The Hidden Follower

20.

The man's hair was greasy and ragged, the color of fireplace soot, topped with a crown of what looked like finger bones. His robes were tattered fur—wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer, and several others that couldn't be identified from how old they looked. The furs didn't look cured, and from the smell, they definitely weren't fresh. His frame was lithe and muscular, like a distance runner. But the most horrible thing was his face. His thin pale skin was pulled tight over his skull. His teeth were sharpened like fangs. His eyes glowed bright red like his wolves'—and they fixed on Jason with absolute hatred.

  "Ecce," he said, "filli Romani. "

  "Speak English, wolfman!" Hedge bellowed.

  The wolfman snarled. "Tell your faun to mind his tongue, son of Rome. Or he'll be my first snack. "

  "Alright, how about we stop using Roman words and speaking Latin until later, yeah? Because if we're being honest I don't think that it will benefit anyone."

  The wolfman studied their little group. His nostrils twitched. "So it's true," he mused. "A child of Aphrodite. A son of Hephaestus. A faun. And two children of Rome, one of Lord Jupiter, no less. Altogether, without killing each other. How interesting. "

  "You were told about us?" Jason asked. "By whom?"

  The man snarled—perhaps a laugh, perhaps a challenge. "Oh, we've been patrolling for you all across the west, demigod, hoping we'd be the first to find you. The giant king will reward me well when he rises. I am Lycaon, king of the wolves. And my pack is hungry. "

  The wolves snarled in the darkness.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Piper saw Leo put up his hammer and slip something else from his tool belt—a glass bottle full of clear liquid.

  Lycaon glared at Jason's sword. He moved to each side as if looking for an opening, but Jason's blade moved with him.

  "Leave," Jason ordered. "There's no food for you here. "

  "Unless you want tofu burgers," Leo offered.

"Leo, there's a place and time to joke and this is not either," Delta said.

  Lycaon bared his fangs. "If I had my way," Lycaon said with regret, "I'd kill you first, son of Jupiter. Your father made me what I am. I was the powerful mortal king of Arcadia, with fifty fine sons, and Zeus slew them all with his lightning bolts."

  "Ha," Coach Hedge said. "For good reason!"

  Jason glanced over his shoulder. "Coach, you know this clown?"

  "I do," Piper answered. "Lycaon invited Zeus to dinner," she said. "But the king wasn't sure it was really Zeus. So to test his powers, Lycaon tried to feed him human flesh. Zeus got outraged—"

  "And killed my sons!" Lycaon howled. The wolves behind him howled too.

  "So Zeus turned him into a wolf," Piper said. "They call... they call werewolves lycanthropes, named after him, the first werewolf. "

  "The king of wolves," Coach Hedge finished. "An immortal, smelly, vicious mutt. "

  "Okay, let us not call a dangerous man-wolve 'smelly' or a 'mutt' alright."

Lycaon growled. "I will tear you apart, faun!"

  "Oh, you want some goat, buddy? 'Cause I'll give you goat. "

  "Stop it," Jason said. "Lycaon, you said you wanted to kill me first, but. . . ?"

  "Sadly, Child of Rome, you are spoken for. Since this one"—he waggled his claws at Piper—"has failed to kill you, you are to be delivered alive to the Wolf House. One of my compatriots has asked for the honor of killing you herself. "

  "Who?" Jason said.

  The wolf king snickered. "Oh, a great admirer of yours. Apparently, you made quite an impression on her. She will take care of you soon enough, and really I cannot complain. Spilling your blood at the Wolf House should mark my new territory quite well. Lupa will think twice about challenging my pack."

  "I think Lupa would kill you for even touching anyone that she has trained," Delta glared.

  Piper struggled to her feet. "You're going to leave now," Piper said, "before we destroy you. "

  Lycaon's red eyes crinkled with humor. "A brave try, girl. I admire that. Perhaps I'll make your end quick. Only the son of Jupiter is needed alive. The rest of you, I'm afraid, are dinner. Though I will confess the second child of Rome does look formidable, I won't be killing her until she has finished what she has started."

Jason took a step forward. "You're not killing anyone, wolf man. Not without going through me. "

Lycaon howled and extended his claws. Jason slashed at him, but his golden sword passed straight through as if the wolf king wasn't there.

Lycaon laughed. "Gold, bronze, steel—none of these are any good against my wolves, son of Jupiter. "

"Silver!" Piper cried. "Aren't werewolves hurt by silver?"

"I already asked about silver and either no one listened or no one has any."

Wolves leaped into the firelight. Hedge charged forward with an elated "Woot!"

But Leo struck first. He threw his glass bottle and it shattered on the ground, splattering liquid all over the wolves—the unmistakable smell of gasoline. He shot a burst of fire at the puddle, and a wall of flames erupted.

Wolves yelped and retreated. Several caught fire and had to run back into the snow. Even Lycaon looked uneasily at the barrier of flames now separating his wolves from the demigods.

"Aw, c'mon," Coach Hedge complained. "I can't hit them if they're way over there."

"That's kinda the point coach."

Every time a wolf came closer, Leo shot a new wave of fire from his hands, but each effort seemed to make him a little more tired, and the gasoline was already dying down. "I can't summon any more gas!" Leo warned. Then his face turned red. "Wow, that came out wrong. I mean the burningkind. Gonna take the tool belt a while to recharge. What you got, man?"

"Nothing," Jason said. "Not even a weapon that works. "

"Lightning?" Piper asked.

Jason concentrated, but nothing happened. "I think the snowstorm is interfering, or something. "

"Unleash the venti!" Piper said.

"Then we'll have nothing to give Aeolus," Jason said. "We'll have come all this way for nothing. "

Lycaon laughed. "I can smell your fear. A few more minutes of life, heroes. Pray to whatever gods you wish. Zeus did not grant me mercy, and you will have none from me. "

The flames began to sputter out. Jason cursed and dropped his sword. He crouched like he was ready to go hand-to-hand. Leo pulled his hammer out of his pack. Piper raised her dagger. Delta unsheathed her doubled-bladed sword. Coach Hedge hefted his club, and he was the only one who looked excited about dying.

Then a ripping sound cut through the wind—like a piece of tearing cardboard. A long stick sprouted from the neck of the nearest wolf—the shaft of a silver arrow. The wolf writhed and fell, melting into a puddle of shadow.

More arrows. More wolves fell. The pack broke in confusion. An arrow flashed toward Lycaon, but the wolf king caught it in midair. Then he yelled in pain. When he dropped the arrow, it left a charred, smoking gash across his palm. Another arrow caught him in the shoulder, and the wolf king staggered.

"Curse them!" Lycaon yelled. He growled at his pack, and the wolves turned and ran. Lycaon fixed Jason with those glowing red eyes. "This isn't over, boy."

"Fuck Yeah," Delta exclaimed. "Don't you just love it when the Hunters do anything at all?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~•~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Written: August 8, 2021
Published: August 10, 2021