Warclaw (9 page)

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It had been a few days since the pack had heard from Warclaw and Wibeke. They had both disappeared. For the pack thankfully Warclaw had, as this gave them the chance to prepare for what was going to come. But with Wibeke gone who would lead them to fight against Warclaw? They needed some-wolf and it looked like Wren was going to be that some-wolf. That’s if Wibeke didn’t get back before Warclaw was going to strike.

Wren walked around the den looking for Wibeke. There had been no sign of her since their fight the other day. Wren was starting to worry about her. Not wanting to believe what had happened during their argument and what the outcome had been, Wren wanted to find her and apologise. And he wanted to do it before it was too late to bring her back home, where she would be safe from Warclaw.

Suddenly, Wren’s head started pounding and it made him drop to the floor in pain. The pain gradually got worse. All he could see in his mind was darkness. There was silence, no voices speaking around him and no birds tweeting in the background. There was nothing. Then... he heard a voice in his head and it was Warclaw’s. It was as clear as the sky on a bright sunny day. “So how is she? Is she well? Oh dear me, I seemed to have forgotten.” Warclaw laughed evilly in Wren’s mind “The last I heard was that you and
her
had had a nasty row. Then you couldn’t stop her from walking off into the distance.” Warclaw laughed again; to him it was extremely amusing. “It was obvious that you had used her, like you do every-wolf else! Hate to say it but…” Warclaw paused.

“But what?” Wren shouted aloud, worried at what Warclaw was about say. “You’ll never get her back after that one mate!” Warclaw cackled in poor Wrens head and he couldn’t even get to Warclaw, to tear him to shreds. Warclaw had connected to him telepathically using the crystal as his energy source. Wren shook his head not wanting to hear what he had to say. Warclaw had already done enough damage and with Wibeke disappearing, it was getting worse. There was no sign of her; she had simply disappeared on them, when they needed her to lead them into this war that was coming. “Shaking your head won’t get rid of me Wren.”

“Where are you?” Wren howled. It carried on the winds until every-wolf in the area could hear it. Although by now the pack wolves had come rushing to his side. They wondered why he had collapsed to the floor and wouldn’t wake up. Hearing Wren shout out louder than last time, Will spoke to Wren hopelessly “We are here Wren. Right by your side, we’re here for you.” Warclaw’s voice was so dominant in Wren’s head; he could only hear Will’s voice in the background. Wren couldn’t make out what Will was saying as Warclaw’s voice was so dominant. “I’m somewhere where you can’t get to me Wren. Anyway weakling, I didn’t just come here to just taunt you, as much as I enjoy it. I came here for a different purpose. Is Wibeke there at all? I need to give her a little message.” There was a pause. It was as silent as the grave. There was nothing but silence. Then suddenly, the silence was cut short when Warclaw spoke, “Oh I forgot she isn’t.” then he started cackling again.

“What have you done with her Warclaw?” Wren growled.

“What have I done? Listen to yourself, Wren!” Warclaw’s voice turned harsh “I have done nothing. You are the one who has done something! You are too arrogant to notice what you have done. Then you are just pathetic when you find out that you have. You couldn’t even notice when she went to the lighthouse! That’s how pathetic and useless you have become!” His voice softened but there was a hint of sarcasm and evil in it. “I have to admit it though, Wren, I never saw that one coming. And to be honest I had never expected it either. That was something I never expected to happen in my plan but I will say bravo and give you a round of applause when I see you… soon...” Then there was nothing. Wren’s vision steadily returned. The headache slowly faded away. Sound started to head its way back into his ears and when he heard the odd bird tweet their chorus in the background, he was relieved. Wren was back in the real world… not that he had ever left. Warclaw’s voice was gone and gradually all the pack members faces appeared in front of his face. “What happened?” Will asked helping Wren up.

“I don’t know Will, but I think Warclaw has done something with Wibeke.”

“Why would he? It makes no sense for him to have done something to her just yet” He questioned.

“I don’t know. But I think we need to start preparing for war, NOW!” Wren cried.

