Chapter Eighteen

    I was alone the whole day, with nothing but a basket of bread for sustenance. To pass the time, I watched the progress of the day. Farmers were returning after a hard day of working the fields, with dirt on their clothes and sweat on their foreheads. Woodcutters were returning with armfuls of wood to fuel their fires and stoves and get cleaned up. There were shepherds, coming back from watching their flock graze. They had bags of wool on their shoulders, washing them and preparing them to sell for later days. The townspeople all shot dirty looks at the guards and muttered insults under their breath to each other, out of earshot of the armor-laden swordsmen.

The guards themselves patrolled the city limits and occasionally went inside the gate to check on the town. Hands inches away from their weapons, they scanned for any troublemakers in the alleyways or on porches. When they spotted someone making a ruckus or being rebellious, they dragged them away to the castle. Shouting, the townspeople fought back when they got captured, kicking and swatting at the guards' hands. Eventually, though, the townspeople went inside to sleep and eat, and the town was quiet again, except for the tramp of the guards' footsteps as they walked through the town.

I tried my best to close my eyelids and sleep, but the grafting of the wood and the cold night air kept me awake. I was shivering again, with aching cold hands that stung from the frigid temperatures. I tried to calm down and think about relaxing things, like my time exploring the forest and talking with Robyn and Mebh. In time, my eyelids drooped and I went to sleep.

I expected another dream. Maybe another one of those weird backstories into pack life with the wolfwalkers. This time, though, when I went to sleep, I was back in Kilkenny, at night. "Why am I here?" I wondered aloud. Then, I turned around and saw myself in the stocks. Then it hit me. This wasn't a dream. I was in wolf form right in the center of town. Not exactly a good location to figure this out.

Then the guards came. They yelped and fumbled for their weapons. "WOLF! WOLF IN THE TOWN!" they yelled. The guards finally drew their weapons and aimed them at me. "Go! Send for backup!" a guard said. One guard peeled off and rushed toward the castle. I yelped and fled towards a back alley. The guards hurried after me, their armor clanking in the night. I squeezed through a grate and popped through to a dark room. My eyes adjusted, and I noticed the wash basins and heaps of laundry. This was the scullery, which meant it was hooked up to the main castle, which meant the Lord Protector was there with a lot more guards. I doubled back and slipped out through the grate and back out through the alley, dodging the guards and heading out another way through the narrow streets. I soon came to the stocks where I was sleeping. I started toward another street, but guards came rushing out of the street and stopped me. I skidded to a stop and whirled around to go back, but even more guards poured out into the square and surrounded me. I was trapped with nowhere to run. Finally, the Lord Protector came out on his horse with his flintlocks out.

"I know it's you, boy! Return to your normal state...or you die." Through the cracks of the guards surrounding me, I could see the Lord Protector had a flintlock pointed at my head, ready to shoot. "If you know what's good for you, you'll come here and turn back into a human." I whimpered and crouched down. I didn't want to die at 13! "Let him pass." The Lord Protector ordered his guards. "But don't give him the chance to escape!" The guards opened up a path to the stocks, swords and spears drawn with trembling hands. I walked over to my human form and pressed a paw to my hand. I jolted awake, trembling and shaking, eyes wide open. The Lord Protector frowned. "Looks like we'll have to take you someplace safer."

A pair of guards lifted the stocks off of my hands and led me to a dank cell with a single window and a stone slab for a bed. They pushed me inside and locked the key. I rubbed my chafed wrists and sat down on the bed. I didn't think being a wolfwalker coulld be this hectic. I thought it would be more using your powers and hunting for prey, not fleeing from settlers. I would have to adapt to this new lifestyle if I wanted to live.