The Steele Wolf

Page 4

“Odin, we are about to be attacked; warn the men.” Odin stilled, cocked his head and listened, before giving me a short nod, and riding back to warn the men. Walking back to my horse, I kneeled and rubbed Faraway’s leg as he made a big show of pretending to be lame. I would have smiled if the situation weren’t so dire.
Fenri came to me on foot, leading his horse. Stopping, he pulled his horse in behind me and gave a curt command to his horse to stand firm, making me a living shield out of horseflesh. Sliding his sword and small axe from the saddle pack, he kept it low behind the horse. I watched as the rest of the men slowly moved into defensive positions, acting casually as if we all had stopped to take care of a lame horse. Most cast furtive looks at the woods around them as they silently prepared for battle.
Bearen looked deadly as he walked over to me.
“Most of the group is down wind, and on foot. There are three behind us and two ahead of us,” I commented, not looking to see the astonished look on Fenri’s face.
“This terrain is not made for horses; it would be better to meet our foes on foot. Their blood will cover this valley before the night is over for what they have done to Forsk,” Bearen growled.
“They have stopped and are waiting to see what we are doing,” I answered.
“It would be better if we could force them to come out of the forest. I hate not being able to see my enemy,” Bearen answered, twisting his fingers around his axe.
“I will force them out and give us the advantage, but you won’t like the means by which I do it,” I said solemnly, leaving the choice in his hands.
His only answer was a grunt, and the readjustment of his hands on his battle-axe. “I hate waiting.” He looked at me and looked away quickly.
Smiling and taking it for the yes he would never verbally give, I scanned the forest for help; trying something I wasn’t sure if I could actually do. Searching, I found a family of opossums sleeping, a small herd of deer that were moving away from the smell of men, and finally I found something that could be the distraction we needed; a wolf pack.
They were a small pack of five, but they would do the trick. The pack consisted of one white, two brown, one black and a grey wolf. Gently, I entered the alpha male’s mind. I wasn’t sure if I was even strong enough to do what I was about to attempt, but I figured if I could speak to Faraway, why not other animals? It was a leap of faith.
Help me? I asked the large brown wolf. He shook his head and snarled at a brown male that had come to close to him, nipping him in the hindquarters.
Frowning a bit in concentration, I realized I was dealing with the Alpha, who to lead a pack would need to be very strong willed. I was about to enter the mind of the female, when I felt a tentative touch back. Pulling away, I followed the thread back to a young grey male with a notch in his ear, who stood frozen at the ready in the opposite direction of his pack.
Help? He asked. Following my good fortune, I didn’t hesitate to link minds.
Yes, I need help in protecting my pack from these bad men. I sent him the picture of the men, who even now were closing in.
He growled in anticipation, shuffling his feet and snapping his jaws.
I’m strong, fight to death, ja? I almost laughed at hearing a wolf accent through mindspeech.
We will need the rest of the packs’ help. Can you get them to come?
Ja, come, I’m strong, pack stronger. Not sure how he was going to do it, I pulled my mind back and came to my father staring at me in obvious horror.
“Get ready,” I told him. “They are going to come to you.” It was barely two minutes later when we heard snapping, growling and screams as three men came running from the forest, two wolves chasing them down.
“Ah ha!” Bearen yelled in triumph, running to meet the first foe head on, swinging his humongous axe. The man slid to a halt and fell backwards into the dirt as he tried to duck the swinging blade. As all intent of a surprise attack was now gone, armor clad men from all sides came rushing down the hills to engage us in battle.
My fellow clansmen flew into action, their fighting very basic and strong. Even though they relied more on brute strength over speed and skill, I couldn’t help but be proud of my fearless clansmen.
Fenri threw his smaller axe into the shoulder of a large attacker. The injured man kept coming and swinging his own blade. I gasped as the two met in a furious dance of blood and clashing metal.
The wolves chased and attacked the rest of the men from hiding as they all ran towards us. Looking up, I saw the grey wolf snapping and growling at a tree while desperately trying to climb it. The wolf’s large claws raked deep furrows in the bark as he jumped and snarled. I barely had time to ponder his behavior as I heard the familiar ppfffsst sound of an arrow being loosed.
I heard a grunt and saw Bearen stumble as an arrow lodged in his chest. Screaming, I grabbed my sword and engaged in battle, fighting my way towards my father.  Another pffsst followed and tears stung my eyes as a matching arrow protruded in Bearen's chest few inches lower.
Screaming at Fenri, I pointed towards the tree as I desperately looked for a bow and arrow; nothing. None of my clansmen fought with bow and arrows. I had no way of reaching him in time.  I was about to take another step toward my father, when my whole body was knocked to the ground by a grey blur as an arrow imbedded in the dirt where I was previously standing.
Rolling over, I saw that the grey wolf had given up on the tree and instead knocked me out of the arrow’s path, but not before getting an ugly shoulder graze. I looked to my father whose chest was covered in deep red and was wide open for an attack. I knew what I had to do.
Protect my father, I commanded the wolf, who grinned dog-like at me, tongue hanging out of his mouth as he ran towards my father’s opponent. With a growl, he jumped up and bit the man’s sword arm. I heard a scream and the sound of bone breaking.
Opening my senses, I looked for the archer and found him perched high up in the tree, notching another arrow. Rage consumed me and I didn’t even blink as I pointed my finger at the arrow embedded in the dirt. Raw power flowed through me as I whipped it around and sent the arrow flying at an impossible speed straight towards the archer.
The arrow didn’t lodge in his chest but blasted right through, leaving a gaping hole. I watched dispassionately as he fell from the tree with a thud.
Odin was limping from a bleeding leg wound, but was still able to swing his axe with nimble dexterity, beheading his foe. Fenri was fast and deadly as he fought off two attackers. Rushing in, I engaged one of them and saw Fenri’s shocked face as I blocked a deadly downward thrust. I showed no mercy as I kicked the man between the legs, and smirked as I wondered what Kael would think of that move.
As the man crouched over and grabbed his groin, I swung the handle of my sword and struck him in the temple as hard as I could. He crumpled to the ground and didn’t move. Moving through the battlegrounds towards my father, I wondered if I was now becoming hesitant about killing since I dispatched the archer so ruthlessly.
Come, I called and Faraway ran to me. I swung up on his back and raced over to Bearen, who had moved farther and farther away from us and was now kneeling on the ground clutching his chest. The grey wolf stood in front of him, hackles raised, teeth barred in challenge at the ugly attacker with a short sword who was trying to dance around the wolf to get to Bearen.