The Island With No Parallel

Wolves

Yunara opened the door of the carriage, took out out a bag of powder, and threw some of the contents on the ground between them and the Aracs. A small, but effective explosion shot out, and Lucia didn’t lose a second to flick the reigns of the horse and start galloping down the dark road leading away from the house, the three Aracs and their Dark One were left sprawling on the ground with scrapes.

“Very good, Yunara,” Lucia acknowledged. “That should give us a little time. I am hoping we reach the village before he catches up with us, then maybe we can get away.”

“After that explosion?” asked Kailu. “We should have plenty of time to get away.”

“You don’t understand,” Lucia said, fixated on the road. “Nevres is a Dark One that is incredibly fast and has unbelievable strength. He’s much faster than our horses, especially in his true form. Don’t let that old man’s appearance fool you. He is a Dark One. One that specializes in assassinations. His task is to kill one of us, and use the power of his claws to rip open a portal that will take his victim back to the returning grounds he came from. But he will only kill one of us. He was summoned with the task of killing one, and won’t stop until at least one of us is back with him in his lair, dead.”

Yunara was leaning over the end to look behind them. “He’s chasing us!” she announced.

Manuel moved to where she was to have a look. She was right. The old man was pursuing them at an impossible speed on foot.

“Then what do we do?”

“I’m thinking,” was Lucia’s response. She paused for a moment. “Do you have any silver bells?”

“To call the Unseeables?” asked Manuel.

“Yes, perhaps the Unseeables can give us something that will help.”

Yunara reached into the bag she carried with her and pulled out the bell. “Here it is,” she said.

“Good, call one of them,” said Lucia.

“Look!” Kailu shouted at that moment, leaning over the other end of the carriage. The Dark One was catching up with them. Its body began to transform, his body hunching over, switching to running on all fours. Dark hair erupted all over his body, his clothes falling off and his body elongating and slimming down. He became a huge, incredibly thin wolf the size of a horse, with a caved in stomach and long claws. The Dark One howled, and wolves started coming running from all ends.

“It’s his true form,” Lucia explained without turning back to see. “Whatever you do, don’t let him attack you with his claws.”

Yunara rung the bell, a sweet jingle letting out. “Lorenn?” she called.

At that moment Lorenn came flying into the carriage. “You called?”

“Is there anything you can do to help us right now?” Manuel asked.

Lorenn smirked, cocking her head and saying, “I thought you’d never ask.”

With that, she left the carriage.

At that moment, something jerked the carriage. Manuel looked out the window and saw Nevres at their heels, clawing at the back of the carriage, trying to get a grip on it, the wolves around it howling.

Lorenn came soaring back into the carriage, this time with a white fox entering with her, phasing through the wall of the carriage to get in. “Yunara, throw the rest of the explosion powder, quickly!” said the fox.

Yunara leaned over the edge and immediately obeyed, throwing the entire sack at Nevres’ face. The explosion rocked the entire carriage, the Dark One reeling on the ground, whimpering in the darkness. The horses got startled, running as fast as they could away from the scene, Lucia struggling to control them, foam flying from their mouths as they ran.