Chapter 22
The Red Army had returned to Za-xayek, their ranks swollen with new recruits. Ebulon soldiers, miners and refugees alike, all transformed, all now swearing loyalty to the Red Lady. Their clothes and armor, once from different cultures and styles now were a collective red. Many had used the blood of their victims to coat themselves, giving them a more uniform appearance.
The days had been long and bloody, a fact that Ryder was well aware of. He too had killed many a man and woman and he had enjoyed those killings as they left him with a feeling of power that he desired but hadn’t felt in a long time. He had also been fascinated by the transformations of the men who fell under the Red Lady’s spell. But they couldn’t compare to the shifters of his own world, his kind were intelligent and proud, not just mindless killers. This to him made his kind a superior species. Ryder had heard that they would soon march again to face the forces of Ebulon, but for the time being that wasn’t what interested him.
He sought out Aneeku, the wearer of the red mask, the being that had fascinated Ryder since the moment he had laid eyes on him. Aneeku wasn’t difficult to find, he was sitting on top of a large square block within one of the many courtyards of the city. Much like the rest of this place, the block was covered in carvings, both elegant and twisted. Ryder had no clue or desire to know what those carvings meant, all he noticed was that there was another boulder-sized block next to the first and it looked awfully comfortable.
Aneeku barely glanced up from his sword, he was spinning its tip on the ground, keeping it from falling with a single finger. As Ryder took a seat Aneeku kept spinning his weapon.
“You’re a werewolf,” Ryder stated.
“As are you,” Aneeku replied, not bothering to look up from his twirling blade.
Ryder chose silence for a few important moments. He never considered himself a werewolf because the legends that spoke of them painted such things as mindless killers, something he was not. It was why he valued his identity as a wolf-human shape shifter. He knew who he was and was proud of it. What he didn’t know was there were actual creatures that identified themselves as werewolves. In his mind this Aneeku was a legend come to life, he represented knowledge that Ryder never could attain in his own world. For the time being that was more important to him than correcting Aneeku’s mistaken words.
“Why do you rely on a sword and not your claws?” Ryder asked.
Upon this question Aneeku stopped spinning his blade, flipping it in his hand with inhuman capabilities before resting it still.
“Killing is killing,” Aneeku began still not bothering to meet Ryder’s gaze. “I have yet to see a pair of claws that can do what this sword can.”
Ryder glanced at the blade, it was a beautiful forge of flawless steel. Ryder had seen what Aneeku could do with it, that blade could cut men in half like an axe through a block of cheese. Still no werewolf he ever heard of preferred to kill with anything but their own claws and teeth. His kind of wolf-human shape shifters were the same way.
“Are there many of your kind where you come from?” Ryder asked, fascinated that there were other shapeshifters, particularly werewolves from a world he had never heard of.
“I have no kind,” Aneeku said, his voice remaining a low growl.
“You mean there are no other werewolves in your homeland?” Ryder asked, finding Aneeku more intriguing.
“There are plenty of werewolves, but none of them are my kind,” Aneeku replied, showing very little interest in his fellow lycan. Ryder wondered about whether Aneeku was the last of his pack, he had noticed a slight edge of distaste in Aneeku’s words, it went beyond simply being bothered by this conversation.
“Are there those who try to stop you from killing and hunting where you come from?”
“Plenty,” Aneeku said, spinning his sword once more. “But most aren’t very successful.”
“You should consider yourself lucky then,” Ryder said.
“Should I?” Aneeku asked, his tone half-mocking, half-nonchalant.
“In my homeland there are those who do everything they can to stop my pack, and still others whose job it seems is to keep me from defending them. There are those who have the power to steal my true form away from me.”
“Why wouldn’t you just kill them before they had a chance to?” Aneeku asked, still not showing particular interest in Ryder.
“It isn’t as easy as that, the worst of them are not ordinary humans, they are super heroes and they…”
His words were broken by laughter, wicked and dark, the sounds that came from Aneeku were as taunting as they were monstrous.
“Superheroes?” Aneeku balked. Aneeku probably would have spat in disgust if he weren’t wearing his mask. “That’s the stupidest thing that I have ever heard!”
Ryder narrowed his eyes, but Aneeku took little notice of his anger.
“Heroes are what the weak call the strong, so superhero must be what the pathetic call the mighty.” Now Aneeku was staring right at Ryder. Ryder didn’t blink, expecting Aneeku to continue the taunt by saying something like, ‘I suppose you would call me a superhero then.’ But Aneeku kept silent, he lowered his gaze, but not out of fear or apprehension. To him this Ryder was no more a threat than the bug he had squashed before sitting down. Ryder’s curiosity was quickly transforming into rage, no one had ever spoken to him like this before.
“Why do you wear that mask? Afraid of your own reflection?”
To this Aneeku stopped spinning his blade, his eyes raised and widened. Beyond Ryder’s words was his tone, the conversation now sounded much more like a challenge.
“When I take off this mask…the weak try to run from me but they never get far…do you feel like going for a run?” Ryder had seen what Aneeku could do with that sword, but Ryder knew what his own claws and teeth were capable of, weapons that any real werewolf or wolf shape shifter relied upon. This Aneeku was quite good at killing humans, but Ryder was much more than an ordinary human of which he had killed plenty of back home using nothing but well timed and aimed bites while in his full wolf form. Now, even without the ability to turn into a wolf, Ryder was more powerful and dangerous than ever before. He motioned to speak, wanting to tell Aneeku to take the mask off so Ryder could bury his claws into Aneeku’s face, he was ready to show Aneeku a bloodbath as wet as a lake.
