Chapter 16: Werewolves can be Terrifying

I soon found myself surrounded by my enemies. The Conjurer had us boxed in on all sides. He had woven his net most craftily. I called for aid from our Mystic allies throughout the Ministries, but they never answered, preferring to remain in hiding like the worms that they were. The Lurranna family faced annihilation. Thus, I decided to undertake the only option left to me; I opened negotiations with the Conjurer himself.

Humphrey crept up silently behind the Second Level Elemental who busied himself at the controls in the little control room. As if sensing his presence, the Elemental turned to face Humphrey.

Unaware of Humphrey’s true intent, the Elemental came to attention as he thought he was addressing a superior and brought his fist up to his chest in a formal salute. “Lord Fourth, Sir!”

Humphrey cursed silently to himself at being noticed, but smiled disarmingly and gave a dismissive wave. “At ease, Second. This isn’t an inspection.”

The Second relaxed, but then his eyes twitched in recognition. “Lord Fourth, Sir. Forgive me for asking, but aren’t you one of the Exam Proctors?”

Humphrey nodded, acknowledging his newfound disguise. It took a lot of effort on his part to assassinate the Fourth and dispose of his body. A lot more effort to mimic the dead man’s psionic signature perfectly as well as take on his form. Not many with Shapeshifting abilities could do that. Not even Goblins could, which is why they never infiltrated the Ministries directly as they’d be caught in an instant which proved to be the case many times in the past when they tried to place spies in the Ministries. In this, Humphrey was special, a fact that he wished very much not to be the case at the moment, otherwise, he wouldn’t be in this messy situation.

“Indeed, I am,” replied Humphrey casually as he folded his hands behind his back and drew a dagger from his sleeve. “You oversee the subsystems for the dampening fields of the Green Team, correct?”

The Second nodded, though he seemed slightly confused by the question. “In a limited capacity. Though a very minor subroutine. That’s why I’m in this little station instead of the main control room. And I don’t oversee all of the Green Team, I only monitor the backup systems for a few candidates, as well as keep up with their vitals to ensure they don’t go below danger levels.”

Humphrey nodded at the explanation, though it was information he knew all too well. “They’re an immature bunch, aren’t they? Some members of my team this year are particularly rowdy. Even with the dampening fields, they might get too rambunctious for their own good and hurt themselves, or other candidates. Some Firsts are simply too powerful for the system to compensate for. That’s why I’m here. I was hoping to check the vitals of my initiates.”

The Elemental nodded, his posture more certain and less confused. By the low pressure of his psions, the Second was probably not very powerful. Judging by his post at the controls, he was more of a technician than an actual warrior.

He’ll be easy enough to kill. But that’s not what I’m worried about. I have to do it silently and do it quickly before he raises an alarm. If my presence is discovered, I’ll be useless to the Fallen, and then I’m as good as dead!

“I can see your meaning. I won’t deny that there have been accidents in the past. But thanks to our new and improved dampening field around the pit, there should be no fatalities this year. A few bumps and bruises, but nothing the Medical Unit can’t handle. We’ve even accounted for candidates with higher than the norm psion levels, and adjusted our system accordingly. Point is that I’m positive that no one will die this year. But ... sir, if you wanted to check up on your team, wouldn’t the main control room have been a better place to observe? If I may ... sir, that’s where all the other proctors are watching.”

Humphrey gave an innocent shrug and took a deep breath as if he were embarrassed about something that he was obligated to say. Slowly, ever so slowly, Humphrey inched forward. “Well, you see, the problem is that I was sent here to...”

Humphrey stopped midsentence as he closed the gap between him and the Elemental within the blink of an eye and thrust the knife hard into the man’s heart, using enough psions to penetrate the man’s armor and jam the blade directly into his heart.

“Make sure that people die,” Humphrey finished, feeling the slightest pang of sympathy for the man he just killed.

