SWNOVELS Chapter 1 Hope
I wandered past countless trees. I felt empty. I don’t remember how I got there, I found myself in the living room. Robin looked at me as if she saw into my soul. She stepped up to me, grabbed the back of my neck, and pressed her forehead to mine. “The moon as spoken, she whispers to me. Hope. HOPE! Quinn will be whole! Come! Run!” Robin yanked my hand and dashed to the back door. My heart soared; there was hope for Quinn! I barely had time to breathe before Robin tore into the night, her body shifted to a wolf on the fly. I flung my clothes away and urged my wolf to come forward. My body snapped and cracked. Fur sprouted on my limbs. My shiny wolf body rocketed after Robin and howled happily.
I chased Robin as she raced through the woods, dodged trees, leapt ditches, and pounced through puddles. I tried to avoid the puddles if I could. Robin howled joyously, I could tell she enjoyed the long run. We ran as fast as we could, the wind in our fur felt glorious. Animals scurried away from us as we disrupted their sleep. Robin slid to an abrupt halt. She sat down at the mouth of a cave. I turned hard and barely missed her. I smacked into a tree, the impact knocked the wind out of me. Robin whimpered. I slowly stood up and shook out my fur. I cocked my head to the side questioningly and she barked enthusiastically. I growled at the dark cave as if to warn whatever was inside to not mess with me.
I listened for any sounds from deep within the cave, all I heard was the faint echo of my growl. I looked at Robin, I tossed my head and hoped she would go back home. She lifted her voice in a howl and pranced off into the woods. I swallowed hard, this cave was unbelievably creepy. I could feel something dangerous, something powerful inside. The cure to Quinn’s poison was in there too. I whimpered softly and padded carefully into the darkness. It wasn’t too dark, my eyes quickly adjusted and I began to see more clearly. The superb night vision was a clever perk of the werewolf curse. I explored deeper and deeper into the cave. I could hear water drip from stalactites. The air began to cool and become stale. I realized I was on a downward path.
I turned a corner. The tunnel opened up into a ginormous cavern. The ceiling was easily one hundred feet high. The sides of the cavern were at least that far apart if not a bit farther. The size of the cavern wasn’t nearly as exciting as what was in the middle. There was a building in the center of the cavern. It looked like a temple from a long-forgotten time. I lifted my nose and tried to catch a scent. All I caught was a dank, musty cave smell. The temple vibrated with an unusual power, it was similar to my Alpha power but it felt different, like a different type of alpha creature was hidden deep inside. It felt strangely ominous yet comfortable. I knew I wasn’t in danger not until I made myself a threat to whatever was inside.
I gingerly set foot through the temple archway. I picked up a new scent, old, rocky, something like fresh rain. How did fresh rain get down here? The outer courtyard was mostly empty. Three statues spotted the courtyard. They held defensive postures, or assertive lunges. These creatures looked like something out of a fairy tale, great curved horns sprouted from their heads, and some had forked tongues like snakes. They all had massive wings, either tucked tightly behind their backs or spread wide. They looked humanoid but not quite, along with their wings, horns, and forked tongues. Their hands had three fingers, each finger had a razor-sharp talon.
I passed these statues and wandered through the door. There was another statue in this room. This statue was a bit smaller than the other three but had similar features. It held a tablet propped on its chest and a stone flower in one hand. My wolf brain saw the words as human words but couldn’t read them. I phased back to my human shape and gazed at the words and read them aloud, “When the words are spoken, they will awaken and protect those who spoke. When the words are spoken, they will arise with power and guard the one who still slumbers.” Suddenly there was a loud crack followed by rumbles as huge stone chunks fell to the ground. Powerful roars echoed throughout the courtyard. I ducked behind the statue in front of me and peered around it. A gravelly voice bounced off the rocky walls, “I can smell you human.” A second voice chimed in, “That’s no human, it smells wrong.” A third voice barked, “Silence you two. Let’s not frighten this being, for they awoke us from our cursed slumber.”
My mind raced and tried to make sense of this. I was so confused.
“Goliath, light your torch, it’s hard to see,” the second voice begged. “Some creature of the night you are,” the first voice mocked. “Enough! Simeon, you’re acting like a hatchling, stop patronizing her! Patience Cordelia, let me get my bearings.” The third voice was rich with authority. My curiosity got the better of me. The sound of stone scrape against stone tickled my ears, I followed it to the doorway which led to the courtyard. I ducked behind the wall and peeked through the doorway. The scraping sound turned out to be flint and steel. The sparks danced, swirled, and caught the torch on fire. I shied away from the bright light and willed my eyes to adjust.
I slowly drifted forward into the yellow-orange light. “Ah, there you are,” the one called Goliath purred. “She looks human enough,” the smaller one known as Simeon croaked. “Use your nose Rocks-for-Brain,” chided the middle-sized creature called Cordelia. “Peace you two. Worse than hatchings you are,” Goliath rumbled. My eyes traveled up and down each of the creatures, “What are you?” I murmured. Goliath straightened as best as he could. “I am known as Goliath,” he addressed me grandly. “These are Cordelia,” he waved to the creature closest to me. “And Simeon.” He motioned to the one between him and Cordelia. “We are gargoyles.” I was at a loss for words. “Ummm hi. I am Reese. I’m a werewolf.” “I knew it!” Cordelia cheered. Simeon moaned in defeat. Goliath growled and both the smaller gargoyles quieted immediately.
“Greetings Reese. We are honored to make your acquaintance.” I smiled slightly uncomfortable. “Nice to meet you too.” Simeon cocked his head to the side and studied me, “When are we? Why aren’t you wearing anything?” Cordelia snapped into action, she spread her wings and covered me from sight. She growled at Simeon harshly. “Don’t show your ignorance, Simeon. It is known that when a werewolf switches forms, their garments are often ruined.” I nodded, “Yes that’s right. But it’s, I’m used to it.” She held her wing firmly in place. I noticed the gargoyles were wearing patches of cloth covering their groins and Cordelia’s chest. I also observed their skin had different hues of color. Goliath had gray skin with a hint of purple, and Simeon had dark gray almost black skin that glinted red. Cordelia’s skin was a light gray with hues of blue.
The gargoyles were beautiful. It took a few minutes to organize my thoughts. “I was told that I would find a cure for wolfsbane poisoning here. Do you know what it might be?” A sad look of longing darkened Goliath’s eyes. “Beyond that doorway, is my mate, Lilith. She holds what you seek. She has been cursed to remain encased in stone until we can find a mage and collect the ingredients to break the aforementioned curse.” I was puzzled, “The flower in her hand. It must be the cure. Why is she holding it?” Goliath sounded ancient when he replied, “Not only is it her favorite flower, but its petals were said to make the most restorative tea. This flower is the last of its kind as far as we know.”
“Forgive us, Reese. The sun is rising.” The gargoyles’ skin lost its colorful hue and they stood painfully still. “Goliath,” I murmured. “Can you hear me?” There was no answer. I gently brushed his arm, it was cold as stone. They all were cold. They had turned back into statues. I must have lost my marbles. This was insane. Gargoyles couldn’t be real. All I knew was that I was beyond exhausted and needed sleep. It was rather chilly in the cavern. I suffered through the painful transition to my wolf form, curled up in a ball, and went to sleep.