Page 33 of Ever Dark Academy: Volume 6

“Uhm, don’t you want to look for landmarks? Maybe that tree over there holds some memories,” Charlie offered.

“My sense of smell and hearing will help us best,” Ryder said without opening his eyes. “Not to mention any creatures here. They’ll lead us to where we need to go.”

He let his senses drift. There was the stink of the raw, wet earth and the green scent of the crushed long grass. On top of that was the minerally scent of water and rock. The fragrance of the trees wafted over to him on the wind. The smells of civilization were not present. They were far out in the wilderness.

He switched to his sense of hearing and listened to the rustling of the leaves. He let that drop away and searched for heartbeats. In a stroke of luck on one end, there were no large monsters nearby that could have attacked them, but there were plenty of small game. But they would not have the knowledge of where civilization was as they were prey animals that wouldn’t seek blood and flesh. He moved out further and found what he was looking for. He smiled.

“I don’t know if I like that smile, Ryder,” Fiona said with a touch of alarm. “What have you found?”

“A guide. This way.”

He was already turning and walking towards the west to a line of tall, silver-barked trees with dark green leaves that speared towards the night sky as those which he had found and called to him ran from the other direction. It emerged between two of the largest trunks, its ghostly white pelt glowing under the twin moons.

Charlie skidded to a stop, nearly landing on his butt, but Fiona caught him before he went down. “Is that–that a–”

“Dire Wolf. Three times as large as anything you’d see on Earth,” Ryder said.

The white wolf’s head reached his shoulders in height. It stood very still with blue-white eyes tracking him. They had flickered for a moment to Fiona and Charlie, but when it was certain they were no threat, it had focused once more on him.

“Is it friendly?” Charlie asked faintly.

“He’s Weryn, Charlie,” Fiona chided, but she didn’t sound altogether certain herself and they remained well behind him as he strode up to the magnificent beast.

When he was within five feet of it, the Dire Wolf lowered its entire front body and head. Ryder reached over and petted him, gripping the thick fur between his large ears, and making sounds of pleasure. The Dire Wolf let out soft huffs and then rolled over onto his back to expose his white, furry belly. Ryder got down on his haunches and rubbed the Dire Wolf’s underside with both hands. The Dire Wolf’s tongue lolled out and his eyes slid half shut with happiness.

Grayson would love this. If only he were here…

“Oh, my, he’s so cute. Can I–oh, no! No, sorry about that,” Charlie said, quickly snatching away his right hand that had gone to stroke the Dire Wolf’s belly.

The Dire Wolf’s eyes were focused upon the Mirryr Vampire. Charlie gave him a weak wave of his fingers. The Dire Wolf turned away from him and allowed Ryder to thump his sides before getting up on his legs again.

“Magnificent animal,” Fiona breathed. “But, forgive me, how is he going to lead us to a city?”

“Wolves always know where there is meat,” Ryder said as he scratched between the Dire Wolf’s ears.

“Ah, meat? Oh, you mean Vampires and humans… ah, yes, the Dire Wolf wants to eat us.” Charlie’s shoulders twitched. “How unsurprising.”

“Don’t like being prey, Charlie?” Ryder looked over his shoulder at the foppish Vampire.

Charlie sighed. “As a Mirryr, I’m rather used to it. Our power allows us to blend in, disappear, if you will. Fighting is rather pointless against other Vampires whose powers are far more martial than ours.”

“Mirryr was the Spy,” Ryder remembered. “They infiltrated our enemies and were often right by the leaders’ sides when they slit their throats.”

“Oh, yes, that was always quite fun.” When they looked over at Charlie, he amended, “I mean it sounds like fun. I did some of that kind of work in the World Wars for the Allies, you know.”

“I admit I stayed far away from those clashes. Not that a Black woman would have been seen as much of an asset or an enemy back then,” Fiona said with a shake of her head.

“Humans are ridiculous about those things. But, then again, most species are. Us versus them. Who is safe and who is not. Very useful to stir up trouble,” Charlie remarked. “Not that I think they should ever be forgiven for disrespecting you, Fifi.”

Ryder frowned. Where had he heard that before? The first part, not the last? He couldn’t quite remember. While he was completely himself, memories were still skittish. He’d lived mostly in the present anyways as Weryn, letting the past flow away like a river. Memories distracted from present inputs and were, therefore, dangerous. He stood up.

“Khos will lead us to the city that is nearest,” Ryder said.

“Khos? They have names? Or are you just naming him?” Fiona asked, perking up.

“They have names. This is the closest we can come to pronouncing them,” he said.

“How far is that city?” Charlie lifted one mud-encrusted foot up.