The Woods

One of the Enemy

“Mogard.” She says. It seemed that everyone was familiar with him. I nod and rub my arm. I still didn’t like the mark being there. “Long ago he used my family’s magic to get himself more power.” She says.

            “It seems that he has a long history with a lot of villages.” I note. Pinto looks at me and I quickly tell her the story of Axel Blackwell and Mogard. She was scared of my mark and I could tell. We head back inside and wait for my father to return. Cole comes back first and he was grimacing. My mother hugs him and he just heads straight upstairs.

            “What was that all about?” I ask her.. My mom looks at me with a small smile on her face. How could she be smiling at a time like this? A woman just died.

            “Now that a werewolf has been caught, Cole can make the sacrifice to appease Jezebel.” She says. The sacrifice—how could I forget. Since the beginning of the Blackwell’s reign, there has been tradition. To propose a marriage, a Blackwell son would have to bring the head of a wolf or werewolf to his bride-to-be. It was a sign of respect to the woman’s parents and it showed how he could protect his own.

            “Cole is going to be betrothed to Jezebel?” I ask. She nods excitedly. When the hell did this even happen?

            “Yes. Once he beheads that beast, he will take it to her village and ask for her hand in marriage.” She says. My stomach was in knots. I could not let this happened. Cole would not kill Adam. I had to speak to Adam first to see if he was innocent. 

            “Cole will take over Chief of Talmalec when your father greys. As for Alec, we shall see.” She says looking directly at Pinto. Alec would be Chief to her village. And I would have to live in Roland’s village which did not sound appealing at all.

            “Oh.” I simply say and then head upstairs. Pinto follows me into my room. We couldn’t leave just yet. I told her that we would leave when all this werewolf stuff was settled. So the night after the next we would depart.

            “What are you going to do?” She asks. I shrug my shoulders. I had no idea how I would get Adam out of this. Pinto nods and heads into her own room for the night and I listen carefully in my room for my father’s return. He finally did late in the night. When it is silent in the house, I grab my red cloak and slip over myself before lacing up my boots. I quietly go down the stairs. I slip outside the door and walked into the main part of the village. It was really quiet but I swear I could still faintly hear the crying of Mrs. Monty’s family. 

            As I near the barn, I see two men stationed at the front of the barn. I go in an alleyway between two building to hide myself. I could just go in the back way then. I quietly make my way to the back and curse silently when I spot more men at the back barn door. Getting in was not going to be easy. I knew there was a window that I could slip into on the roof. I look up the side of the house. I sigh. I climbed up on top the wooden crate and then put my hands on the window sill. I pull myself up and repeat this process very slowly until I reach the top of the house. I was no climber so this was really difficult.

Once I reached the rood, I crept over to the other side. The barn just a jump away. I look around to make sure I wasn’t being watched—I was a little bit paranoid. I then take a little running start and jumped. I landed on the barn with a thud but I hopefully didn’t make too much noise for anyone to notice. I climb up the rood until I get to the window. I open it and slip into the barn. I walked down the rickety wooden steps and land on the soft dirt and hay. I look into each stall trying to locate Adam. I finally spot him in the last stall. He was chained and his flesh was burning where the chains were placed. I threw open the stall door and rushed in.