Humphrey looked directly into the man’s face as shock, pain, and confusion contorted all at once before his eyes rolled back into his head, and he went limp. Humphrey took hold of the man in both arms to keep him from hitting the floor. The pirate then lowered the Elemental gently to the floor before taking out a vial of dark liquid from his robes and sprinkling it over the man’s body. The recently deceased Elemental was dissolved almost instantly as the black liquid spread over the length of his whole body and rapidly digested his flesh. Everything vanished as the Dark Water did its murky work, even consuming the last tiniest drop of blood before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

Humphrey only stared down and gave a slight eulogy to the man that had died. “I learned a long time ago, kill or be killed. Whatever you may think of me now, know that I’m just doing what I can to survive in this hellhole called life.”

Humphrey spoke softly, almost reverently, as if he were giving a prayer. It’s something he almost always said to the men he had killed over the years, and by now, it was quite an extensive list. It was not that he felt that guilty about anything he did. If Cornelius Humphrey ever wanted something, he would take it, and cut down anyone who stood in his way, plain and simple. It’s just that he somehow thought it courteous to inform his victims why they had died, that it was not anything personal on his part. He needed something, and they were in his way. Simple as that.

“In life, personal survival is everything! We survive as long as possible to do the Lord Corrupter’s bidding. All other concerns are secondary. Never let those idealistic fools at the Monastery tell you otherwise. You should never put another person’s wellbeing above your own. Live only for yourself.”

Humphrey remembered well the words that his mentor, and former lover, had taught him. It had been many years ago when he last heard those words, the day that Humphrey decided to leave the Order of the Mystics.

Though he had initially been coerced into joining the Mystics, he had to admit that the life did have its perks. Even when he was an actual Elemental, there was something a little too noble about them for his tastes. Something a little too self-righteous. But as a Mystic, he was free to pursue his vices without judgment or rebuke. He could even get away with killing his superiors occasionally, so long as he could prove that he could take on their duties and be more valuable to the Order than they were, which he always did. That was something that had always annoyed him about the Ministries, being forced to take the orders of older Elementals that he knew he could surpass, that he knew he was better than if he could only prove it.

In his estimation, the Mystics had a far more efficient method for hierarchy. The strongest ruled. If you weren’t strong enough, a subordinate will sense your weakness and take your place. Simple as that. Sure, Elementals did adhere to some concept of strength. After all, only the most powerful of Elementals could become Wielders, and possibly even Ministers. But he could never fully respect the Elementals for their blatant hypocrisy. Instead of ruling Tarrus and setting right the many injustices of the universe, they swore their allegiance to the Senate and to the Royal Family, corrupt and lesser humans that would never awaken Elemency, never know any real power. The Mystics bowed only to the Dark Dragon Lords ... bowed only to the very incarnation of power itself.

Aside from his philosophical differences that favored the Mystics over the Elementals, one other thing held him with the Order of Shadows for so long. She was there. His mentor. The one who had brought him from the Ministries into the Order of Shadows. She became everything to him. His life, his breath, the very core of his being. She was both punisher and rewarder. The Alpha and Omega. And she was also the reason he had to leave. He had to in order to live up to the real truth she taught him. ‘Live only for yourself.’ Many sessions of torture and pleasure intermixed with her had drilled that fact into his skull for the many years that he was under her thumb. He still didn’t know which feeling was more predominant inside him; his hatred and fear of her for what she did to him to force him to become a Mystic, or the love he felt for her when she showed him her softer side. Either way, he hoped he never saw her again to find out.

The Elementals wanted Humphrey to serve the greater good; the Mystics wanted him to serve a cult. Eventually, Humphrey decided that the best way to get on in life was through being unaffiliated with any power greater than himself. So, of course, going into piracy seemed like the best option. Humphrey did alright for himself for a while; he sailed high in the underworld. It was rare for someone of his skills to go rogue and get away with it without being noticed by either the Elementals or the Mystics.

And now, look at me! Right back where I started. If I fail, I die. If I try to leave, I die. All I know is that I can’t let myself die here. If there is an afterlife, it will hold no joys for me ... not with my record!

So Humphrey did what he always did, he survived as he punched in the keys on the computer screen and embedded a subtle virus into the system. The computer fizzled and screeched slightly as the virus started to take route in the system.

The voice of the Fallen suddenly returned. “Is it done?”

