the lone pawprints from the night before. He returned to the cave to find Allanah awake and moving around.
"How do you feel?" he asked as he watched her limp about the cave.
""I feel as if a huge wolf attacked me! Actually, I feel much better, a little stiff, but I think I can handle walking," she gathered her pack and Michael noticed that she had the Brooch of Arvada pinned to her tunic.
"It's a pity that the Brooch wasn't working last night. You could have used a little protection."
"Maybe it was working! I could just as easily have been killed, or even more seriously injured if I hadn't have had the Brooch."
Michael covered the fire with snow, effectively dousing it. "I refilled our water skins. Here's yours."
"Thanks." She secured it to her belt.
"We have enough light to see by. Let's get moving."
They left the cave and headed east, walking with him just a little ahead of her to break a path through the snow.
"It's a shame to have to leave all of that meat behind!", she sighed.
"It's a shame that our horses were killed to begin with! We aren't going to make fast progress walking, especially with you limping about the woods. How far east do you want to head before turning north?"
"I would like to be out of these mountains."
"Well, that shouldn't take us much longer. We may be out of here by the end of the day."
"I'm sorry I got hurt, and I'm sorry I was so angry with you. I don't want things to be strained between us."
"I don't either. That fight was a good example of what I was trying to say. I couldn't do much to that wolf because I was too afraid that I was going to hurt you. It looks like I ended up doing a lot of that anyway."
"You would have been just as careful with Corin, Rhea, or David, and you know it!"
"Not that careful! When you care for someone, romantically, it's a lot harder to do what you should where they're concerned. If someone else would have been with you, then I would be furious if they let you get hurt or hurt you."
"Nobody "let" me get hurt, Michael. I had just as much opportunity to defend myself as you did! The animal took both of us by surprise, even though we thought we were prepared for him!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I've never seen a wolf that big! Or one that wasn't even a little afraid of fire. He jumped that wall of flame like it was a pile of rocks."
"He definitely wasn't your run-of-the-mill wolf. The way he acted, I really do think he killed the horses."
"But you would have heard the horses cry out while that was happening. That wolf certainly isn't capable of killing two animals at one time."
"There could be more than one like him, you know. We've never been this far south before, who knows what types of animals roam in the woods?"
"Especially with our mysterious black terror hanging around the vicinity."
They walked in silence for most of the morning, exchanging comments every now and then and resting every hour or so for Allanah to conserve her strength. By noon they were in the foothills, and the going took a little longer as Michael searched for ways through that wouldn't force her to have to any climbing. Allanah waited while he hunted for a path and she had a little pile of food laid out for them when he returned.
"I thought that we might as well break for lunch."
"Good idea. How are you holding up?"
"Okay enough to get out of these hills. Did you find a good path?"
He nodded as he chewed, and after swallowing noisily, said, "I found what looks to be the easiest way down, but it'll be late afternoon before we're out of these hills. I did see something interesting when I was on one of the hill tops."
"Oh? What?"
"I saw what appeared to be a road?"
"A road? I don't of any roads that are supposed to be in this part of the kingdom!"
"Me, either. I was thinking that it's either a road we don't know about, or that we don't know exactly where we are in relation to Emeralde and Trayille."
"That's a possibility, but I don't think we could be that far off. Well, when we reach this road, we can follow it. It does go north doesn't it?"
He nodded, "It appeared to run in a north-south direction.", he shoved more food in his mouth.
"There's bound to be some markings on it, and if we travel by road it will much easier than going across the countryside.", she finished off her food. "Well, I'm ready to continue. As far as I'm concerned, we won't reach that road soon enough."
"I feel the same way.", he shoved the remainder of his food into his mouth, then led her to the path he had chosen for them.
The going was rocky and hilly, but much smoother than if they had walked straight through. They had to zig-zag quite a bit, and by the time the reached the road, it was dusk.
"Should we camp here, or would you like to continue?", he asked.
"I want to go on. We can camp when I get too tired to continue. Did you notice that there's not any snow here?"
"I was going to mention that. Maybe we drifted further south. Right now I don't feel too sure about my sense of direction. At least it's warmer."
They walked on, following the road as it led them north and hopefully a little bit east. Allanah kept silent, for she was afraid that the sound of her voice would let Michael know how tired and hurt she was feeling. Her cuts and slashes were screaming at her each time she took a step, and as the minutes went by she felt more and more weary.
Michael wasn't fooled in the least by her silence and her assertions that she felt fine. Her limp was more pronounced and she looked as if she was about to drop head on her feet. He was getting ready to stop to camp when they both noticed lights up ahead. The type of lights found in houses and inns.
