Page 48 of The Beginning
Tobias stopped for a moment and studied it, his brow furrowed with concentration.He was better at reading spell-work than I was, more experienced with the subtle variations that could mean the difference between safety and danger.Then he said, "Yes, sir, I think so.It doesn't look to have been damaged."
I sighed, though I wasn't entirely convinced."What did Connar do when he found that too much drink had been imbibed?"I asked in a dry tone.The spell was intact, or close enough.I imagined we'd find a stinking, slovenly Watcher within, probably still drunk from the night before.
Tobias said thoughtfully, "Well, usually the captain would drag him back to the Fae Realm.Logan enjoys the Human Realm.It's not easy to be fae in the Human Realm, sir.The Human Realm acts differently on us.It's similar to how the Fae Realm acts on any of the humans who are wished away.Everything feels...dulled.Colors aren't as bright, food doesn't taste as rich, magic doesn't flow as smoothly.I don't know, sir.Maybe that's why he prefers to drink?"
"Well, I would imagine that being stuck out in the middle of nowhere on the edge of two Realms would also be a reason to drink, but none of us have succumbed as of yet.So I'm not quite sure I'm feeling lots of empathy for the Watcher within."I couldn't keep the irritation from my voice.I had little patience for those who couldn't handle their duties, regardless of the circumstances.
"We'll need to open the door, sir," Tobias said.
Connar had shown me this.I thought about the words carefully before I said them, feeling the weight of responsibility that came with speaking them.The words had power, and power demanded respect.
As I spoke the words, slowly and carefully as I'd been taught, I could see the spell begin to fade.The shimmer in the air grew weaker, the magical threads unraveling like a tapestry coming undone.From my lessons, I knew that would mean that I'd be able to enter.I waited for a moment, wanting to make sure that the spell wasn't still present, wasn't going to react badly to our intrusion.When I could see no more trace of it, I reached my hand over to the doorknob, and opened the door.
The stench reached us first.
I drew my sword from its scabbard and Tobias did the same.The familiar weight of the blade in my hand was comforting, something solid and reliable in a situation that was rapidly becoming anything but.
We entered the room, and a more cheerless space I'd never been in.The walls were the color of pale flesh, a sickly yellowish-white that made my stomach turn.The carpet was the brown of a tree trunk.But a dirty, tired, dead brown, worn down by countless feet and stained with things I didn't want to identify.
Which made the clumps of fur stand out like a beacon.
I raised a finger to my lips and crossed the room to inspect the fur.It was a messy clump, coarse and thick, and as I looked around, I could see there were a few more clumps nearby.The distribution was random, scattered, like whatever had happened here had been violent and chaotic.
I went to the next clump, picking it up as well.It was still slightly damp, which told me whatever had happened here was recent.I held it to my nose, feeling that there was a slippery fluid on it - and bracing myself, I sniffed.
Wolf.
Wolf smells like dog, but worse.Stronger, more acrid, with an underlying wildness that domestic animals lacked.I pulled it back from my nose and inspected the fluid.The blood was dark and sticky, clinging to the fur in congealed clumps.
"Wolf," I said over my shoulder to Tobias.Where had I just seen...no, heard a wolf?A memory hovered at the edge of my consciousness, but I couldn't quite grasp it.
"Shifter," he answered, his voice tight with concern.I could tell by the way he looked around, inhaling deeply, that he was testing some of the other scents in the dwelling.His nostrils flared as he sorted through the various odors."Whoever this wolf is, he's also a human."
What would a shifter be doing in the Human Realm?"Where is Logan?"I asked.
He nodded, pointing with his chin to a small hallway in front of us.We stood, and passed a small room to the right.It looked like it had been used for storage, boxes and containers stacked haphazardly along the walls.Moving down the hall, the shifter wolf smell got stronger, as did the smell of blood.The combination was nauseating, metallic and wild and wrong.
Why would a wolf shifter be here?And why would they attack one of our Watchers?Connar hadn't mentioned this as something I needed to be aware of, or something I needed to pay particular attention to.Had something changed?Had some boundary been crossed that I wasn't aware of?
We reached the end of the hallway.The door was partially closed, hanging slightly askew on a single hinge.Using one hand, I opened it slowly.The hinges gave a small groan of protest.I peered into the room, breathing shallow breaths so as not to inhale too much of the awful smell that was even stronger here.
Tobias hovered behind me, tense and ready for action, I stood up from the defensive crouch I'd gone into instinctively.
"Stand down," I said, my voice sounding hollow even to my own ears."We've found him."
The missing Watcher lay on the floor, and his shirt was covered in blood.Dark stains had soaked through the fabric, creating abstract patterns that spoke of violence and struggle.As I approached, I could see that the blood corresponded with tears in the shirt - bites.The fabric was shredded in places, revealing pale skin beneath marked with deep gouges.Further confirmation of the wolf, if any was needed.
The Watcher had a large knife in his left hand.It was covered in dark blood, the blade sticky with it from tip to hilt.I reached down to touch it, noting how the blood had begun to congeal but wasn't completely dry yet.This had happened recently, within the last few hours.I pried the knife from his hand - his grip was still tight, locked in the final moment of his life—and sniffed at it.This wasn't fae blood.This was wolf blood, shifter blood.It had a different scent, wilder, more animalistic.
At least he'd fought back.At least he hadn't gone down easily.
As I looked around, I saw bigger chunks of fur, and some of them still attached to flesh.Pink and raw meat clung to the gray fur, evidence of serious wounds inflicted.The Watcher's final stand had cost his attacker dearly.
This had been an attack, and a focused attack at that, but the Watcher had put up a fight.The room showed signs of the struggle—furniture overturned, scratches in the walls, bloodstains scattered across the floor in patterns that spoke of a fierce battle.
Tobias stood at the door as I prowled around the room, taking in the details, trying to piece together what had happened.There were more chunks of flesh and fur, and the fur all seemed to be the same shade, a darker tone of gray.It stood out in contrast to the complete ugliness of the room.The entire room - the entire dwelling - radiated hopelessness and despair.I felt sympathy for the dead man.This setting would even drive me to drink.
Maybe loneliness had made him careless, desperate for the wrong kind of companionship.