All the wolves gasped in shock and fear. They kept swapping looks at each other, knowing that this could very well spell the end of the pack. “Wren let us go to a quieter area.” Will said before helping Wren recover his balance, before he fell back down to the dirty ground. As they walked to a quieter area, other pack members moved out of their way, allowing Will to carry his friend. There was gossip as they walked past. Word had travelled quickly that war was coming. And it was obvious that Will and Wren would be talking about it. Eventually getting to a quieter area of the pack, they could finally talk about this new information that had landed firmly into their lap.

When they eventually stopped, Will turned around sharply, “What the hell were you thinking? Shouting that aloud?! They are already scared stiff about this war as it is, never mind knowing that Wibeke isn’t coming back. Hell, they don’t even know that she has gone missing! They just think she is busy and is not to be disturbed, as she is planning the whole attack! Have you any idea how much damage you have caused now? How the hell am I going to calm them down now?! They’re going to need someone to comfort them and now? Hell knows!”

“Will, I need to go get her! I cannot stay around here waiting for Warclaw to suddenly kill us all!”

“Wren, did you even hear what I said? The pack needs a leader and I can’t be that wolf! You have to be! You are too arrogant to notice when you have done something wrong, especially something like that! Now look at the mess you’ve caused?!” Will sighed before shaking his head. “
You
just need to calm down.
You
need to think this through!
You
can’t just run into the distance and leave us all to face Warclaw! We have already lost one wolf, we can’t lose another!” Will shouted at Wren angrily.

“Yes it was something about the pack and the mess that has been cause. But I CAN’T calm down! I can’t stop thinking about what happened between me and Wibeke before she left. That was my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed her! I should’ve admitted it to her but what choice did I have? I would’ve been publicly humiliated. But I can’t just sit around waiting for something to happen! I need to find her!”

“And when you find her and tell her this news, how do you think she will feel? What do you think she will do? You don’t know what she will do, Wren! Wibeke is her own wolf and with this news that you intend on telling her then I don’t know. You need to stay with the pack. Can’t you see that this is what Warclaw wants you to do? He wants you to go to him and leave the pack with no protection so he can obliterate us all! How else do you think he is going to get what he wants?
You
need to think this through Wren before you do anything! Besides how do
you
know for sure that Warclaw even has her? He never said that, did he?”

“Well... no, he didn’t actually say that he had her. But his voice made it sound that way, I am sure of it! I mean why hasn’t she come back already? She should be back by now Will. It’s been too long. She knows about the war, she wouldn’t just desert us like this. It’s obvious to me Will, that he has done something to her! I said and promised that I would protect her and now look?! I can’t even do that! If I can’t protect her, how am I supposed to protect the pack? Besides what do you expect me to do? Wait around forever knowing that she might be in danger?!”

“Wren, no-wolf is expecting you to do that! And I do agree that there is something most sinister about this
connection
but what can we do? For all we know she could be dead already! We need a leader. Wibeke is a strong enough to look after herself. She’ll be fine. You need to worry about the pack not Wibeke. If you don’t there will be no pack to come back too if you don’t help us! What would be the point in saving her if she has nothing to come back to?!”

“I know, I know. But how can I help? I am a wreck and can no longer think straight, so what use am I? I can’t teach them to fight in this state.” Wren sighed.

“Well at least you are starting to see my point of not going after Wibeke.” Will sighed. “Besides Wren if she is just getting away for a few days then she’ll be back soon. You need to teach the younger ones to fight. They haven’t got a hound in hells chance of surviving this if you don’t go and teach them! So go do that. Besides it will take your mind of things for a bit.” he expressed deeply. Will was going to have to advise Wren in one of the hardest things in his life. Wren would also need Will’s support. Wren looked up to Will and nodded. “Fine let’s do it your way, but if she doesn’t come back within the next few days, we go looking for her, agreed?” Will nodded reluctantly in agreement.

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“I can’t believe I just did that!” Warclaw laughed with Mathew. “For once I am astonished about how much you guys know about the Atlas Crystal. I feel like we have met before. Have we?” Warclaw spoke with amusement to Mathew.