"Looks like we may get some shelter for the night. Can you make it that far?"
"No problem," she said. Then she fainted.
"Shit," he muttered as she caught her falling body, "You stubborn little fool! You should have told me to stop hours ago! Well, here's my chance to show off just how strong I am!"
With her in his arms he headed for the lights. As he neared, he saw that it was an inn, obviously open, since there were a few horses tied up outside. "Thank you, God. Thank you, thank you, thank you."
When he reached the door, he was encountered with a new dilemma; he could not open the door or knock on it while holding Allanah. As he was about to kick the door, he noticed that benches were placed on each side of the door and he gently lowered Allanah onto one. Turning back to open the door, he noticed that the huge silver knocker and door knob were fashioned into wolves heads. Above the door was a sign proclaiming the place to "The House of the Wolf". To Michael, the white wolf painted on the sign looked all too similar to the one they had encountered to make him comfortable. He opened the door, then retrieved Allanah and walked in, using his foot to push the door closed. The people inside stopped talking and were openly staring. Many of them stepped forward as if to help, but a young man pushed his way through.
"Bring her upstairs!", he took off up the stairs and Michael dutifully followed, guessing that this was either a servant or the innkeeper himself. When he caught up to the man at the room at the end of the hall, he already had the bedcovers turned down. Michael gently laid Allanah down, trying to make her comfortable.
"What happened to her?" concern was evident in the young man's face and voice.
"We were attacked by a wolf late last night up in the mountains. She's got some pretty bad gashes, but she's basically all right. She just got all worn out by all the walking we had to do to get here."
"You walked out of the mountains?"
"We weren't that far in.", he dropped the packs and after removing his cloak, removed hers as well, then her boots before covering her.
"I think she'll sleep for the rest of the night. I saw people eating; are you still serving?"
"Of course. I'll get you some stew. Do you want to eat it up here or downstairs?"
"Downstairs. We've been alone the past couple of days and I really feel like having some one else to talk to. I'll be right down, I want to make sure that she's settled for the night. By the way, my name's Michael McShane."
"Mark Wolfson. I own the place. I'll see you downstairs."
The young man left, leaving Michael alone with Allanah. She stirred briefly, then drifted back to sleep. He assured himself that she would be all right alone and then went to the dining room. There was a table near the fireplace which held only a tankard of ale, bread, and a bowl of stew. He sat down and hungrily savored the rich aroma of the stew. A sip of the ale assured him of its fine quality as well. Even though he knew that the other patrons were curious about him and Allanah, he appreciated the fact that they were waiting for him to eat before crowding around and asking questions. As a matter of fact, he was quite surprised when they waited until he had finished off his third bowl of stew before approaching him. By then, he was more than ready to tell them the tale.
He related to them the whole story from the time that the attacked Hutheir Caravan had arrived in Emeralde to his and Allanah's arrival at the inn. The small group listened intently, never interrupting him. They were just as silent when he finished.
"Well," Mark said, "I'd say that the two of you have been through quite an ordeal. There are old stories, legends and such, of huge beasts capable of killing your horses. Until now, I had always thought that they were just that; legends not to be believed."
"I've certainly never heard of anything like this black terror you described! You say that it moved?" one of the old men asked.
"Apparently. We really have no more of an idea of what it is than when we started out. Right now, I'm most concerned with getting to Tralik safely. Just where in the kingdom are we? I'm afraid we lost our bearings somewhere in the Azures."
"You're not in Trayille at all. You're in Morvalia," Mark informed him.
Michael raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had never journeyed to the little kingdom just south of Trayille, although Corin had told him about it often enough.
"I've never been to Morvalia. As far as I know, all traveling is done along the coastline. Why the road? Where does it go?"
"It's a common misconception that because all travel occurs east of here that nothing much is in the rest of Morvalia," another old man told him, "This road ends right before you reach the Trayille border. It's mainly for the use of us old mountain men, but every now and then a healer finds it. They say that a long time ago, it went all the way down to Dari and the other Elven cities, but for some unknown reason, the Elves let it fall into disrepair. We kept it in condition up here."
"Maybe I can find out why the Elves stopped using it. I certainly have a lot of other questions for them. I tell you, this has been one long and rough week for me!", he stifled a yawn, "I hate to be rude, but I really need some sleep. It was really a pleasure meeting all of you. I hope that you can get word to your king about what's going on."
"I'll ride out first thing in the morning," one of the younger men announced, "I want to make sure I get to town alive."
