Wolf Moon Part 6
Content to keep to himself, Chang Wufei walked a few steps ahead of the reclusive Demon Tracker and the talkative Irishman.
Since Duo had no belongings he offered to carry Heero's bag and bedroll and, while the considerate gesture was appreciated, Duo's lack of any visible armaments bothered Heero.
Wufei had his sword and was most likely skilled in hand to hand combat. Heero had his crossbow and quiver, his dirk and his body could also be used as a weapon but the braided man appeared to be defenseless.
Finally Heero took advantage of a lull in Duo's constant chatter to satisfy his curiosity concerning his traveling companion's apparent lack of personal protection.
"I was wondering." he began then paused to make sure Duo was listening.
"What might you be wonderin' about?"
"You don't carry any weapons."
"Are you so sure?"
"I don't see any."
"Do you always trust your eyes?"
Heero answered truthfully, "No."
While the Tracker relied on all five senses and often the aide of his "sixth sense"...his intuitive council, he never fully put his trust in such fallible, human qualities especially when dealing with creatures that didn't obey the laws of nature.
Duo slowed his pace forcing Heero to do the same. "Don't judge a man's abilities by his outward appearance." he advised even though he was certain Heero had learned that lesson firsthand from many bizarre experiences.
*********
Midmorning crept into early afternoon. The peculiar trio kept up a steady pace along the dusty road that was occasionally crisscrossed by lesser-used lanes. They trekked over gently rolling hills, through pastures shared by cattle, sheep, goats and horses.
Although thatched-roof cottages, crude barns and stables made up the majority of abodes for man and animal, they passed one grand house guarded by a stately stone wall and double wooden gates reinforced with bands of iron.
The manor's massive garden of mature boxwoods and white pines was intermingled with grassy paths lined by willowy bushes bursting with thousands of yellow flowers. A rose arbor and a cedar-shingled gazebo took up most of the heavy-timbered residence's side yard. Straight rows of trellises tinted with various hues of spring green stretched out over the vineyard as far as the eye could see.
Heero, Duo and Wufei stopped and dared to peek over the wall. There was no one moving about the garden but there was smoke billowing from the washhouse chimney.
Standing beside Heero, Duo snorted then mumbled, "Bastards."
"I take it you don't care for nobles." Heero replied to the Irishman's curt commentary.
"They're a bunch of pompous asses who hoard their wealth and abuse their power." Duo hissed out his contempt, "I have no use for them."
Even though it was clear the aristocracy had somehow wronged Duo, Heero didn't want all noblemen tainted by the minority of snobs who flaunted their higher station. "Not everyone born into privilege is like that."
Duo whirled around so quickly his braid whipped over his shoulder. "I'd say your opinion speaks of favoritism."
"I...."
"You're of noble blood," Duo interrupted, "don't deny it."
"I've never tried to hide what I am but you shouldn't judge a man by his appearance." Heero declared, turning Duo's words back on him. "And you don't know what's in a man's heart."
"Ya right," Duo reluctantly admitted, "Tis clear you've chosen a different path." He locked his eyes, now devoid of anger, on Heero "Tell me truly, are you running from your past or towards your future?"
A long moment of silence passed between the Tracker and the wise Irishman before Heero sighed then answered as honestly as he could. "Both, I suppose."
*********
Five brightly painted wagons were circled in a wildflower meadow. The muscular Percheron horses had been unhitched and stood sleepily in a shady grove of oak trees.
Two dozen swarthy men and women of various ages sat around a large fire. The Gypsies were dressed in colorful clothing embroidered with shiny red and blue threads. Their heads were covered with silky scarves and their ears were adorned with hoops of gold.
Handsome children, exact copies of the adults with dark wavy hair and large black eyes, romped with scruffy dogs or played an impromptu game of Duck and Geese.
Wufei and Duo glanced over at the caravan's campsite but they didn't seem inclined to stop. Contrary to the Oriental's and the Irishman's lack of interest, Heero saw the perfect opportunity to exchange the Regional Magistrate's money for food.
Heero handed Duo his crossbow and quiver then stood at the road's edge in his unarmed state. "Good day." he called to the nomadic wanders.
A slender man with salt-and-pepper hair rose from the wooden bench where he sat with three men. He lifted his hand to shield his deep-set eyes and studied the young man draped in the black cloak.
"State your business." the Gypsy elder shouted back.
"I'm Heero of the House of Yuy. I wish to buy food."
"English pay?"
"Yes, English."
"Come here." was issued as an order not an invitation.
Upon the stranger's approach, the children ran to back to the group and curiously peaked around the grown-ups. Heero walked slowly, hands in plain sight, until he stopped a carefully measured distant from the leader.
"Enough for three?" the man asked, tilting his head to look at Wufei and Duo.
"If you have it to spare."
The Gypsy nodded to a boy Heero guessed to be twelve or thirteen who ran to a wagon and returned with a loaf of rye bread, a half-round of yellow cheese and two spring apples.
"Six pence." the elder demanded, holding up the provisions for inspection.
