Page 120 of Oath of Revenge

A woman gasped. “What’s to stop the Growlers from turning every human into a beast?”

Wulfric frowned. “No, being turned is always a choice, and some choose not to accept the chance at a second life. The goddess made sure the Growlers took the ability seriously and would not abuse it. It works best when a human body is near death.”

“So you’ll attack, then as we’re bleeding out, turn us?”

Scarlet’s teeth ground together, and Wulfric stiffened. But it was Knox who interrupted.

“For gods’ sake, let the man explain his purpose here before you go jumping to the worst possible conclusions. You did the same thing when you first saw me as a dragon, remember? I thought we’d grown past this.”

Murmurs along the table made Scarlet squirm, but Knox turned to Wulfric. “Please, Growler, continue. Is that what happened to you? Were you near death?”

Wulfric paused, a flash of sorrow and pain on his face. He didn’t hide it, and the sight made the murmurs stop. “Yes, the Elders approached as I lay dying on the Southern Road, injured in the war. The army had transported the injured home, but several of those who were too close to death were simply… left to die.”

A woman gasped, and Wulfric cleared his throat. “I thought my family was all dead, so I had nothing else to lose. I accepted the Elders’ offer of a new life, and when the spell was done, all my memories of my life in Busparia were gone too.”

“No memories?”

“Ah, I wouldn’t mind forgetting myself.”

“You said you were born in Busparia. How do you know if your memories are gone?”

Wulfric chuckled, and she squeezed his hand at the sound. “The prophecy I mentioned? When dragons ride once more, Growlers will regain what they’ve lost. Only when the dragons, Growlers, and druids unite will they be able to defeat the evil one and stop the next ice age.”

Knox cleared his throat. “You’ve felt the winter lingering, haven’t you? Growing colder? When Wulfric and Scarlet arrived three days ago, they brought an ice creature they’d defeated.”

Leopol stepped from behind Knox and said, “The creature is a memphit, a skeletal ice daemon spawn.”

At the word daemon, several chairs raked the stone floor as men jumped up. One woman fainted in her seat. Scarlet’s lip twitched as Ashur rolled his eyes down the table. She’d always liked the man, even before he’d turned into a gargoyle.

“Enough,” Knox bellowed. Everyone froze as a haze of green smoke sank from his nose, and he waved it away. “Sit down and listen. Please.”

Leopol cleared his throat and gripped the lapels of his jacket. “As I was saying, the memphit is small but powerful enough to create a blizzard. They don’t travel alone either, but in packs of a dozen.”

The whispers around the table grew louder, and Leopol put his hand on Knox’s shoulder.

Knox rapped on the table, and all eyes turned to him. “Someone has to be controlling the memphits, or at the very least, releasing them into our world. They don’t belong here.”

Wulfric coughed, and Knox’s gaze swiveled to him. Wulfric said quietly, “The prophecy mentioned an evil one who would bring the next ice age.”

Scarlet tightened her grip on his hand. They’d talked about this with Knox and Grandma for the past two days, researching books in the library with Leopol and trying to find everything they could about the evil one and daemons. They each had theories, but this was the one that made the most sense.

Knox looked around the table once more, meeting each person’s gaze. “We have a plan to root out the evil one and stop the ice age, but it will require us to work with the Growlers. We need their help to protect the forest and investigate Busparia, which seems to be the center of the cold according to recent reports.”

Eirwyn cleared her throat and all eyes swung to her end of the table. “Right, so this is what the Growler alpha Wulfric, Knox, Scarlet, and I have been discussing thus far.”

Eirwyn threw light magic to the ceiling, casting shadows of figures running through the forest as she explained.

“The turned Growlers are going to be the most easily integrated into our society, especially now that their memories are back. Remember, some of them might even be your missing family members who went off to war and never returned.”

A murmur of whispers echoed in the room as the servants removed the now cold food and served the next course. Eirwyn continued.

“The Growlers can root out other memphits in the forest and provide wider protection. They can work with the Robins, but we’ll start with low doses. We’ll introduce a few Growlers at a time to Vidrland, but if there are objections in town, then we’ll start here at Hartsgrove.”

The light and shadows danced on the ceiling, showing wolves chasing a monster and making it burst into a shower of light.

“While the Growlers help the Robins protect the forest, Scarlet will lead the Hunters into Busparia to ferret out exactly what’s going on there. You’ve heard the reports from the other Hunters. Monsters roam at night. Anyone out after dark is never heard from again. Is this because there are more memphits or something else, something more, something bigger?”

The lights on the ceiling showed a shadow attacking a village, and the villagers bursting into light. One man cleared his throat and braved a question.

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