Putting a finger to his temple, Humphrey whispered in reply. “Affirmative. The dampening field is down on the boy’s transponder. That First is in for a rude awakening.”

Ryan sat down cross-legged amidst a huge forest. He felt a little more comfortable because it was such a familiar environment for him. From his childhood on Shakarass to his time spent in the biodome of the Ministry of Fire, Ryan felt most at ease when he was among trees. However, this forest was slightly different from the kinds he was used to. Both at Toramirese, and in the Ministry of Fire, the trees were gargantuan. But here, the trees were much smaller, more tightly knit. Everything felt much closer together, making the air feel more clumped. So, even though Ryan was more relaxed than he had been in the desert and in the glacier, he was still somewhat on alert. Because the trees were closer to what constituted as normal size for other people, they were much more densely packed than what he was familiar with. It felt kind of eerie. In this densely packed rainforest, there could be enemies hiding around every tree trunk. Even with the fire that he and Torsha had built, there was still much that Ryan couldn’t make out in the darkness.

“Would you please stop?” asked Torsha irritably.

“Stop,” repeated Ryan distractedly as his head swung from right to left. “Stop what?”

“Stop acting like someone could pounce on us at any second.”

Ryan sighed. “I know ... I know. I should be overjoyed right now. I’m in a forest, just like on Toramirese. It’s just that ... I don’t know. This forest is a lot different from the ones I’m used to. The trees at Toramirese were a lot bigger and spread out. Things weren’t as tightly packed as they are now. And plus, I hardly never went out at night. Not because I was scared of the dark, or anything like that! It’s just that ... my parents worried when I went out into the woods at night.”

Torsha shook her head slightly. “Ryan. Trust me. I’m a Werewolf. My people are revered for their sensory abilities. In fact, we were the first to develop the psionic gift of enhanced senses. It’s what makes us such great hunters. Some of our kind can literally track a target into space if necessary without the need for scanning technology. There are very few creatures in this universe that can surprise a Werewolf. So if I say it’s safe, then it really is safe.”

Ryan felt himself turning a slight shade of purple as he grew embarrassed. “I suppose you’re right. Umm! Not that I was afraid for myself. I was afraid for you. Yeah, I was afraid for you.”

Torsha giggled, a little bit of her old warmth coming back into her countenance. “I wish I met you a long time ago. Every word out of your mouth is a riot. It’s like everything you do or say ends up being cute and funny.”

Ryan smiled at Torsha as he put his hand over the fire to increase the output of the flames. Torsha sat on her knees right across from him in the middle of a grove. The trees were gnarled and old-looking, as if they were old men. The leaves seemed to be a mix of gray and green, though it was difficult to make out from the firelight. Vines hung from the trees like snakes and bushes dotted the landscape. The ground was covered in brown leaves and twigs, and there was a dampness in the air that made Ryan feel uneasy. Thick mist covered the woods like the white cloak of some phantom. Overall, these were just about the creepiest woods Ryan had visited in his life.

Still, there is something to be said for the sheer scope of this project. After all, this is an artificial environment. What’s really creepy is that I can’t tell the difference between this and the real thing. Just imagining the work that they had to put in detailing this place gives me a headache.

Ryan then started thinking of Éclair: what she may be doing right now, if she was thinking about him. Then Ryan thought of Torsha’s comment, and it made him feel sad, thinking that Éclair would only ever see him as the cute, funny kid.

“The only problem with being hilarious all the time is that no one takes you seriously. Not even the people you love,” Ryan commented, mostly to himself.

Torsha then scoffed loudly, turning away from Ryan in a huff.

Ryan raised his hands and asked, “What?”

“I hate that look!”

“What look?”

“That glazed look in your eyes every time you think of Éclair.”

Ryan sighed as he felt a conflict arising. “Okay! You’ve been bugged about something since we got here, and now I think it’s time you told me what this is about!”

Torsha snorted as a slight growl erupted from her throat. “Oh, what?! Are you really that stupid, or maybe guys like you just get a kick out of making fun of girls like me?”

Ryan was starting to get frustrated with her lack of clarification. “Stop dodging the question! Why do you get mad every time Éclair comes up?!”

“BECAUSE I LIKE YOU, ALRIGHT!”

