Wine Woods

25. Shadow's in the Storm

Alfred yawned, stumbling around. It was almost one in the morning, and outside he heard the sounds of incredible nonsense happening. He looked out the window and sighed, rushing down the stairs and out a side door. His bare feet immediately were coated in mud from the earlier rain, and over in the horizon there were more rainclouds overhead. 

He pushed the cow back up, getting covered in mud in the process, and pushed her towards the shelter. One one leg she limped, and her calf cried out from where he was being held. He continued to push her towards the shelter, before he heard a large crash. The cow spooked, backing up, and he looked around. There was a gunshot, and he spun around. The cow had run as well as she could towards the shelter, and his eyes glowed as he tried to see exactly what was happening. A horse was turned out, running around in the middle of the main field, and he heard the same crash again, with the sound of thunder starting to ring out in the distance.

Thunder, the thunderbird, flew out of the trees, the feathers along the top of his head a bright, glowing yellow. He glided towards the storm, his three sets of wings never beating, before he disappeared once more. 

He put the cow with her calf, before running out into the field. He heard another gunshot and turned around, before he heard screaming from the edge of the forest. He went towards it, finding Juan on his side. The thunder was closer. The horse was still loose. 

"Juan," he whispered, shaking him, "what's wrong?"

He spit blood from his mouth, the same dark red dripping down his face from his head and nose.

"He's hurting me," he hissed, and he cried from something internal. Another crash rang out, and a dragon flew from the forest to the mountain as rain started to patter. 

"Let's go home," Alfred replied, hearing another gunshot. He winced from the noise, it was so close. What was going on? A bullet plowed into the tree, just above his head, and he looked up to see a man he did not know. His eyes glowed, as did Juan's, and they both stared at the man.

The man disappeared into the shadows, seeming to fade completely out of existence, and Juan cried out once more, a slash tearing into his skin. 

Alfred growled, picking him up into his arms before running for it. He didn't move fast, his feet sinking into the mud around him, yet he made it to the front door, and placed Juan down in the entrance hallway, just as Luna found herself in the hallway, a stick candle in hand.

"Alfred, what's going on, what was that noise?" she looked around, and behind him, as if she was trying to see into the rain. He shook his head, letting out deep breaths. 

"In the morning, get the wendigo's. Get them to search the woods," he panted, and Luna's eyes widened, before she nodded. Juan seized for a moment, on the floor, all of his muscles contracting as if it would solve whatever pain he was facing.

Alfred looked down on him, before letting out a breathy chuckle, "His people are starting to revolt."

"Is that all?" Luna said, unamused. She walked over to him, kneeling down beside him. Her little toddler found his place by her side and Alfred looked the three over, before walking over to the big main door and closing it. The horse would be fine, probably. Two waves of thunder went over the house, and Luna's little boy coward his head, leaning into his mother. Luna took out a deep breath, before pushing herself up. 

Another crash rang out, and Alfred jumped, scattering more mud everywhere, and Luna went to go get something to dump water on his feet with. Juan continued his groaning and seizing, before pushing himself up in one fluid motion.

"I'm leaving."

"There's a storm. That's bad flying weather."

"What dragon can I take," Juan snarled, completely determined. His normally soft eyes burned with power, his body seeming to grow even stronger with each passing second, like he wasn't just on the floor, loosing his marbles, "I know you understand the need of your people."

"Take one of Nesrin's, she'll understand," he said, patting his brother on the shoulder before embracing him in a hug, "goodbye, dear brother."

"Goodbye," Juan said, giving him two firm pats before he ran back out into the storm, hardly shutting the door behind him, and Alfred continued to look at the wood as if it was something horrible. 

A few stray tears fell from his eyes and he brushed them away, just as Luna came in with a bucket of water.

"Where's Juan?"

"Gone."

"Dead?"

"No, he left," Alfred stated, "and he won't be back very soon. He's taking one of Nesrin's dragons. His people are revolting, and he needs to be with them."

"No time for peace, is there?"

"Never has been any."

He woke up late, working his way downstairs. Breakfast had already been eaten, Florida sitting amongst her siblings, the youngest out of all of them. York came up to him, wrapping his arms around his waist before running off. 

"Alfred," Luna said, and he looked over to her, straightening up a bit, "the wendigo's were sent out early this morning. They didn't find anything."

"Maybe the rain washed the scents out," Marco said from where he was sitting, crossing one leg over the other.

"Wendigo's are too sensitive for that to work," Alfred muttered, "even if it had been four weeks during the rainy season they'd be able to pinpoint it. Where are they, I want to talk to them."

"Just outside the entry hall," Luna replied, and he left to go there.

Both were sitting there, chatting without so much as a care. They both looked over to him as he came up, standing up on their thin legs. Their feet didn't sink as much into the mud as his did, and he was thankful that he put his boots on.

"Nothing," Igor said, shaking, "are you sure to didn't imagine it- what's that?"

"Horse blood," Warrock answered for him, perking up. Warrock picked Alfred up by the shirt collar and placed him on his back, before running at a full gallop. Igor wasn't far behind. 

Warrock stopped suddenly, and Alfred went face first into his neck fluff. 

He slipped off, before looking around. He wasn't even as close to as tall as the two wendigos, so he was forced to push through the long, thick grasses to a small, short grassed clearing. 

The horse that had been running around was on his back, each leg tied to the ground and his head chopped off, staring directly at Alfred from where it rested on his chest. He was gutted, the organs wrapping around in a circle around the body.

Alfred took in a deep breath, "you two, eat him."

Igor and Warrock both nodded, each eating half of the animal.