Water's Reflection or Hero's Guilt

Chapter Forty-Six

          June Bailey hummed softly as she walked the streets of Bigwaters. The Traveler's Tune, just as Terrance had taught her. She couldn't be bothered with making up words, but the rhythmic hums kept her mind busy. Occasionally, she caught herself singing a few notes, though she quickly stopped every time she did. She did not want for anyone to hear their Wolf Queen sing a happy tune.

          Although Bigwaters lay in chaos, the streets were not deserted. Werewolves, June's subjects, roamed through the city in packs of two and three. She had ordered them to gather food, horses, weapons and other supplies needed for war. Sir John Toughmace oversaw the entire operation. And so, her soldiers went through the streets, ransacking nearly everything they could find. The werewolves were disorganized; not all of them had been guards, and were used to following orders. Some were mercenaries. Others fishermen. Even some women and children had been turned when a family man could not bear to leave them behind. June had no use for the children yet—perhaps in a few years, they would make mean dogs—but she had already decided the women would fight just as the men would.

          When June passed such packs of werewolves, they noticed her quickly—and there was no one that did not know who she was. These monsters still looked like ordinary men, even though June could smell they weren't. June did not look like that. Her transformation in the square the day before was famous, even amongst those who had not been there to see it. The Wolf Queen, the woman that looked more wolf than human, dressed in her blue Cloak of Flight, could not be mistaken for a common werewolf.

          The men in the streets laughed and howled, making an effort to appear beast-like to their buddies. They delighted in trashing houses and market stalls. A window on the second floor shattered as a pot was flung through it when June passed by. The man in the window grinned, looking at the destruction—then noticed his Queen and muttered an awkward apology. He had not wanted to hit her with the shards of glass, of course. He bowed and hoped she'd not punish him.

          She didn't.

          June refrained from showing any emotion to her people. She'd much rather have they'd fear her rule, but she could not make herself to look angry or frightening. She was brilliantly happy with what she had accomplished, absolutely proud at this level of destruction and mayhem. There were a few loose ends that needed to be solved, of course. Terrance, for one. But walking the streets of Bigwaters, she could not but revel in her victory.

          Of course, there were still survivors. People that had not been killed or turned into werewolves. They had hidden themselves inside their homes, barricaded the doors and prayed to God that they would be saved. Maybe they would. June doubted it. But she was not worried about the survivors. They would not take the city from her. Most of them were crying, waiting for the werewolves to find them and—laughing, howling with madness and bloodlust—kill them. Only a few of them actually fought back; June had heard of a few clusters of rebels. Near the docks were three. Captains that did not give in to the monsters, and had not been able to sail away. In the district of nobles, one large cluster had arose. Every lord had gathered their families in the mansion of Lord Bluetide. They had barricaded the house, fortified it. Personal guards of different families worked together to keep the werewolves at bay. Inside, all the nobles had huddled up alongside servants, all reduced to little more than prey. Money did not matter anymore. The only thing that mattered was: human or inhuman? Dead or alive?

          They would not be able to hold off their attackers for long, June knew. She couldn't be bothered barging in the house herself, for she was certain they were not prepared to survive for a week or longer. It was just a waiting game. All they had to do was make sure the lords did not escape, but met their inevitable fate.