Ryan’s mouth hung slack for a few moments as he tried to wrap his mind around what Torsha just said. Torsha’s ears drew back and her head fur became ruffled as if her hairs were standing on end, either from anger or from embarrassment. Torsha’s ears stood back up and she patted the fur on her head down as she forced her mane back into place. Ryan realized with growing alarm that her eyes were becoming watery.

Oh my God! She’s going to start crying! What do I do if she starts crying?!

Torsha coughed a little as if to get her voice under control. “You’re the first guy I’ve ever met who treated me like a girl instead of a like a dog ... or a religious student as is the case with my Monk mentors at the Monastery.”

Ryan’s mouth still hung open slightly as his brain went into overdrive piecing the clues together. He remembered the time that Torsha had held him so tenderly. He remembered the way she laughed during their time on the Ferris wheel. He even remembered the time that she kissed him on the cheek.

The clues were all there! Why didn’t I see it sooner?!

Torsha wiped her eyes, and her voice cracked slightly as she said, “You probably think this is stupid, right? Nothing but ‘puppy love’! God, I am such an idiot!” Torsha sat up and turned to leave.

Ryan wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, but he knew that the wrong thing to do would be just to let her leave without saying anything. “Torsha! Wait!”

Torsha stopped with her back to Ryan as she spoke in a slightly calmer voice. “I never knew my father.”

Whatever Ryan was about to say, he immediately held back as he sensed that it would be wiser to hear what Torsha had to say.

“I never knew what it’s like to have someone doting on you. Protecting you. Someone who makes you feel valued. Makes you feel beautiful.” She then pointed to the ground before continuing. “I was raised in the Monastery, right here on Galsin. The Monks are good people ... they really are. They don’t distinguish between races. But every time I was sent out of the Monastery, every time I was sent on missions ... I found out just how different I really am. As far as I know, I’m the only Werewolf to be raised by the Monks who serve the Light.”

Torsha sniffed slightly and then continued. “I’ve never even seen my home planet. I’ve never known what it’s like to run through the trees, the hills, the mountains, and the plains with a pack at my side. Ever since I was little, I somehow knew that I had no idea what it feels like ... to belong ... anywhere, or to anyone. And when I was old enough to put my feelings into words ... the first question I asked was why ... why did my family abandon me? No one at the Monastery had an answer for me.”

Torsha spoke without emotion, but Ryan could see the sorrow in her bearing as her body started shaking. Feeling that now was the time to do something, Ryan slowly walked towards Torsha. He gently took hold of her shoulders and turned her towards him. He had never seen a Werewolf cry. Many would look on the display with contempt, but when Ryan looked at Torsha, he did not see a dog creature ... he saw a young girl who felt alone and desperately needed a friend.

Ryan took Torsha’s furry hand into his own and caressed it with both hands. He spoke in a soothing voice, but he made sure to enunciate clearly because he didn’t want his message to be misinterpreted. “I probably know better than anyone what you’re feeling right now. When I lost ... my family ... when I was all alone on the streets, I didn’t know whether my parents were dead or alive. I remember hoping that they had survived somehow, that someday they’d come and find me. But there was another part of me that hoped they were really dead ... because if they were alive, it meant that they had forgotten about me. And for me, that hurt worse than any horror that I witnessed as my village burned around me. It wasn’t until sometime later that I realized the truth.”

Ryan paused as he waited for Torsha to ask the question. But Torsha never did, instead, she just stared at him through her tears with a quizzical expression on her face. Ryan cleared his voice in embarrassment and whispered in a nervous voice, “Um, you’re supposed to say, ‘what truth.’ It’s kinda cooler that way.”

Torsha smiled fondly and asked, “What truth?”

Ryan smiled and continued his speech. “The truth that you make your own Legacy. You validate your own existence by working hard and taking to heart the lessons those older and wiser than you laid down for you. For me, it was my parents. Moving on and continuing to live is how I live up to their Legacy and begin creating my own. For you, it’s the Monks. The ones who raised you. They’re your real family. And now, so am I. How you create your Legacy from there is up to you, but it’s something far better than where you come from, I can guarantee that. I was only able to realize all this once I felt secure enough in the friendships that I cultivated at the Ministry of Fire. And that is why I’m here to tell you that I will always be your friend. I will never abandon you.”

