The Wizard's Guide to Timelords and Other Demons Book 1: The Forgotten War

Relative Lies

Wolf-Elise followed the tracks for several miles through forest and heavy snow until she entered a large clearing, where the blizzard that had accompanied her throughout her trek mysteriously dwindled to a gentle snowfall—almost as if the weather were being controlled somehow. As she gazed out across the clearing, what Elise saw nearly took her breath away.

A large, fairytale castle rested atop a hill overlooking a small but picturesque lake, all set against a background of distant mountains with snowcapped peaks. Surrounding the castle to the north and west was a dense, menacing-looking forest which emanated a strong aura of dark enchantment that rivaled even the most bewitched woodlands she knew of back home. Elise figured that the forest would be the perfect place for her prey to hide, unless, of course, he was actively engaged in seeking more followers. In that case, the castle would be her best bet.

Even across the lake from this distance, Elise's wolf-vision could make out dozens of young people sauntering about the castle grounds. Some were engaged in various activities like snowball fights and other horseplay. Others were ice skating on a frozen section of the lake closest to the castle.

Elise considered this new development very unfortunate—and inconvenient—from a strategic point of view. Were she to attack her target immediately on sight, the ensuing fight would inevitably result in many innocent casualties. She would have to wait patiently for now. Still, Elise felt a great need for closer reconnaissance.

At full sprint, it took Elise only minutes to traverse the lake's circumference and arrive at the castle grounds, where she concealed herself in a large pile of discarded Christmas trees and began considering her options.

A small group of teenaged girls passed right in front of her hiding place, but they were too busy chatting among themselves to notice that a large, white wolf was hiding in the stack of trees, closely watching their every move, and sizing them up—albeit with benign intentions, of course.

The garrulous girls' conversation seemed to be centered on classes and schoolwork, with several complaints about the homework that had been assigned to them over Christmas break. A couple of them even wore what appeared to be school uniforms beneath their winter jackets.

Is this some kind of school? Elise thought.

The motion of a small animal caught her attention. A tabby cat ran across the courtyard before stopping in its tracks. It gazed in Elise's direction curiously, but it didn't seem to notice her. The cat slowly started moving towards her hiding place, so Elise quickly dissolved her scent, slowed her heart, and held her breath, using a technique she had learned at a young age to conceal herself from predators. However, something about this cat didn't seem right. Its scent was off. It was almost as if it wasn't really a cat at all.

Elise was ready to take off running in the opposing direction when a loud crash emanated from the inside, followed by the sound of children screaming and a ghastly, ethereal-like cackle. The cat turned its attention away from her and darted inside.

"Peeves!" shouted a voice from inside the castle.

Curious to find out the source of all the commotion, Elise was about ready to take off after the cat but stopped when it occurred to her that her current appearance would certainly create even more commotion.

I need to blend in better, she thought.

The young woman reverted to human form and looked down at herself. The hiking boots, white crop top, jean shorts, and red flannel shirt she was dressed in would almost certainly seem out of place in this archaic, winter setting.