The Werewolf and the Wormlord (28 page)

But...

There were real corpses dangling from the crag-rooted trees on the far side of the mere.

Oh yes, the dead were real enough.

But, even so, maybe She was but a tale, Her murders the work of some night-slashing human.

Who?

Grendel Danbrog was a possible candidate. He was big; he was strong; he lived remote from the rest of humanity; he could come and go as he wished. He could have brought those corpses to this place. Perhaps there was a coracle hidden somewhere near the mere. Perhaps—

Alfric looked at his father with obscene surmise, then shuddered.

‘The horses will not stay,’ said Grendel. ‘We must turn them loose.’

Then he dismounted, removed his joumeypack from the horse, and slapped the beast on the rump. It turned and fled. Alfric’s beast tried to do likewise. Because, in a fit of sudden panic, Alfric was urging it to flight with his knees.

‘Ho!’ said Grendel, catching the thing by the bridle.

Man fought with horse, and the horse was mastered. Never before had Alfric appreciated his father’s true strength. The man must have muscles a blacksmith woiild envy.

‘We almost lost you then,’ said Grendel with a chuckle. ‘I wouldn’t like that to happen.’

And Alfric heard in that chuckle the tones of evil, and knew then that his father was the real killer. His father was the terrorizer of Wen Endex. His father had murdered those hapless humans who now hung from the trees at the far side of the mere. And Alfric stared at the man, eyes bulging in horror.

‘You look sick,’ said Grendel. ‘What is it? The smell? Get down, you’ll feel better soon.’

Then he reached up with one of his hands. Alfric had never before realized how massive those hands actually were. The strength of those hands could not be resisted.

—He will have me.

Thus Alfric. In silence. In terror.

Helpless to resist, Alfric got down from his horse. Grendel brought Alfric’s joumeypack to earth then sent the horse on its way. Then Tromso Stavenger started to dismount.

‘Grandfather!’ said Alfric.

Meaning to warn the man, to tell him to run.

The Wormlord, startled by the note of panic in Alfric’s voice, slipped and fell. Grendel caught him, saving him from doing himself an injury. Then Grendel got down the king’s pack, dismissed the old man’s horse, and sent the beast on its way.

‘Seat yourself,’ said Grendel.

Tromso Stavenger lowered himself on to his pack. Watching the studied care with which his grandfather seated himself, Alfric realized what an effort every action was costing the old man. The king was worn out by all this mounting and dismounting, this hill-climbing and horn-blowing. He should have been in bed, feeding on warm soup and watching his favourite cat watching the untunchilamons.

Tonight Alfric truly appreciated the age of their white-haired leader; tonight, Alfric began to understand something of what it meant to be old. Tonight, Alfric knew that Tromso Stavenger would be no help at all when Grendel made his Change and became Herself, and fell upon the pair of them to kill them.

‘Now,’ said Stavenger, once he had seated himself comfortably, ‘what was that about, Alfric? What did you want to tell me?’

‘I -1 thought I saw something,’ said Alfric. ‘But I was wrong.’

Then, cold with terror, Alfric sat on his pack and watched his father. When would the man make his move against them? Maybe the eyes would give warning. It was said that from Her eyes a hellish light outshone, a light which blinded Her enemies in battle.

Abruptly, Grendel stood.

And Alfric thought, in panic:

—This is it!

Grendel stumped uphill. Alfric watched him. Twenty paces he went, then began to pull down his trousers. This was it! Grendel was disrobing so he could Change, so his flesh could swell and girth, so he could become Herself!

Suddenly, Grendel became aware of Alfric’s unblinking watch.

‘Alfric,’ said Grendel, ‘can’t you give me a little privacy?’

‘What - what are you doing?’ said Alfric.

‘What do you think I’m doing?’ said Grendel. ‘Blood of the Gloat! Has the boy lost his wits entirely?’

‘Alfric,’ said Tromso Stavenger, ‘look to the pool. Our watch we must keep.’