Torsha sobbed a little and said in a breaking voice, “Can you really mean that?”

Ryan guffawed at her like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Torsha, don’t you see. You reached out for me when you didn’t even know me. You brought me out of my lowest point and made me realize things about myself that I was unwilling to admit. But most importantly, you believed in me. Now I’m asking you to believe in yourself. Without you, I wouldn’t have made it this far. I’ll follow your lead anytime. I’ll come to your aid whenever you need me, whether it be here or in the abyss. You are my teacher and my dear friend. I will always be there for you, that I can promise.”

Torsha took in a deep breath, and Ryan sensed that her spirit had been lifted when she looked up and smiled her old, joyous smile. “Can I just ask you something?”

“Sure,” said Ryan, nervously. “Although I can only wonder what since there literally is no one who knows more about me than you.”

“When did you fall for her?”

Ryan was slightly startled by the question as he sighed and said, “Once again, you tend to ask the weirdest and most personal questions ever.”

“You know you’re going to have to answer eventually. I mean, I did just spill my guts out to you, so you have to give me a little leverage in return.”

Ryan laughed a little before saying, “I actually met her a long time ago. Long before either of us entered the Ministry. She doesn’t remember, but I do. And ... I honestly don’t think I have a chance in hell, but ... I don’t know. Every time I’m around her, I just get this feeling that my destiny is intertwined with hers. She makes me ... want to be more than myself, and yet at the same time, she makes me happy just being me. Even if she never feels the same, I don’t think I could ever stop loving Éclair. I hope that’s not as pathetic as it sounds.”

“Nope,” said Torsha with a grin as she put a friendly hand on Ryan’s shoulder. “It’s even more pathetic than it sounds.”

“I guess I deserve that after what I put you through,” conceded Ryan.

Torsha then drew Ryan in for a hug. Ryan was stunned for a moment before he returned the hug in kind. “All I can say is that Éclair has no idea what she’s missing.” Torsha drew away and gave Ryan a serious look. “Just remember, kid. My door’s open if you ever feel like trading up.”

Regaining control over the flush of purple that crossed his face, Ryan said, “You know. That might actually be tempting ... if it wasn’t so terrifying.”

“Stop talking like that you little perv. I was only joking,” laughed Torsha.

“Little perv,” repeated Ryan dejectedly.

Torsha then started squeezing Ryan’s cheeks together like he was an infant. “You’re so innocent. It’s adorable. Don’t worry pumpkin. You’ll get there sooner or later.”

Ryan spoke with a slight slur as Torsha had hold of his cheeks. “You rememba me petpeeve about net bein taken serioufly. Bis is why!”

Suddenly, Torsha’s eyes bulged out as she started sniffing for something in the trees.

“Bhat iv it?” asked Ryan, his words still slurred by Torsha’s hands on his cheeks.

Torsha let go of Ryan’s cheek and made a shushing gesture with her finger. She then spoke in a very quiet voice.

“There’s something out there. It’s not an Elemental or a Monk. It’s something that I’ve never smelled before. I don’t know what it is, all I know is that it’s close.”

“Close,” repeated Ryan in alarm. “How close?”

Torsha’s eyes almost bulged out of her skull as she stared at something past Ryan. She then pointed to something behind his shoulder and said, “That close!”

Ryan turned around and drew his weapons as he followed Torsha’s gaze. At first, he couldn’t see anything, but as he stared closer, his eyes slowly focused on the figure of a creature hiding among the branches in a nearby tree. Ryan could not see it that clearly, but whatever it was, it had two huge, glowing golden brown eyes that stared down at him hungrily.

Cornelius Humphrey, after donning the guise of the technician, sat at the viewscreen for what seemed like hours.

“We must have confirmation of the abomination’s death,” the Fallen had said. “Search every cube until you find him.”

