***
The swamp at night held a chorus of bird's songs. Grateful for the distraction, he found he did not need to strain to hear something dangerous approaching. Panthers roamed swamps. He did not want to come upon one now. Nevertheless, he could hear perfectly. In fact, his senses all seemed heightened.
Wondering where she had gone, he glanced about at the dark branches hanging low with long extensions of moss-draped thick among the branches bordering the trail. Sonja never seemed intimidated by the night. She melded with the darkness like a torch and fire. Speaking of a torch, one would have provided more light and some protection against those panthers, but if he met someone, he would be leaving questions as to his real identity. No, it was best if he disappeared.
A noise had him halting in his tracks. The birds took flight in a flurry of feathers and screeches. He could hear the scurry of smaller animals ducking for cover. Ty gripped the revolver tighter while keeping a close eye on the surrounding undergrowth.
A low howl rose up amid the night sounds and ended with a pitiful whimper. The call tore at Ty's composure. Perhaps the animal was snared, he mused. Of course, there were wolves in the vicinity. Wolves commonly roamed down from the foothills into the valley for food at night. As he listened, the sound grew agonized. He picked up the pace. The cry came again. This time his name echoed through the trees. He shook his head. Surely, his imagination played tricks on his ears. Shortly, the cry came again. Low and mournful, the creature cried out as if in pain. Urgent and raw the cry rose on the wind. The howl echoed through the dark shapes of the water willows. Reminding himself to breath, he kept moving, ever watchful for trouble.
Ty strained to hear. The call came again and this time he struck out in the direction from where it emanated. Hampered by the almost impenetrable undergrowth, he fought to clear his way closer. Encumbered by the briars clogging the boggy ground, he struggled to reach the animal. She was in trouble! The undergrowth tripped and snagged him as if in a planned assault. Tree limbs fell from above as vines lashed out in aggravating accuracy.
Finally, he came upon a tiny clearing where the mat of moss laid thick on the swamp floor. The creature's whimpered cries lead him there. He crept closer. Several soldiers dressed in Yankee blue worked over a fire. Ty bit back an oath as he fought the nausea that climbed up his throat.
Struggling with a four-legged creature, they laughed, jeering obscenities at a she-wolf. A large fire burned brightly in the middle of the clearing. Vicious snarls and teeth gnashing filled the night air.
"She's a feisty one, ain't she? Damn near bit me when I got close." The Yankee poked a stick at the she-wolf tethered near the fire.
Ty caught a glimpse of the man in the meager light of the flames. He was one of the men who had come with Perkins to Sonja's. Alarm bells went off in his head. The situation had his blood churning, his mind racing. What were they up to? Why should he care? The voice of reason reminded him he had been on his way. He needed to be getting gone.
But the pitying cries of the wolf tugged at his concern. He wondered how he would save her.
Ty could hear the men talking.
"She changed as soon as the moon rose," another soldier said in light amazement. "I figured it would take some time, but she changed almost instantly." He snapped his fingers together, before shaking back a chuckle. "What do you plan on doing with her, Major?"
The man, the soldier, spoke to, turned in the firelight. Ty recognized Perkins. The major glanced at the man from where he hunkered near the fire. His black smile gleamed in the fire's light. "When you boys get those oilskins underneath the table there, we're gonna cut her open and drain her." Perkins profile stood out in stark relief against the backdrop of the open flames.
Ty's gut clenched with one of his intuitions that never presaged anything good. The man resembled evil in its purest form. The she-wolf had little time left.
Another soldier stationed around the fire rubbed his hands together as he sucked in air. "I can't wait to get a taste of this one. She's supposed to have the power. You know, the strength the old witch talked about before we killed her." His laughed with anxious tension.
With the news Hortence was dead, Ty's eyes burned inside their sockets. His breath burned inside his chest with the pain of death pierced him square in the chest. He and Sonja would be lost without the old witch's help.
If the man had no compunction about killing Hortence merely to eliminate her, he would certainly not have one about killing a woman for something he valued.
Perkins rose, reaching over to shove the man who had divulged their part in the murder. "Now, listen to me and listen good. Nobody tastes her until the master gets his. Is that clear?"
There was an eerie silence as all their heads dropped like well-trained lackeys, nodding in unison.
"I said is that clear?" Perkins growled.