Alfric tried to find the will to protest. But failed. He could not disobey a direct order from his king. He turned to the pool. Behind him, he heard Grendel grunt. The sound was low-pitched. An animal sound. Hideous with menace. Grendel must be Changing. Surely. Changing into Herself.

Then—

Heavy footsteps lurched toward them.

Alfric jerked his head around, and saw—

Saw his father walking toward him, Grendel Danbrog as yet unchanged, buckling his belt as he came. Alfric sat back, weak with relief.

‘Ah,’ said Grendel, with happy satisfaction. ‘That feels better. Now. I had something in here.’

So saying, Grendel undid his journeypack and pulled out a heavy four-buckle bag of alien make. What was it? With renewed terror, Alfric remembered tales of Herself, and feared this satchel to be a glof, a bag of devils’ skins which She carried, and into which She was wont to stuff the tripes of those She slaughtered.

But, when Grendel unbuckled the bag, no smell of dead meat issued from within. Instead... was that cheese?

‘Cheese,’ said Grendel, as if he had been reading his son’s mind.

Grendel took a big fat wheel of the stuff from his satchel and passed it to his father. Tromso Stavenger pulled out a dirk and started to cut slices for the three of them. He then produced three small cups and a skin which yielded rough red wine. Then - miracle of miracles - a loaf of crusted bread.

The wine was good, and the bread likewise, and Alfric was soon tearing into the goodness of the breadflesh. His terror began to ease, and he sat back on his pack, relaxing somewhat. Then—

Where were his spare spectacles?

For a moment, Alfric feared he might be sitting on them. Then remembered they were in the top of his pack, inside a hardwood casket.

‘Maybe we should put up a tent,’ said Tromso Stavenger.

‘A tent?’ said Alfric in amazement.

‘Well, yes, we have to sleep sometime,’ said the king.

‘You can sleep now if you wish,’ said Grendel. ‘Both of you. I’ll keep watch.’

This declaration stirred Alfric’s fear to life. While his eyelids had been nodding, now he was wide awake indeed.

‘No,’ said Alfric. ‘No thank you. We’re all right.’

‘Speak for yourself!’ said Grendel. ‘Your grandfather may not be so ready to wait out the night.’

‘I’m fine for the moment,’ said Tromso Stavenger.

But Alfric suspected it was pride which did the speaking, for the king’s voice was weary. Certainly they would both of them have to sleep sooner or later. And then - then they would be utterly at Grendel’s mercy.

Alfric straightened his back and concentrated his efforts on staying both awake and alert. He was helped by the cold of the night and the occasional menacing sounds which stirred in the poolside grass. Living indoors, one always forgets how very large the night actually is, and how menacing.

Once, a nicor raised its hideous head from the blue-burning waters of the mere then slipped beneath the surface again. Could the things crawl out of the water? Maybe they could. As Alfric was thus thinking, a ripple spread across the pool. Alfric’s hand dropped to the hilt of Bloodbane. He glanced at his father and grandfather. They appeared to have noticed nothing.

Then, without warning, a head broke free from the water.

Alfric was so terrified he could not speak.

The head was huge, hideous, armed with teeth. Shaggy was the hair which clothed it. And—

And it was making for the shore!

To the shore came the head, then the body which supported it dragged itself from the water, revealing itself to be a rat, a huge and hideous rat some four times the size of a dog. The rat swaggered toward the three men.

Alfric got to his feet.

‘Ho!’ he cried.

The rat paused.

It was a monster, yes, but it was only a rodent when all was said and done. Alfric drew the deathsword Bloodbane and advanced upon the rat in a mood of marauding murder. For a moment, the thing stood its ground. Then it fled, scuttling back to the water. Alfric swung at it once, but missed. Then the brute splashed into the water, dived, and was gone.

Alfric stood by the side of the mere, panting. He stared into the dark waters, trying to see where the rat had gone. If rats grew to such size in these dominions of darkness, what else might have obtained monstrosity?