Mark saw the puzzled expression on Michael's face, "There's a reason why the inn has the name that it does. The wolves in this region are slightly different from your ordinary wolves, as you found out. They don't fear much and they attack without reason. You stay indoors once the sun goes down, or else risk losing your life. Your friend is lucky to be alive."
"She sure is. I'm glad that you warned me, so we'll know to get indoors tomorrow night. Although, I hope to be far away from here by then."
"I can sell you horses. That way you can travel much faster," Mark offered.
"I appreciate that. I was just about to ask if anyone had any to sell." A thought occurred to Michael, "If these wolves are so dangerous, how come you leave your horses out front?"
Mark smiled, "The stable boy has them indoors by now. He was just on his way out to get them when you walked in."
"I see." Michael stood, "Well, goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Michael returned to the room and found that Allanah was still sound asleep. He undressed and climbed into bed beside her. He wanted to reach out to hold her, but refrained from touching her. He was afraid that his touch might awaken her and that the pressure from his arms might be painful. He quickly feel into a deep sleep and when he awoke, it was near dawn. He stretched and then sat bolt upright as he realized that Allanah was gone. Dressing hurriedly, he rushed down to the dining room where Mark was busy setting out plates for breakfast.
"Ah, there you are. Allanah is in the back room, taking a bath. When she found that I had such a huge tub, she just couldn't resist. Most women find it hard to pass on the opportunity for a soothing bath. She really is a very charming person, but then, most Elves are."
Michael nodded, "How is she? Did she seem rested?"
"Well, since she was walking under her own power, she obviously is in better shape than she was last night! She appears to be okay and she assured me that her wounds were much better. I gave her some ointment for them and she said that she'd use it after her bath."
The door to the kitchen opened and Allanah stepped into the room, running her fingers through her long, thick hair in a feeble effort to get the tangles out.
"Good morning, Michael!", she smiled, "You were sleeping so soundly, I decided not to wake you. I hope you weren't worried."
"Only a little. Did you enjoy your bath?"
Her smile broadened, "It was Heavenly.", she turned to Mark, "Thank you so much, it felt so good after being on the road for such a long time. Do you have a comb or brush? My hair is always such a horrible tangle after it's washed. I'm always half tempted to get it cut short, like Rhea's."
"Please don't. Your hair is so lovely. It reminds me of black velvet. I'll bring a brush down with me when I return from waking the other guests. Please have a seat and relax. Breakfast will soon be ready."
Mark headed upstairs, and Allanah pulled a chair up to the fire to better dry her hair. Michael sat down at the table nearest her, which ended up being the one he had sat at the night before.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"Much better. Those self-healing spells helped me out a great deal. I think I passed out because I pushed myself too hard, but I really wanted to get as far away from that wolf as possible."
"Well, I'm glad that you did push it. If you would have stopped sooner, and we ended up outside, we would most likely be dead by now."
"Why do you say that?"
Michael told her what Mark had said about the wolves, and where they were.
"Hmm. I've never heard of a road that came all the way here. But then, there are a lot of things I've never heard about. We'll definitely need to ask about it. So, which way do we go when we leave here? Should we continue east, and follow the coast to Tralik, or should we follow this road and then cross over the border?"
"I'd like to follow the road and then get straight to Dari. We'll make good time on the road, and the distance between the end of the road and Trayille can't be that great. Once in Dari, we can get a message to Tralik so that the others will know that we're okay."
"Corin already knows."
"How?"
She shrugged, "I just think it, and he just knows it. It's always been like that between us."
"Would he know that you were hurt?"
"I imagine so. I usually feel it when he has an extreme emotion and I certainly was scared to death of that animal."
"Is passion an extreme emotion?", he asked, a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.
"Oh, yes! I remember when he lost his virginity." She smiled, but then her smile quickly faded.
"Then he knows that you and I...?"
"He knows."
Michael groaned, "He'll kill me!"
"Why should he kill you? I am a grown woman and perfectly capable of making my own choices!"
"Men feel a little differently about things like that when it comes to their sisters. If I knew for sure that some guy had taken Rhea's virginity, I'd kill him."
"I'd say that you men have a pretty bad problem then. Besides, what difference does it really make? Nothing happened."
Before he could answer, Mark returned with a comb, brush, and small mirror. By the time the other guests arrived, Allanah was looking perfect. She greeted them all and soon the dining room was bustling with conversation as every man there tried to talk with her. As soon as breakfast was over, they paid for their room, food, and horses, said their thanks and farewells and departed for Dari.