The subordinates murmured but nodded clearly.
Cold seeped into Ty's bones. They meant to have their way with her, to kill her after they had raped and drained her. Who the 'Master' was kept circling in Ty's brain.
"Don't look so glum boys, Master ordered me to give you a little present for all your hard work." He glanced from one to another around the fire. "When we're done here, you'll all get to feed on the old witch."
Feed? Ty's mind raced with the possibilities of what Perkin's words meant. While he tried to sort it all out, the soldiers good naturedly slapped each other on the back, grunting their approval.
Their next movement had Ty's mind screaming for it to stop! Dragging the creature they had chained belly up between two trees, the Yankees swung the animal onto a nearby wooden table. Securing the chains to metal brackets lodged in the trees on either side of the rough platform, they managed to stretch her spread eagle. Now the she-wolf's howls rose into the night air filled with terror.
"Have you got the blade hot?" Perkins asked the Yankee working with a long, sinister looking hooked knife gleaming red in the light of the fire.
"Yes, sir. Major, it's hotter than hell."
Perkins flicked the man a glance and stepped toward him, waving him back from the task. Bending over, he took the claw-like piece of metal in his hand. With a smirk on his lean face, Perkins stepped around the group and spoke to them, "Tonight, we began a new journey. For tonight, not only will we be immortal, but we will also be invincible." He jutted his chin, pointing at the men with the red-hot blade. "After tonight, we will be able to walk into a lake of fire, withstand any wooden stake, and laugh at holy water and garlic. After tonight, we will take our rightful place as Lords over this pitiful place."
They cheered. Ty glanced at the wolf as it struggled shackled across the crud table despite her efforts to escape. A chill shot through him when Sonja's voice came to him on the wind.
"Help me!"
Ty gripped the gun tight. Waiting proved the hardest thing to do.
Perkins raised his arms wide as if embracing his congregation and said, "All right, it's time. The master will be here soon. He will want to feed. So, let's get about it. Okay?"
With the first man's touch along her throat, the wolf snarled viciously, slobbering in all directions. The poor creature whined and whimpered in agony as the man cut a thin slice into her hairy flesh right below her ear. The cry bursting from her had Ty's blood burning in response. Sweat beaded along his brow. His skin crawled with spider flesh. Unable to focus clearly, he shook his head. A red haze built around the edges of his vision. Wiping away the perspiration with his sleeve, he cautiously pulled the hammer back on the gun. Leveling it on a nearby limb, he estimated the distance. Raising the hairs of the pistol up a notch while gauging windage and elevation, Ty bore down on the nearest one before pulling the trigger.
The soldier flinched, clutching at his belly. Ty's shot had been off but caught the man in the stomach. The soldier stared at Perkins in surprise before slumping forward and d
ropping into the flames. Agonized wails of pain filled the air as the soldier crumpled into ash.
The other Yankee soldiers made the direction of the shot. "Shit!" he growled and levered the hammer back again. His targets ran for cover like scared rabbits.
Another soldier fell.
Perkins snarled vicious slurs at the darkness encircling them. He barked orders at the two remaining men before firing near Ty's position.
The bullet missed him but not by much. With nerves of steel, Ty slipped back into the thicket and moved to a new position. A movement to his right flickered in his peripheral vision. Ty wheeled to come face to face with a large black wolf standing on two legs. His eyes focused on the beast and without hesitation understood what Hortence meant about the Guardian. In his subconscious, Ty found a kinship with the hulking creature. Within seconds, he absorbed the words the beast hurled at him with his mind. Rage surged up from down deep, trying to engulf him. The hairs on his neck stood at attention. He could hear a roaring in his head now. Shaking his head before knocking his temple with the heel of his hand, Ty tried to clear the sensations, which seemed to come out of nowhere.
"Help me, Ty." Sonja's voice rang out, loud and clear in the night air.
If the blow had been physical, it could not have hurt more. The air left his lungs as his chest constricted over the words. The she-wolf was Sonja. Swearing, he tried to tell himself there was no way this was possible.