Humphrey’s hands worked tirelessly over the keyboards until at last he came to the forest simulation where he found two candidates alone by a fire at the edge of the woods. Captain Humphrey smiled when he recognized the annoying twerp the Fallen had named the ‘abomination’. Judging from the terrified expressions of the boy and his teammate, Mozar had finally caught on to their trail.

Considering himself a cunning man, even Humphrey had to admit that the Fallen’s plan was flawless, but he was not so sure about it when they first proposed it to him. He recalled the briefing ... after they had very savagely teleported aboard his ship and murdered his whole crew within seconds.

“This operation is a two-pronged attack,” they said. “We will capture the heirs of Light and Shadow, but we will also remove the unwanted variable.”

The Fallen stood together in single file on the bow of their ship; the bat-like vessel that had captured Humphrey’s own ship in the nebula. Humphrey found himself standing on some kind of makeshift balcony that opened up on the side of their vessel. The stars shone clearly all around Cornelius as he awaited his sentence, but it was a dark light. Humphrey wasn’t sure if he was being protected from the zero-atmosphere of space by some kind of force field or witchcraft of the Fallen Ones, but that hardly factored as Humphrey listened intently to his potential executioners.

“The abomination that is called Ryan, family named Uruks, must be removed from the equation. Before the Light and Shadow are secured, he must breathe his last. We have decided that we shall use a pawn of our enemies to carry out the deed.”

“Why?” asked Humphrey. “Why can’t I just kill him myself?”

“Do not question us, human whelping!” cried the four Fallen warriors simultaneously in that eerie, screeching voice of theirs.

As if to insinuate their anger, Humphrey soon found himself unable to breathe. His skin felt cold as he felt his complexion go from pink to white. His skin started to bubble and pulsate as ice formed from his fingertips to his arms. Humphrey realized that the Fallen had put him at the mercy of space even though they themselves remained unaffected. As he retched and clawed at his throat, Humphrey fell to his knees in a sign of submission.

Somehow managing to whisper, despite his loss of breath, Humphrey croaked, “I yield.”

The pressure lessened, and Humphrey saw the skin on his hand return to normal. The Fallen stared down at him through their masks, as if he were a curious specimen worth investigating. Finally, the Fallen One with a mask of rage, who seemed to be the leader of the group, drew something out of his robes and handed it to Humphrey. It was a glowing green armband. Knowing that touching the masked creatures directly could result in death, Humphrey took the object warily.

“We have learned that the Werewolf known as Mozar has discovered your role in this plot.”

“Mozar! But how?”

“It matters not. What does matter is that the hunter is hot on your trail. He will be searching for your scent. We have coated your essence to this armband, along with a pheromone concocted specifically for this mission. Though the Werewolf called Mozar was assigned to protect Ryan of the Uruks, he will be the instigator of the child’s demise.”

Humphrey comprehended their plan immediately, but couldn’t help but voice some concerns. After all, failure would mean his life. “If ... if I may. I don’t think that will be enough to fool Mozar. He knows me. He’ll probably be able to figure out that the young First isn’t me in disguise after some careful observation, and Mozar never engages without careful observation.”

“That is the reason for the pheromone. A rare herb we’ve developed from wolfsbane that not even Mozar knows of yet. It only affects the males of his species. Though the female Werewolf Monk may be able to detect it, she will not know of its true design. When he finds the abomination, thinking that it is you in a guise, the pheromones will stimulate his primal instincts, and the Werewolf will be thrown into a killing frenzy.

Humphrey rubbed his chin thoughtfully and nodded, unable to help a twinge of respect for the ingeniousness of this plan. “His blood will already be boiled from the prolonged hunt. I know him well enough to know that he will be impatient for a kill by now, especially considering that it’s me he’s after. If these pheromones work as well as you say, he will attack the boy without thinking.”

The Fallen stood silently for a moment, as if pleased by Humphrey’s assessment. It was eerie the way they could go completely still and completely quiet so suddenly. During times like this, they showed nary a sign of breathing or life, almost as if they were statues. Only when they spoke again did they seem animate.

“We have already arranged for you to replace a Fourth Level Elemental that we captured. The Ministry is not yet aware of his fate. But be wary. Not only must you disguise your psionic signature, a skill you are uniquely talented for, but you must also disguise your scent.”