The Night's Curse #3 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

Chapter 18

Waverly woke up with a start in the middle of the night when she felt a strange presence. She climbed out of bed and ran to the window to check if people still trained outside but camp was empty and dead silent. She rummaged through her bag for a change of clothes then reached for the bow and arrow Dermot had given her the previous day. She finally got to see him after a while and he had given her quite the hug. She took more archery lessons with him for a few hours before they were separated when he was called to round up the Company.

She spoke to Diarmaid instead who wanted to hear all about how she had conjured up the lunoglyphs. He walked around with a kind of pride then as Waverly was heavily respected in the army. People would randomly come up to her to say hello or to only glare at her which was uncomfortable.

The Elven officers with an inclusion of Sir Chedor nicknamed her Heshna Vasquissen which translated to "She Who Vanquishes" and even allowed her to take part in their exclusive meetings. She was kept a secret from the King as he would be quite wary of the presence of any Zanaan and was far from ready to meet one. A part of her felt she was only being treated preferentially because she was a god's blood much like Brijjet but a larger part of her knew this was her destiny and she had to accept it without question.

The presence Waverly felt was not one that seemed to be within camp or inside the room but close enough to the realm. She opened her door slowly and stepped out then glanced back at Chestnut who was still pup sized and perched on her bed. He slightly lifted his head as the light of the moon landed on his fur, making it glimmer.

"Want to come with?" She asked.

The wolf's ears reared. He stood up and ran to her and together they began their walk away from camp but as Waverly got closer to the main town she realized that a large number of Elf guards were on night patrol. She squatted behind a house and stared at Chestnut.

"Do you think we can get past them without being seen?" She whispered.

The wolf replied with a growl then began to grow in size. Waverly gasped as she watched him engorge until he was half as tall as the house window. She glanced quickly at the guards but none of them seemed to have noticed any noises.

"Sometimes i wonder if those ears of theirs work at all." She chuckled softly.

Chestnut lowered himself and she climbed atop him with the help of his fur. He raced through the cobbled streets and immediately took to the skies. Waverly felt the chilly air slap across her face and sting her skin as Chestnut flew across the sea and past the border. Her clothes were light and so the chill went all the way into her bones.

A heavy mist hung over the land below but as the wolf flew through it, it helped in clearing them off. Waverly glanced down at the trees as hers and Chestnut's shadow projected past them. She tried to pinpoint where the strange presence was. Then she felt it again - strongly this time.

"Set down over there, boy." She said patting Chestnut. The wolf descended onto a part of the forest and Waverly slid off him. She took out her bow and arrow, willing to use it for a change and allow Calaire be, at least for the time being.

The forest was dark and gave off a very foreboding atmosphere as she walked through it with Chestnut at her heel. For a few minutes, the forest seemed normal until a creeping darkness began to engulf the trees. Waverly halted and turned to look up at Chestnut whose own shadow towered over her.

"You can go, Chestnut. I will call for you when i need you."

Chestnut hesitated, digging his steel claws into the ground. There were now the same length as dagger blades.

"Go now." Waverly urged. "I'll be fine."

Chestnut turned and took to the skies. When he was well out of sight, Waverly turned around and got the shock of her life.