He lunged forward, stumbling with shock and disbelief. Before he could clear the trees, the tall, ominous figure gripped his shoulder. "I'll cover your advance." Before Ty could ask how, the Guardian shimmered into an invisible, glassy figure, which moved to stand in front of him. Unable to fathom how the creature had managed such a feat, he listened as the Guardian spoke to him in his head. "Shoot to kill. They are vampires sent here to kill the white wolf. Her blood is very powerful. Whoever drinks it becomes invincible. Do you understand?" The beast's eyes glowed a vibrant gold as its lips peeled back baring sharp, menacing teeth.
Ty glimpsed metal flash in the beast hand. He was armed. A feral glance in Ty's direction had him vibrating where he stood.
Nodding, Ty followed the beast into the open. In the light from the fire, he glowed with a blue light. The Yankees began to draw their guns. One of them fired at the beast. The bullet bounced off his glassy hide, as he kept moving forward. Another shot rang out and the beast caught the bullet in his paw.
The Guardian moved closer to the crude table. Bullets continued to fly around them as they advanced. He was not certain what happened next. The beast spoke to him. His mouth had not moved.
"You've been chosen. Your journey has begun. Take heed of my words, Ty Loflin, and listen well. Near death, she has saved you. You will repay the sacrifice." The beast looked down at the she-wolf lying spread-eagle on the wooden planks. With one great paw, he wiped across her belly. The wolf seemed to relax a little.
A tremor ran through Ty at the same moment, as if she felt what he felt.
"Who dares to challenge the authority of The Guardian?" The beast glared from one to another of the Yankees, who stood stunned into silence. With eyes tracking, those gathered near the creature, he raised his paw and thrust out a talon of bluish green. "Unchain my child or suffer the consequences, demons."
Perkins lowered the knife he had been using on the creature. "Well, if it isn't the great Guardian." Flicking a hand at him, Perkins waved away his demand as if he was flicking away a fly. You can't tell us what to do. You have no authority here. We answer to the one true God, Constantine." He raised his hands into the night sky and threw his head back."
The others imitated his moves, one even laughed aloud until the one they called Guardian cut his smoldering eyes in the soldier's direction.
"Give her to me. You'll not feed on her tonight," he growled.
The ground shook, and Ty swore the beast called his name.
The Guardian aimed the bluish green talon at Ty. "You, newly born, are powerful. With your help, she will live the life she for which she is destined. Take your mate. Leave here!"
Ty's heart thudded in his chest. His temples pounded, and sweat poured down his face. Things, which had nothing to do with the fire, he mused. For the first time since he had made his presence known, he questioned his ability to do so. Surrounded by Yankees with only a revolver in his defense, he considered himself outmanned and certainly out gunned. "How is this possible?"
Perkins wheeled and spotted him there. "Who in the hell are you?" he stormed as he headed toward Ty.
Within an instant, he was nose to nose with Ty. The speed with which he moved was lighting quick. He smelled rancid and decayed. Peering at Ty, Perkins brows raised. "I know you."
"You don't know me, but you aren't harming this creature anymore. Understand?"
The smile he offered up was sinister, but Ty was more aware of the set of very sharp incisors.
"Appears to me like somebody needs a lesson, Major." One of the scrawny soldiers said with a sneer. His teeth, long and gleaming in the fire's light as well.
Suddenly Ty could hear all manner of voices in his head. But the one that came through clearly was the voice of Sonja.
"Ty, help me!"
The Major whirled back to the crude table.
The Guardian was melting the chains with a touch of his sinister talon.
Thrusting a finger in the beast's direction, Perkins bellowed, "Stop him, you fools! The wolf's getting away."
Ty jerked the first of the men who charged him. The force had slammed him into another before both flew into the darkness. Perkins halted. The scrawny soldier who wanted to give Ty a lesson soon found his own. He snapped the man's arm like a twig. The others hesitated long enough for him to plant his boot into the chest of the nearest assailant before punching the next in the mouth. His hand came back bloody and throbbing. Bleeding, he kicked one attacker back to confront the newcomer. He collided with another, falling backward with the impact.
"How about it, Perkins? Ready to change my mind about taking her now?" Ty taunted as he got up to confront the major.
"Take her! Go now!" The Guardian dropped her into Ty's arms. His arms rippled with more muscles than Ty had ever seen before. "Take her far from this place. She belongs to you now, my son," The Guardian said in a low voice.
For a split second, Ty stared in disbelief.
"You must go now!" The Guardian roared, as more Yankees filled the clearing.
Ty flew with the creature in his arms, disappeared into the night.