It was a broken group that trudged through the alleyways of the city towards the barracks.

Karan stayed out front to keep an eye out for wolves, peering around corners and keeping her eye on the roof tops. Isaac stayed near the center, still carrying the unconscious Commander. I limped along in the rear, we all jumped at anything that sounded like a growl. I almost shot a ratty little dog in a tiny fenced in backyard when it started yipping near my ear.

“Lieutenant?” piped up one of the soldiers.

I was rubbing at my head, attempting to stop the headache I felt creeping up and he caught me off guard, “Yes...erm.”

“Private Bowen sir.”

“You had a question private?”

“Yes sir. How did they know?”

“How did who know what?” I asked, still a little confused.

“How did those mangy dogs learn about us?” hatred burned behind his eyes.

“Word of mouth I assume, it’s difficult to keep a troop like this and a building like that secret.”

“Alright, granting that. How did they know we would be vulnerable then? And where to attack from?”

“I take it you have a theory on that private?”

“They had an inside man, sir.”

“One possibility, another being that they caught wind of the party from one of the servants. Or, they were watching the building and saw the food being delivered and prepared.”

“You mark my words sir, treachery is involved. I feel it. And my feelings are right more often than not.”

“Noted private. Let’s focus on survival for now.”

“Aye sir.”

Crouching in the mouth of an alley a few streets down from the guard barracks Karan motioned for us to stop and gestured me forward.

“What is it?” I asked her, “We’re close aren’t we?”

She wordlessly handed me the rifle scope she was using and pointed towards two figures deep in conversation just outside the squat gray building a few blocks away. We could hear the two men speaking in raised voices but we were too far away to make out the words. Bringing the scope up to my eye brought a familiar balding head into focus.

“That’s Nicolas,” I said, “Some others must have escaped,” beginning to rise to my feet.

Karan put a hand on my arm and said, “Look at the other one.”

I brought the scope back up and moved it to the right. The man Nicolas was talking to was large, muscular and had a shaved head and a long mustache. He wore the uniform of the town guard, a corporal by the insignia on his arm. I was about to ask her what she was talking about when the man turned his head and I noticed his left ear. The tip of it was missing and a golden band hung there. Nicolas made a violent gesture in the direction of the Hunt’s barracks and stormed inside.

“Damnation,” I muttered, handing the scope back to Karan.

“Trouble Lieutenant?” asked Jacob.

“Big, Bowen, you’re promoted.”

“Sir?” Bowen cocked his head to the side.

“I just saw our librarian having a chat with our large, hairy friend from the party. Looks like your feeling was spot on. How are our wounded doing?” I could see how they were doing but I needed some time to think.

“The Commander is still out. He’s breathing and all but I can’t wake him,” Isaac reported.

“Ezra?”

“Yarr, I be doing alright. A few cuts and bruises, a little woozy. Sip of rum and I’ll be perky as a mermaid’s tits, hahaharr.”

“Wonderful,” I deadpanned.

Hsst.

“What was that?” I asked, looking around.

“Up here,” called a feminine voice from above. A young woman was peering over the edge of a tiled roof, dark hair spilling out of the hood of a red cloak, her brown eyes had the slight slant of the Southern Isles. “You the Hunt?” she asked.

“What if we are?” I asked, several of the soldiers raised their rifles.

The young woman showed empty hands over the eaves, “I mean you no harm, I’ve been looking all over for you. Gran needs to see you.”

“Gran is just a legend,” Jacob snapped, a little too harshly, even for our current situation.

“Why don’t you just come on down and let us have a look at you, and we’ll talk about this ’Gran’,” I said, motioning the others to lower their weapons.

“’Kay,” she replied and disappeared back over the eaves.

“What’s the deal with Gran?” I asked.

“Gran is a local urban legend,” Jacob said, “The lycanthrope community claims she’s an ancient and powerful seer.”

“She’s not a wolf is she?”

“Nope,” said the strange woman, dropping into the alley with empty hands held out to her sides, “She’s a fox.”

“Let’s start off with introductions, I’m Drake Grant.”

“Greetings,” she said with a slight bow, “I am Risha Kitsune.”

I returned the slight bow, “Doesn’t kitsune mean fox?”

“All Gran’s children adopt the surname Kitsune when we pledge ourselves to her.”

“Pledge yourself?”

“The pledge is part of the ritual that binds us to her. Imparting some of her power into us,” she said, fading into invisibility in the shadows and then reappearing just as quickly. “Your enemies are all around,” she added, “And they happen to be Gran’s enemies as well. Now, will you follow me? We must move quickly.”

“What do you guys think?”

“When you can’t go forward and you can’t go back, sometimes you gotta go sideways boss,” Isaac said.

“She seems trustworthy to me mateys.”

“I guess it would be interesting to meet a legend,” Bethany, the soldier supporting Ezra, added.

“Or be killed chasing a wild goose,” Jacob muttered.

I turned to Risha and extended an arm, “Lead on.”

I motioned to Karan to keep an eye on our back trail. I agreed with Ezra, the young lady didn’t seem to be dishonest, but the fox is known for its cunning. You can never be too careful.

Risha led us further from the barracks and into increasingly dirty and decrepit area of the city. Beggars and bums littered the streets, crouching on filthy blankets and lying insensate under whatever trash they could pull over themselves to keep from freezing at night. If I had had anything other than the clothes on my back and my weapons I would have given more; as it was I slipped a few of the younger children some of my precious silver ammunition that they could trade for food. My impromptu squad gave what they could as well, handing out any food items they had. Risha took this all in with a small smile.

We had to stop a few times to avoid guard patrols; we were nearly discovered but some of the children who had been following behind Ezra, mesmerized by his piratical talk and eye patch, distracted the patrol and we were able to slip past.