“No we haven’t, but we learn through our elders. They have been involved in many of the battles that you have created over the years. They know about the powers that the Atlas Crystal has.”

“But wouldn’t that make them ninety years old?” Warclaw asked. He was a bit confused as to how they had come to know about his powers and his ability with the crystal. Remembering through all his experiences, he knew that no wolves had ever survived any of the battles he had been in, as they had killed them all. And there is no way any of them had been around that long. Warclaw was certainly sure that he had never told any-wolf of his power and what he could do with it. Mathew saw Warclaws confusion and smiled. “Ah yes, you don’t remember telling any-wolf about these powers and how to control it. You also don’t remember any of the wolves surviving, yes?” Warclaw nodded. “That is because they were not there to be noticed. They were in the shadows where you had failed to look.” Mathew laughed.

“How can that be? I am the shadow. I am what they are not. I was there!”

“But you fail to see the obvious. They don’t have to be ninety years old, think about it.” Mathew smiled and the red pupil in his eye sparkled at what Warclaw didn’t know. ‘I’ve seen those eyes before in Marko. They could be genetic. Something doesn’t sit right with these wolves. He seems like he has a bolt lose, up in that crazy mind of his. And why are they this old? There is no way they can be this old. The crystal doesn’t have that sort of power to sustain my immortality and to create theirs. Maybe it has given the information to them. It could be a trap though. Better go with what he thinks.’ Warclaw thought to himself before speaking. “Of course that would make them just pups, but I searched everywhere and there were no hidden pups around.”

“You are half way there Warclaw. What do all the packs do when there is a war?” Mathew questioned trying to get the answer of him. “They hide the pups, but I searched every nook and cranny and they were never there.” Warclaw continued with his act. He needed to keep this wolf talking “Hmmm.” There was a harshness and rumble in his voice. Warclaw thought about it and although he was acting, it did seem weird as he had searched everywhere except under the ground. He had never dug up the ground beneath him to check. “They were underground weren’t they?” To Warclaw this made him sound stupid, which was good because he needed Mathew thinking that Warclaw was exactly that and by the looks of it, it was working. He felt like his mind-set was getting weaker and that’s when he realised that the crystal hadn’t been giving him the full energy. Warclaw thought this was a bit odd and he could feel tingling in parts of his body. Mathew laughed just as evilly as Warclaw had done to poor Wren. “Ah you see that wasn’t hard, was it?”

Warclaw started to black out, his vision going blurry. The tingling sensation had spread throughout his body and his legs became heavy beneath him. His hearing had become desperate for sound and his mouth desperate for breath. Warclaw could vaguely see Mathew’s mouth moving but he was unable to make the words out. He could see was Mathew walking past him before his own body started to sway from side to side. Sensing that his body had been drugged, Warclaw knew he was about to become unconscious. Warclaw knew he had to try to fight the symptoms, but they slowly restrained the power Warclaw had over his body and he collapsed to the floor.

Mathew watched as Warclaw fell to the floor unconscious. With his master plan working, he could now accomplish the next step of his own evil plan. And it was a lot easier with Warclaw unconscious. Walking into the cave, Marko noticed Warclaw on the floor. He looked up to his father and noticed that he was laughing. “Father,” Mathew jumped before turned around quickly, “What have you done to him?” Marko asked nodding over to where Warclaw’s body lay. “What have I done? I have done nothing except make him unconscious. He cannot be trusted with the crystal, not at this crucial time.” Mathew’s eyes glinted with delight before he paused. “You don’t object do you? After all I wouldn’t want my son making an enemy of me, would I?” He barked.

“No father, no you wouldn’t.” Marko looked to the ground submissively.

“Good,” Mathew smiled understanding the power of his dominance over his son “Now,” he ordered “take Warclaw to the back of the cave and put chains on him. When he wakes up we don’t want him to escape.” Mathew paused again. “Oh and do let him have a view of the area, so he can see all this land being destroyed.” Mathew laughed evilly again. Walking up to his son, he patted him on the back with his paw and then walked out of the cave, leaving Marko to look at Warclaw’s body trying to figure out what he should do.