Before he could speak, the whispering echo of footsteps filled the courtyard and both werewolves were drawn to the sight of Oos. It was surprising to see that Morzu wasn’t by his side, though the same collection of guards shadowed his every step. Upon their approach Ryder stood up, not out of fear and not so much out of respect. Rather he had accepted to take Aneeku as nothing more than a killer, Ryder had little need or desire for lone wolves and Aneeku was the embodiment of that. It wouldn’t bewilder him if Aneeku were careless enough to attack Oos. He hadn’t seen the Ulnath in battle they may have been formidable, but he couldn’t take the risk and allow Aneeku to kill them. He had too much need for the Shadow Stone and wanted to make sure he could stand in Aneeku’s path if the masked one attacked. Though as Oos got closer Aneeku showed little interest in them, as he began spinning his sword once more.
“Ryder,” Oos said, in that all-knowing voice of his.
“Oos,” Ryder replied, keeping a civil tongue. The eyes of Oos, the kind of eyes that could make brave men tremble now were upon Aneeku. Oos stared for several seconds of silence before speaking.
“My shadow scouts have informed me of how well you fought during the attacks on the mines and refugee camps.”
“And you’re very pretty,” Aneeku replied, mocking the compliment.
To this Oos smirked, showing that he may have been many things, but not insecure or petty. He reached his hand out to one of the guards who placed a tiny jar within his palm. As Oos brought the jar forward Aneeku raised his eyes as his curiosity peaked. As was Ryder’s, the jar had an incredible smell to it, one that was completely alien yet all
uring. “Your slaughtering skills are most impressive Aneeku, I look forward to seeing them being used in the upcoming battle. But while all victims bleed, some bleed better than others wouldn’t you agree?” Aneeku glanced at Ryder, taunting him with silent insinuation. Before Aneeku could speak Oos explained, “This is Ar-ra-gar, a magic that allows one to see the fighting strength of their enemy. It would allow you to seek out the most impressive of the enemies and kill them. I know the enemy army, I know that it is kept together by a few strong and capable captains, amongst others, they will give you the best fights Aneeku.”
The red masked one instantly knew what Oos wanted from him, he wanted Aneeku to kill the captains and officers. Killing them would be like cutting the head off a spider, only the fangs were truly dangerous and without them the legs would be without direction. Aneeku knew this because many commanders had gotten him to do the same thing back in his own world. Still Aneeku stared at the jar in silence and seemed hesitant to take it. Knowing this Oos raised the jar and leaned his own head back, allowing a single drop to fall in each eye. He didn’t blink, he didn’t flinch, at first it seemed to have no effect, but then he lowered his head. There was a flash of darkness in his eyes, it swam in them like a pair of serpents in strange coloured lakes. With a smile that would cause most men to gasp Oos looked back to Aneeku.
“I now see for myself just how powerful you truly are for Ar-ra-gar never lies.”
Ryder watched on with quiet breaths, to him Oos’ display proved little. A snake didn’t fall ill from its own venom. At first he was a little amazed that Aneeku so willingly took the jar in his own hand, for Aneeku clearly wasn’t the trusting type. But as he began to raise the jar above his own eyes Ryder remembered just how arrogant he was. Aneeku was stupid enough to believe that he could defy the ill-effects of magic, if Oos was trying to poison him. Ryder hoped that was the case, he would enjoy seeing Aneeku flapping around on the ground, suffocating like a fish out of water. But when the drops entered his eyes, the process was an exact repeat of what had happened to Oos. A flash of darkness occurred before a pair of serpents began their swim.
Aneeku now stood up, taking a long breath the way someone does after a deep and rewarding sleep.
“The time for selective slaughter draws near Aneeku, the army is ready to march.” Aneeku’s eyes slowly crawled over Oos, searching every piece of him. Ryder wondered now, if Ar-ra-gar did work what was Aneeku seeing, how powerful was Oos? Aneeku didn’t flinch or quiver but for a shade of a moment, he seemed impressed by what he saw on Oos.
That look vanished as soon as he looked to Ryder. He met Aneeku’s eyes as they scurried over him briefly before Aneeku began laughing. It was a snicker, a sound of contempt, a sound that caused fury to fill Ryder. The laugh was meant as a mock, Aneeku had seen his fighting power and found it a joke. Ryder wanted to see how well Aneeku would laugh with his throat torn out. The anger was enough to make Ryder snarl, a growl that showed what he truly was. Aneeku chuckled once more before getting up and walking away, he was twirling his sword in shadow slices, preparing to cut through any number of enemies, he was eager to enter the upcoming battle. Ryder wanted to chase after him, to pounce on him like some kind of red rabbit. His focus was so great on Aneeku that it was only now he noticed that Rhaldan and his Protectors were close by, watching and waiting for Oos. Aneeku taunted them silently with the sword swings, each Protector watching him wearily as he passed them. At such arrogance Ryder growled, he couldn’t care less about what happened to the Protectors or Rhaldan, but it was time someone put Aneeku in his place.
He managed a single step before Oos spoke, “Ryder.” His voice brought Ryder out of his rage, Oos’ tone was hard to ignore, it was both calm and commanding at the same time. Ryder was drawn to the jar, watching as Oos handed it back to one of his guards. When Ryder looked him in the eye Oos could tell he was disappointed. “My scouts inform me that you fought brilliantly during the raids, I am glad to hear that. I must ask you to use that brilliance in the upcoming battle. If you do your reward shall be far greater than mere Ar-ra-gar.” His words soothed Ryder’s rage. Ryder had answered the call initially because his instincts told him this world could give him what he needed, and any good wolf, werewolf or otherwise, trusted their instincts.
He trusted them now as he said, “I promise you my brilliance will be better on this battlefield than they were during the raids.”
To that, Oos smiled, a smile that pleased Ryder’s instincts.