Red Spell

Chapter Nine

Hey everyone!  Hope you've all been having a good week so far!  I'd love to hear what you think of Hannon and the boy in this chapter!  

I fell backwards as Da hit me again and yelled. I screamed, but it came out hoarse and strange, not like my voice at all. I tried to crawl away from him on all fours and he backed up at once. Something was wrong with me though. My face burned and ached and stung, but I couldn't stand up straight. Da stumbled back, never taking his eyes off me as he groped along the wall for his ax where it sat on its pegs. I screamed again and rushed for the door just as it was opened by one of the men who heard the shouting.

"Hannon what—!" The man stumbled back as though I were a snake as I lunged toward him. I was still on all fours, but I was too dazed to register what was going on. I was terrified and I couldn't stand up and run. I stumbled awkwardly in the snow I tried to comprehend what was happening. Other villagers were stepping out of their cottages to see what was going on. Women screamed when they saw me and shoved children back inside. Da burst out of the door with his ax raised!

"Da stop!" I tried to scream again. I jerked away from him unsteadily and slammed into the next cottage. My first thought was that Da was finally too angry at me. He was going to kill me because I'd accidentally let the sheep out, but then I saw other men running out with axes and bows or whatever else they could find.

"Kill it!" Brog shouted. I ran. Paws stretched out in front of me at every step and I was faster on all fours than any human could be. It was impossible, unacceptable, but I had to accept it in that moment as I ran for my life. There wasn't time to debate about impossibility of what I was as I sprinted for the shadow of the trees. The moon was high, giving me enough light to see by, but I didn't need it. I could see better in the dark than I ever had before. I could hear the men shouting at me, but I left them far behind as I figured out the rhythm of running with four legs. I leapt over the boulder beside the well and took off straight for my ledge. It was the only safe place left.

I wanted to cry, but it didn't work the same and it wasn't as satisfying as I ran on. I saw flashes of my shadow in the moonlight which confirmed my fear. I was a dog; a wolf probably. I jerked away from it, but it was my shadow. I couldn't escape what I was.

I didn't stop until I tried leaping up the mountain. All my familiar handholds and step ups were impossible now and I stumbled and fell often as I climbed. I probably left the craziest track for the villagers to follow, but I didn't care. Too much was happening for me to think of tracks. I just needed to get where I felt safe, where it was quiet and where I could think. It took a long time to get to the clump of little pine trees and the moon began to tilt downwards by the time I pushed through and trotted over to the boulder. I couldn't climb up on it though, so I sat, leaning against it, trying fruitlessly to cry. I only managed to emit a whining sound between heavy breaths. My face still hurt from Da's fists and I was shaking from exertion and fright. I looked down at my paws and legs. I was a monster. I was the very monster that killed Mam. My whines grew louder as my head drooped lower. I would never be able to go home like this. How had this even happened? I stared down at the village. Then it clicked. All of it, all at once so I felt as though I was being crushed with the weight of it. The spell was real. Iresia had it. She had the red mark in that scarf on her head. She read the spell to me, transferring it. That meant that she had to be the one stealing the sheep. No normal wolf could herd sheep, but a human in the shape of a wolf could. But now I was cursed. If anyone saw me, they would assume I was taking the sheep and they would try to kill me.

There was a crunch in the snow behind me and I whirled and stumbled to the edge of the cliff as a human figure stepped towards me. I didn't know where he'd come from because I ought to have heard him come through the pine trees, but he was there now and his bow was raised towards me. I couldn't inch any further back as I stared helplessly at him. I quickly recognized him as the same boy from earlier. His face was clouded with a frown as he stepped slowly towards me. He was clearly getting as close as he could so he wouldn't miss. I stared at him desperately, the whimpering starting again quietly. For a moment, I had the urge to bare my teeth and try and scare him away, but I knew that wouldn't work. He had all the advantage here. I felt the cold wind of the cliffside rake up and down my back as I tried to hold eye contact, willing him to stop. Maybe I should just jump now. I glanced down and in the growing light of dawn I could see the cracky rocks below. It might hurt less than an arrow. He pulled back hard on his bow until it creaked, but he seemed to hesitate for an instant as he held my gaze. Then he pulled back a little harder and I could see his fingers getting ready to release when his mouth fell open and he stumbled away.