"Done."
Six coins were counted from Heero's moneybag, the trade was made and without another word the deal was concluded.
*********
Duo, Wufei and Heero figured if they wanted to reach Aragon before nightfall then eating while walking was their only option.
"You couldn't have haggle for three apples?" Duo teased as Heero used his dirk to divide the cheese into three portions.
Wufei tore off a chunk of bread and gave the loaf to Heero. Heero took his part then handed the rest to Duo who was trying to juggle his cheese, bread and both apples.
"Put the apples in my bag." Heero suggested, not bothering to hide his amusement at Duo's difficulties in managing his meal.
Finally the apples were safely stored away. The traveling trio settled into side by side strides and enjoyed their meal in peace since Duo's mouth was too busy eating to talk.
*********
"How much further?" Heero wondered when the travelers stopped for a drink to wash down breadcrumbs and bits of cheese.
Wufei brought his cupped hands to his lips and slurped up a mouthful of water. "No more than an hour." he estimated the time.
Duo gnawed off the last bite of one apple, tossed the ragged core into the underbrush and crouched down by the bubbling brook.
"Hoot. Who. Who."
Duo froze in mid-drink letting the water spill through his fingers. "Owl in the daylight...bad omen."
"Perhaps it's just restless." Heero countered hoping that the superstitious Irishman was just being influenced by "old wives tales".
Wufei craned his neck to find the owl cleverly camouflaged among the dense foliage overhead. "If it is restless, what's the cause?"
"Whoooo. Whoooo." the normally nocturnal hunter repeated hauntingly.
Suddenly Wufei drew his sword, folded both hands around the hilt and fluidly slid into a defensive stance. With a purely instinctive response Heero loaded the crossbow, set the trigger and took his place beside the vigilant Oriental.
"I saw a shadow." Wufei whispered in reply to Heero's unspoken query.
"A shadow?" Duo asked for clarification. "A shadow can't harm ya." he added even though he didn't sound totally convinced.
Wufei nodded negatively. "This shadow has a wicked spirit, I can sense it." He took a single step forward never averting his focused scrutiny from the gloomy woods.
Heero sucked in a shaky breath as an icy shiver snaked up his spine. Wufei didn't look at the Tracker but his reaction confirmed that the ebony-eyed swordsman had also been chilled to the core.
Duo stepped beside Heero and it was clear that he, too, had been assaulted by the wintry gust that had abruptly swept across the road carrying with it the putrid scent of decay.
This time the Shadow Spy didn't attempt to conceal itself among the fitful leaves fluttering in the supernatural wind. It bloomed up from the forest floor in a great, gray puff like billowing smoke then transmuted into a wavy human outline.
"Demon Tracker." it hissed spewing foul smelling vapors from its ill-defined mouth.
Even though Heero knew the arrow would pass through the wispy fiend, desperation caused him to take aim at the semisolid agent of the damned.
"What do you want?" he growled in frustration at the arrow's uselessness.
The Shadow Spy hovered silently above the ground. Instead of eyes, vacant holes studied the Tracker who, to his credit, didn't shrink back from the smoggy specter.
"I want you to die." it stated leaving no room for misinterpretation.
Heero cocked his head and squared his shoulders in an arrogant posture. "I'm not easy to kill."
"Nor I." Wufei declared, angling his sword over his head to deliver a deathblow.
Duo, as well, displayed a disdainful attitude which perplexed the Shadow Spy since the braided man brandished no weapon. "You WILL NOT defeat us." he avowed in a confident tone that left no doubt of his resolve concerning a sure victory.
The Dark Lord's disciple's lopsided mouth formed the best imitation of a sneer it could manage. "Let us see if you are as brave against my army." the Spy proclaimed before condensing into an opaque ball and shooting straight up into the sky.
"Army?" Heero whispered.
Wufei's eyes darted as they picked out traces of motion inside the tree line. Dry leaves crunched, branches rustled. All around, from every dim place where the sun refused to shine, vague silhouettes lurked just out of sight.
"I have a bad feelin' about this." Duo voiced what Wufei and Heero were thinking.
The unnatural wind bowed the trees as if to uproot the entire forest. Clouds slammed together to transform midday into midnight. The pungent smell of rotting flesh rankled in their noses and set queasy waves rolling inside their stomachs.
A mournful howl, not of the wind's invention, shrieked from ahead and behind at the same time. The warrior trio formed a triangle, back to back to back. Adrenaline tingled through every nerve ending. Hearts hammered and the resulting blood rush pounded in their ears.
"DAYWALKERS!" Heero shouted out the warning seconds before the first wave of soulless slaves poured from the tree line like angry hornets swarming from their nest.
Heero unleashed the arrow that hit its target between one emaciated male's sunken eyes. The bolt burrowed deep into a brain with only one goal, to sustain its owner's insatiable craving for flesh...alive, recently dead or in any stage of putrefaction.
The man's head jerked sideways from the arrow's force but still driven by the urge to feed, he staggered a few faltering steps before the bewitching spell was broken and the last spark of life was finally extinguished. With a loose-jointed clatter he crumpled into a skeletal heap.
