Page 10 of Father of the Wolf

Their hair styles were also strange. One of the young men actually had bright blue spikes. Although Athair found this somewhat outrageous, he was intrigued by how and why they would choose to do this. He wondered how long it would be before some of their young decided to adopt the style. And he smiled at the reaction he knew Allaidh would have to the relaxed clothing of today’s women. His children deserved to be part of this world, and finally they would get their chance.

On the sixth evening, the group left the forest and entered a cleared meadow. Domari motioned for them to take human form as they began across the field. She moved to Athair’s side and quietly said, “You will need to follow me directly to my parent’s home. Please do not talk to the others until after you have met with the Alpha Pair. There is much you must know if you wish all to remain safe here in Lakeside.”

Athair nodded at her cryptic remarks and passed them on to Rath and Dàn. Preparing for whatever was to come, he studied the village as they approached. Along the far side of the meadow, many small homes were scattered beneath one outstretched arm of the thinning forest. Soon they were walking on a slightly overgrown flagstone path past the first of the homes. The houses were small and quaint. Most were built of stone or brick, but some were of wood and were painted white, tan, pale blue, or green. One was a cheery yellow. Most had well-maintained shrubs and flower gardens in their yards, although more than half of them looked empty, with no curtains in the windows or other signs of current inhabitants.

A couple of the houses had large, bowl-shaped, gray disks set near them. Athair had no idea what those were. There were many things he saw that puzzled him, and a few that reminded him of the stories Sgrios had shared with them over the years.

In front of the yellow house sat a shiny yellow machine. It had windows and seats on the inside, and Athair concluded this must be one of the horseless carriages Sgrios had told him about. They had seen a few on the roads, but the machines had moved too fast for them to see clearly. Athair had wondered if his brother had exaggerated many of his stories. Sgrios had told him so many over the years that were outrageous, but it seemed the world had developed at an amazing pace.

Several people were gathered outdoors enjoying the warm evening. Youngsters played in a cleared part of the field throwing a small ball around, while others sat nearby at tables and cheered for those playing.

The homes did not crowd each other, yet there were many of them. The path they followed widened to a road, perhaps eight or ten feet wide. He couldn’t imagine how the Bear Clan had managed to live within this village, but he found it very encouraging. Perhaps his clan could relocate to a small town too, something they had all thought was too risky to consider. He wondered how this clan maintained their secrecy.

Then he noticed that there were wolves scattered among the people. And he stared in surprise as one of the people started a fire magically under the steaks they were cooking. How could that be?

Surely these were not all Valàfrn. The area was spacious. There looked to be housing for hundreds, maybe thousands here. But with so many of the homes unoccupied, where were the rest of the people?

The path that had become a road now had houses on both sides. They still had plenty of space around each, but the buildings here were larger.

Domari and Sundair continued to lead them in silence, but the others in the group talked quietly. Athair clearly heard two of them discussing their trip to the nearby village and the hunt they had enjoyed. It seemed it had been a pleasant trip until they had come upon Athair, Dàn and Rath. They had cut their travels short to return to Lakeside.

As they left the road and passed between two large homes, Sundair quieted them and signaled them to alertness. The only sound was music floating from the open windows of the house to the right. They entered a dense apple orchard, where light scattered into dim streams at either side of the path. The hair rose on Athair’s neck, and he tensed. The darkness seemed to move with a presence, all its own. Then ahead of them, three shadows wavered and grew into human forms, men who stepped into the light to block their way.

Standing tall before them, a man all in black snarled, “Who are these strangers?” He growled aggressively toward Sundair. “Why have you brought them to our town?” Five others stepped from the shadows, including two women.

“This does not concern you, Bequlf.” Sundair said as the siblings advanced as though to force their way between the newcomers.

“If it concerns the safety of my people, it concerns me.” His group pushed close together to form a blockade.

Sundair hesitated, and then seemed to come to a decision, “They are of another clan. We are taking them to Sandulfr.”

Bequlf motioned to two of the men, who stepped apart as if to allow them through. “How do you know they are not dangerous? Other clans might attempt to steal our territory.” He glared at Sundair, demanding answers Athair didn’t think he would get. He continued, “The Eagle Clan is closest, and they are nothing but stealing dogs.”

Rath stiffened.

With an evil smirk, Bequlf said “These smell of that same trash.”

Despite Athair’s restraining hand on his arm, Rath faced Bequlf with clenched teeth and an intense growl. He was a man in his prime and very proud of his family. He was unlikely to suffer such insults without retaliation.

“Thieving trash.” Bequlf growled back and launched himself the short distance to grab Rath by the throat. Instinctively, Athair jumped between the two, prepared to defend his adopted son. Bequlf’s interrupted attack forced him to stumble into Athair, who caught him by his jacket and jerked him effortlessly inches above the ground.

“Enough.” Sundair shoved Bequlf and Athair apart. “This gains us nothing.” He glared sternly at Bequlf. “You may talk to Sandulfr about them if you wish. Otherwise, it is not your concern.”

“I will see to this myself.” Bequlf stepped aside and straightened his jacket. He threw Athair a malevolent glare. “You will regret coming here,” he promised.

Privately, Athair agreed.

Dàn’s silent thought confirmed Athair’s gut feeling. “This will not go well, but we must continue as we have begun.”

“Do you know more?” He questioned Dàn.

“Only that we must proceed on this course. Unfortunately, they will turn on one of us.” Dàn’s guarded expression gave nothing away and as usual, Athair could sense little of his emotions. All he could assume was that Dàn would tell him more as it was needed. Until then, Athair would have to make plans to get them both away and safe.

“When this happens, I will clear the way and you and Rath will return to our clan. Tell Rath what you know, and my wishes.”

Dàn definitely knew more than he chose to share, which usually told Athair more than what he said. He knew they would turn on him because of his interference. Not the children. Still, he worried about them. Rath was strong. A born fighter and a survivor. Dàn sought only peace. All of his struggles were internal. Although Athair’s first instinct was to protect the boys, he knew they were both strong enough to face what was coming. He trusted Dàn’s instincts. If he said they should continue, then it was probably their best choice.

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