Entering a dead end alley Risha looked around for prying eyes and reached up to an old lamp on the wall. Giving it a sharp tug, it turned without a sound and a large pile of crates in the back of the alley parted to reveal a set of stairs leading down into darkness.

“There are many traps for the unwary within, stay close to me at all times,” Risha warned, ducking her head and grabbing a torch from the wall she lead us into the dark underground. We all took one last look at the cloudy sky as the entry sealed itself behind us.

We stuck close to Risha as we traveled through rough hewn tunnels through the dirt, I quickly became disoriented by the twists and turns, occasionally stumbling over roots growing around and under the floor of the tunnel. Risha strode on confidently, never wavering from her path through intersections and forking paths. Several times we saw bones scattered down side passages, there was even a full human skeleton trapped in a web down one offshoot.

“Gran’s pets are well fed on unwelcome guests,” was all Risha would say. We kept even closer to her after that.

After a couple of hours wandering underground emerged from the tunnels into a large room with stones set in the floor. On the wall opposite us was a set of great, round wooden doors, carved into each door was a running fox. The figures were carved in such a way that it seemed they were each chasing the others’ tail. A set of stone steps led up to the door, flanking them on either side were carved stone foxes with blue flames hovering in their eye sockets.

“Wait here, do not be alarmed by what you see. We are allies here,” Risha strode up to the doors, glancing once over her shoulder to be sure we stayed in place, she knelt down and bowed her head to the ground. After a few moments murmuring to herself too quietly to be heard despite the silence that had descended over us all, a fox tail sprouted from her lower back, followed closely by three more. When she finally turned back to us her exposed skin was fully covered in a fine red fur and a fox’s muzzle poked out of her hood.

Seeing several of the squad reach for their weapons she spread her paw shaped hands out to her sides, mirroring her earlier gesture of peace in the alley. Even entranced by the beauty of her transformation I could see in her eyes that she meant no harm to any of us.

“Please,” she said, turning to the now slowly and silently opening doors, “This way.” Her tails swished just above the stone floors within as she swayed through the doorway.

I looked at the rest of the soldiers around me, still somewhat in shock, and made a placating gesture. I mounted the steps behind Risha and walked into the stone tunnel, the squad followed, gazing up at the pillars within, also carved with cavorting foxes.

This tunnel led us to a large, dark room with a green flame burning in the center of it on a raised mound of dirt. Risha turned to us.

“Approach the flame and seat yourself near it,” she spoke to me, “The rest of you may follow me to the left and seat yourselves on the log benches there.”

I took a few steps forward and as Karan passed behind me she gave my arm a supportive squeeze. I turned and gave her a smile, wink and nod then walked up to the fire. As soon as I settled myself cross legged before the flames a wizened, wrinkled face leaned in from the darkness beyond the other side of the fire. It was a feminine face, topped with elegantly woven white hair, a pair of fox ears poked out from the braids. Her amber eyes held untold depths of wisdom.

“Ah, the Drake returns indeed,” her voice spoke in my mind, her lips remained still, I felt her attention drift to my fellow soldiers, and she seemed somewhat surprised at what she saw there,“ And he brings others? Heartening. Greetings, young one.”

“Ummm hu-hullo?” I eloquently returned.

I sensed a smile in her next words.

“You are still in the dark. I shall attempt to shed some light and do what I can to awaken that which dwells within you and your comrades.” Her gaze shifted, “In fact, the Old Bear seems to be stirring already.” Returning her eyes to mine, she continued, “A great evil has returned to the world.”

Upon hearing these words, the green fire flared, drawing me in.

I soared high above the land, as if on the wings of a hawk, over forests and fields until I saw a familiar landmark ahead. The Regent’s estate loomed on the horizon. I flew through the gates and into the massive front entry of the Regent’s castle.

I flew down stone stairwells, deep into the Regent’s dungeons.

Down past floors of cells and torture chambers. Most of them full of wolves trapped in various stages of transformation and howling in pain.

Down a steep tunnel into the rock below the foundation. Through rooms carved into the rock here. Within these rooms soldiers lay strapped to stone altars, wolf furs draped across their naked flesh. Black robed priests loomed over them with white hot brands in the shape of a familiar rune.

Through a winding haze of tunnels ending at a set of doors.

These doors were different, Gran’s doors were made of wood while these were stone. Carved into each of these doors was no animal. Here were two runes limned in a sinister red light.

Bathed in this light stood the Regent himself, arms spread wide, a deep, twisted howl forming on his lips.

“Grimtooth,” said a voice I recognized as not quite my own and something stirred deep within me.

A flash of Green.

Nicolas stands between a wolf and nest of owlets.

A flash of Green.

A forest village burns.

A flash of Green.

A colossal black wolf stands astride the world, red eyes flashing. Chaos and flames dance across the planet, its people scream. Coiled around the wolf is a great winged serpent, its fangs dart into the wolf’s flanks. The wolf turns its head, its teeth clamping onto the serpent, he casts it down. Other animals appear. They circle the serpent and lift it up. Chief among them a towering Grizzly Bear and a rampant Gorilla. A soaring Eagle dives upon the wolf, distracting it as a Bison calls magic from the earth, a crocodile snaps at the wolf’s heels and a monkey tosses stones. A great Horned Owl hoots out when the beast stumbles.

Other animals move out from the forests, some on the side of the Wolf, others with the serpent.

Suddenly, the visions end and I am back at the fire.

“Grimtooth has found this place, you must gather your people and leave. You will not remember all you have seen, but I hope it shall be enough.”

“What about you?”

“Long has the Wolf chased the Fox. Never has he caught her.”

My eyes opened.

Next Chapter: Chapter 11