A woman, whose face was paler than her white satin dressing gown stained with dirt, dried blood and large blotches of slimy green liquid, swayed like a drunkard. Her unbalanced stiff-legged gait was not designed for quickness and allowed Wufei ample time to cleanly sever her head from her shoulders.
With the same practiced skill, the Asian whirled in the opposite direction. His blade whined through the air and an equally deadly decapitation mercifully dispatched the headless man in a tattered green velvet topcoat on his long-overdo journey into the afterlife.
It took Heero mere seconds to reload and set the arrow into a young girl's breastbone to put her out of her mindless misery. But this time the death wasn't clean or soundlessly serene. The girl fell backwards, arms and legs flailed, her mouth gaped wide and an awful scream wailed above the whistling wind.
Heero began to tremble. It took all his willpower to resist the vocal assault's debilitating affects. Suddenly he stood in the bloody aftermath of a battle between man and demon. The screech became a Banshee bemoaning the carnage.
The dream was remembered with such clarity that Heero feared he was indeed trapped in a horrid nightmare and that there was a strong possibility he might not wake up.
The Twilight Priest, staff in hand, appeared again. The stone in the staff's center ring glowed then the scarlet light spread forth until Heero was enveloped in its soothing aura.
The Priest's emerald eyes beheld the frightened Tracker. "Come to me." he beckoned softly.
Heero blinked, the Priest vanished and his eyes refocused on the slain girl who had drifted peacefully into eternal slumber. His crossbow was in his left hand and an arrow was clutched in his right hand.
The number of the Shadow Spy's slaves had been whittled down to four. Heero pivoted just in time to watch Wufei slice a man with festering sores on his face, arms and hands in half.
The recovered Tracker used the arrow to spear another perverted creature that had ceased to be human then left the remaining twosome for Wufei to finish off.
Heero had a sudden realization. While fighting for his life, he'd lost contact with Duo. The braided man had been at his back before they were swamped by the tide of undead with bewitched brains and hollow hearts, now he was nowhere in sight.
"DUO!" Heero yelled in panic for his comrade-in-arms welfare.
Across the road where the forest fringes thinned into a wide patch of fox grass, an unnoticed monster, twice as tall and eight stones heavier than Duo, had him pinned against a tree. Burly hands wrapped around Duo's throat and brawny arms lifted him up until his feet dangled above the ground.
Heero leveled the crossbow but from his target angle the shot was unsure. He set off at a run determined to bury the arrow where the beast's spinal cord attached to his neck.
But in half a heartbeat, in the brief measure of time it took for the eyes to see and the brain to understand, Duo transformed from man to bird and his shocked assailant discovered he had two handfuls of the largest falcon Heero had ever seen.
The falcon's board wings whipped the air and battered the daywalker's face. Its razor sharp talons gripped the hands that were desperately trying to let go. The hooked beak ripped flesh and plucked out an eyeball in a gory spray of syrupy fluid.
The second eyeball was extracted with identical ease. Satisfied with its gruesome reprisal, the falcon let go and flew into a nearby tree. The man howled in anguish, clawed at his orbless sockets, pitched over, twitched in his final death throes and followed the Grim Reaper into hell.
Heero stood motionless, staring in disbelief. The stunned Tracker's wide eyes constantly shifted between the fallen foe and the great bird of prey, with a strange silvery glint on its breast, perched on a high branch.
The falcon's smooth feathers ranged in shades of brown to tan to...tawny. The feather at the brook, the feather in the one-eyed man's hand, the color as fresh in Heero's mind as if the events had happened only moments before.
"Perhaps it wasn't a wood troll," Heero whispered to himself, "perhaps Duo was the beast in the tree."
Wufei joined his victorious friend. Yes, friend for Heero had proven himself to be honest, generous and fearless in battle. The Oriental rested a golden hand splattered with blood on Heero's shoulder. "You fought well." he praised.
Heero nodded. "We fought well." he affirmed his comrades' unified success.
*********
The wind spent its fury, the clouds melted away and the sky was blue. The sun shimmered on the falcon's sleek wings as they unfurled to allow the duel spirit of earth and sky to glide gracefully to the ground. The magic reversed, feathers became flesh and Duo was restored in the blink of an eye.
Heero realized he was walking. Wufei fell into step at his side. Duo lowered his eyes shyly. He was not sure of Heero's reaction, certainly shock, perhaps annoyance or maybe anger. But Duo's ability to alter from one state to another was his secret and only he decided when the mystery was revealed.
Duo raised his violet eyes and locked them with Heero's puzzled gaze. "I suppose I owe you an explanation."
"For my sanity's sake." Heero begged to comprehend the full extent of Duo's powers.
Duo sat down in the cool grass. With a heavy sigh he leaned his back against a tree. Wufei sat cross-legged beside the enigmatic Irishman. Heero settled
opposite Duo and waited patiently to hear his extraordinary story.
TBC...
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