Chapter 14

I got out of the carriage with Leon and Monica following close behind. The misty air enveloped us . I ignored the cold air stinging my skin as I stood and listened. One moment the shrieking sounds came from the east, and the next, from the north. Although the forest wasn’t densely covered with trees, it seemed to be aiding the shriekers by echoing their cries.

“Can you find their location?” I asked, turning to Leon.

“I only have a broad location, north-east.”

I started to move in the direction that Leon had stated but was stopped by a strong hand that was placed on my shoulder. “Deven, wait.” Horror filled the vampire prince’s eyes. “I can’t hear any heartbeats.”

Dead! Are all my kind dead?!

Leon shook his head as if mind reading was a skill that he possessed. “All I know is that the creatures that are making that noise aren’t alive.”

The shrieks began to get louder and so did the howls. Leon began to order the combined forces of humans and vampires. He made them abandon their respective carriages and form a circle around ours.  The circle had two boundaries. The internal boundary was made up of humans while the external was formed by the vampires.

I turned to Monica and asked, “Do shriekers howl as well?”

“This is the first time I’m hearing them do that.”

“Can they learn?”

“I have never come across one that did. It’s like I said, my kind stopped speaking once they turned into a Shrieker. Maybe they can learn or…..” she paused, as if she was having second thoughts.

“Or what?”

“Or maybe they aren’t human-shriekers.”

Human-shrieks! Then there can be other kinds of Shrieks?  It hurt to think that Valark might be one of them; shrieking and attacking other werewolves, intentionally increasing the enemy’s numbers.

Leon finished giving orders and came to Monica’s side with a spear he had retrieved from our carriage. “Whatever happens, stay by my side,” he told her. She nodded and took the spear from him. Pulling a knife from a hidden slot in her belt, she gestured to me to take it. I may not be able to control my werewolf form but that didn’t mean that my human form was weak and fragile.

“I won’t be needing that, Monica. Trust me. I’m fine without it.”

She looked questioningly at Leon who simply smiled and said, “Werewolves are dangerous in either form. He’ll be fine.”

A snarl from the front of the convoy drew our attention. Judging from the sound of its steps, the creature walked limberly. Either it was pretty big, or it didn’t see the need to rush at its prey. A large hairy claw rested on a tree’s trunk as the rest of the body emerged from the misty forest. A manifestation of my fears. The werewolf stood clear of the mist and as it rose on its hind legs our heads went up with it. Tearing my eyes away from its own, I noticed that its body was covered in scars and wounds that, by all means should have killed it, and yet, here it was, three heads taller than the tallest creature with us who was Leon.

At least I don’t recognize him. But despite what I thought, I couldn’t stop feeling sorry for him. This could have been someone I met or spoke to. He would have been someone who would have stood by my side against an Orc or even a Shrieker, assuming he wasn’t one of those pure-breed fanatics. A thought crept into my mind and left me momentarily paralyzed. If General Gunther, one of the most powerful of my kind was one of the shriekers that was howling, would any of us live to see another sunset?

 The deafening howl from the werewolf-shrieker drew me away from my thoughts. Soon after its howl, rushing footsteps could be heard from all around us and we quickly found ourselves staring into the black eyes of humans and werewolves in their beast form. All the creatures were either gravely injured or had some missing limbs.  Regardless, no blood could be seen trickling down from their gapping wounds. The horses that were not in our small circle were the first to be eaten.

I thought the shriekers were made of human bodies, but now, here were my kind staring at me with those black emotionless eyes. My heart fought against my rib cage, threatening to break free as I secretly struggled to calm my nerves with silent deep breathes. I was startled when Leon placed his hand on my shoulder again.

“Calm down my friend. I promise, you are not going to miss A’el’s coronation.”  With a low voice he added, “If anything happens to me, take Monica with you.”

Who is A’el? What Coronation? Oh, right. A’el  is about to become a queen and I’m about to die before I get married.

“Nothing is going to happen to you.” Though I was trying to be confident my voice came out like that of a quivering child. Leon begun to say something but was cut off by the sound of the shriekers charging toward us. The first line of our defenses held strong. Vampires clawed, stabbed and bit into the shriekers. I seemed to be the only one who was surprised at the sudden burst of sand that came out whenever a shrieker was killed. Leon, Monica nor the guards seemed to be taken aback by it. One of the vampire guards got tackled by two or three shrieks. Monica left Leon’s side and ran over to help. Using her momentum and agility she vaulted over them swinging her spear beneath her body, cutting off the heads of the shrieks. They turned into sand and the vampire stood up with the intention of going back to his post but it was too late. The gap he left had begun to grow wider as his kind fell one by one to the claws and teeth of the shriekers.