Behind him, his father and grandfather laughed.

‘Bravo,’ said Grendel softly.

Alfric turned.

The rage of Bloodbane possessed him.

Driven by the murder-lust of the weapon, Alfric Danbrog strode toward his father and grandfather, his sword ready for the kill.

‘Ho,’ said his father. ‘He walks like a hero.’

Then both Grendel and Tromso Stavenger laughed at what they took to be Alfric’s posturing; and their laughter deflated his anger; and he felt somewhat sheepish.

His sword was angry.

Murder-thoughts from the weapon stirred to life again in Alfric’s mind.

But he could not kill his father, not yet, for as yet the man had made no move against them, and they were family, were they not? And it was possible, was it not, that Grendel might spare them because they were family?

Alfric resisted the claims of the weapon, sheathed it, released his hand from the hilt, and felt easier.

He returned to his pack.

A twinge of pain stabbed through Alfric’s right hip as he settled himself. This pain he had felt often over the years; and, though he did his best to ignore it, every year it got worse and more frequent. Though he was only thirty-three, arthritis was already making claims on his health. As Alfric tried to get comfortable on his pack, his back protested. He had sudden visions of putting his back out. He imagined himself lying on the ground, writhing in helpless agony, while Grendel went through his Change and became Herself, devoured Tromso Stavenger then turned his attentions to Alfric himself.

—No!

So thought Alfric, strenuously, wilfully, denying the validity of this vision, and denying too that his father was actually Herself.

But Alfric did not believe his own denials.

He kept glancing sideways at his father, expecting to see some sign of a monstrous Change.

As Alfric waited for the moment of disaster, Grendel said:

‘I want you to know something.’

Alfric was about to ask ‘what’ when he realized his father was not speaking to Alfric but to the Wormlord. ‘Speak,’ said Tromso Stavenger.

‘I want you to know,’ said Grendel, ‘that I was never a werewolf. There was no truth at all to that rumour.’

What was this?

Was Grendel about to admit the truth? Was Grendel about to admit that he was no mere wolf but, in truth, Herself? Alfric fingered the hilt of Bloodbane.

‘I know, I know,’ said the Wormlord. ‘I’ve always know as much.’

‘Then... then why did you cast me out? All these... these years in exile, these...’

‘Hard times demanded hard decisions,’ said Tromso Stavenger.

‘How so?’

The Wormlord sighed, then said:

‘It was the Bank which forced my hand. ’

‘The Bank?’ said Grendel. ‘They told you to name me as a werewolf?’

‘No,’ said the Wormlord. ‘They threatened to do as much themselves. You don’t know what it’s like, dealing with the Bank. They’ve so much power, so much ... ah, you wouldn’t understand. But believe me. They were... oh, but it’s a long story.’

But, as the night lengthened, Grendel Danbrog got the rest of the story out of his father. Grendel and Alfric listened as the Wormlord told them of the varied threats the Bank had used to try to make the king grant fresh concessions to the Izdimir Empire.

‘At last,’ said Tromso Stavenger, ‘they schemed against my own family. They forged medical reports and prepared false witnesses to testify against you. It is said that the Bank has hypnotists, men who can work upon the minds of their victims until those victims firmly believe stories which have no foundation in fact. Such victims were prepared. ’

‘And?’ said Grendel.

‘And the Bank threatened me,’ said Tromso Stavenger. ‘I must do what the Bank wanted. I must allow the Izdimir Empire to station troops in Wen Endex and place its bureaucrats in Saxo Pall itself to guide my deliberations. I must enforce the same laws that govern the people in Ang and Obooloo. I must - well, in a word, surrender.’

‘They really thought they could make you do that?’ said Grendel.

‘They thought they had prepared a strong position for themselves,’ said Tromso Stavenger, ‘since they could so easily prove you to be a werewolf.’

‘But I was never such a creature!’