Brotherhood

Chapter 33

Geric let loose another arrow, sending this one directly into the eye of Charles' Captain of the Guard. The clash of metal on metal resounded loudly in his ears. The Minnings army was not large but they fought with the energy of the defeated, the energy of those thirsty for revenge.

Scanning the crowd for Amy, his heart hammered wildly when he didn't see her anywhere. He hoped that she was safe and well hidden. This felt more personal than the revenge of those who had been defeated. Geric knew that Charles wanted Amy dead.

He could see the king's Captain of the Guard battling two men at once, a broadsword in each hand. His strokes were fierce for such a fat man and Geric knocked another arrow, striking one of the Captain's opponents in the neck and watching as he fell to the forest floor.

"I had him," the captain snarled at Geric as he easily blocked his other opponent's strike.

"I'm sure you did," Geric muttered, catching a glimpse of the king who was also locked in a fierce battle. He and two Minnings soldiers circled each other, the bloody evidence that they had been locked in this battle for a long time covering them from head to toe. King Merek had a long cut down his sword arm and one of his opponents had been slashed across the chest. But still they fought.

Geric watched as though spellbound for a moment, his eyes on the king who he could see was growing weary. One of the soldiers swung again, missing the king by inches, but it was enough to knock him onto his back. The king lay there winded and other knight moved in for a kill stroke.

Geric reacted on instinct, shot the knight down, and started running. He dashed through an opening in the fray and grabbed the sword from the dead knight's scabbard, bringing it up to meet the death blow the other soldier fighting Amy's father had meant for him. The blow reverberated up and down his arm, but he used his opponent's momentary distraction to kick him away.

"You're the wolf king, aren't you?" the soldier sneered derisively. "Tell me something, wolf—can you kill without your powers?"

Geric arched the sword through the air, testing its weight before giving the soldier a cold smile. "Let's find out, shall we?"

For a brief moment, he could see uncertainty in his opponent's eyes before the soldier charged at him, blade raised. Geric foresaw the swing, stepping to the side and sending his opponent charging past him. He met the soldier's second swing with his own sword. The weight of the thing sent his opponent's blade back, back, back...but not far enough to knock the blade free of the soldier's hands.

The soldier pushed him off, aiming a slice at Geric's throat. It missed by a hair's breadth. He ducked, managing to slice the soldier's shoulder. It wasn't enough to drop him, only to make him angrier. The soldier swung again, the first two missed badly, but the third found flesh. Geric grunted as the sword tip entered his side. It would heal quickly, but this weapon was silver, it would definitely leave a scar.

Geric lunged again, striking his opponent hard, but he wasn't ready for the soldier's kick which came out of nowhere and knocked the sword out of Geric's hand.

"Looks like you might be outmatched, wolf," the soldier snarled, raising his blade to strike the final death blow. Geric rolled just in time, grabbing an arrow out of his quiver, nocking it quickly and without thinking, let it fly.

The arrow struck home, lodging itself in the soldier's throat. The other man let out a sickening gurgle, blood filling his throat and spilling out of his mouth before collapsing on the ground.

Geric stood up, turning away from the sight to survey the rest of the battle. The Colmarian army had the clear advantage. As Geric watched, battle seemed to be dying down. Wolves herded prisoners into makeshift prisons, guarding them with their enormous teeth bared, the few remaining fights still taking place would be over shortly, they had won.

Geric! the frantic scream of wolf speech cut across the camp as Kalia, the white wolf, called while carrying a body on her back, blood staining her coat dark, muddy brown. Geric's heart seemed to speed up and slow down at the same time as he recognized the long, dark hair, the graceful figure. Amy.

Dashing across the camp, Geric made his way to Amy's side, his heart filling with horror as he saw the gaping wound in her chest.

Who did this? Geric demanded, scooping Amy up in his arms and holding her close. It looked bad, so so bad...

Charles did it, Kalia explained. But I took care of him myself. Geric, it's not good. She's lost a lot of blood. The arrow just missed her heart but...

Kalia trailed off but Geric could guess the rest. At that moment, the king came running to his side, kneeling down and cradling his daughter's head.

"What happened?" he gasped, silent tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Charles happened," Geric growled, wishing that he had been the one to finish the prince off. He wouldn't have done it with mercy, although judging by the blood on Kalia's snout, neither had she.

"Is she...?"

Geric shook his head. He could detect life in her body, but only barely. "She's still alive, but only just."

King Merek shuddered, a sob wrenching out of his throat. "Oh my precious girl. This is all my fault. This is all my fault."

Shocked and motionless, Geric touched Amy's cheek gently. He could feel the life draining out of her with every passing moment. He knew what had to be done if he wanted to save her, but part of him held back from even saying it.

The king stared at him, coming to the same realization. "You can save her."

"I can," Geric said softly. "But Your Majesty, you realize what that means, don't you? She will no longer be human. In fact, I'm not even sure she'll survive the transformation."

"Do it," the king barked, red rimmed eyes determined. "You're the only one who can save her now."

Geric nodded and bowed his head, transforming reluctantly into his wolf form. He had never turned anyone before, but he knew how it was done. He only wished that he could give Amy a choice in the matter, a choice that he had never had. With a heavy heart, he lowered his jaws to her neck and bit down.

Power coursed through him, an ancient magic that he didn't understand. He could feel it flowing into Amy, transfiguring her, changing her very nature. Geric couldn't bear to look at her face as he let go, his heart breaking. Instead, he watched her for signs of life. All of the soldiers of Colmar that had gathered to watch waited with baited breath for something to happen.

Geric lowered his muzzle to her cheek and nudged it gently, letting out a low whine. Amy was much too still, much too cold. He curled up beside her in his wolf form, if he had been able to he would have cried for her. Instead, all he could do was watch and wait.

Just when all hope seemed lost, Amy took a deep, shuddering gasp, her body jerking as though she had been having a nightmare. Her eyes fluttered open for a brief moment and Geric gazed down into them sorrowfully. They were amber.