Shadows Lurking

November 4th, 2005 – Friday, 4:15pm

“I’m sorry, Rylan, but there is no other way around it.” Kerum places a stone down on the stone table between us. “John Bastil and Percy Marsh have both made it clear that a rune-made tether would work best to help improve your situation. And I agree with them.”

“And what about what I want?”

His eyes flutter closed before sighing out, “Your opinion does matter, but not in this case. I am truly sorry, but controlling your anger is much more important than making you comfortable.”

“Because you’re worried I’ll kill someone else, right?”

Kerum says nothing, only stares at the stone laying on the table. The silence is deafening, the only answer I really needed.

There’s shuffling from behind me and Mattheo begins talking to Kerum. “If this is about the accidental experiment that James and I did yesterday, we’ll clean up your office.” He stands next to me. “And Rylan had nothing to do with it.”

“Nice of you to join us, Mister King.” Kerum smiles fondly at the boy. “Although I have no clue what experiment you are referring to, I am more than sure that Lenora will inform me of the incident in the next hour or so.” He shakes his head. “So, with that being said, detention for you and Mister Sutton both.”

“Dang it,” Mattheo grumbles.

The professor then turns our attention to the stone. “Here is an experiment I have been working on, on my own, as of late. Your assistance, Mister King, is needed for this experiment to work.”

“Anything you need, Professor.” Mattheo salutes the man while giving his charming, yet sarcastic smile.

“I shall need you to create the rune symbol on this here hexstone.” Kerum scoots the stone closer towards us. “It can only be you to create it.”

“W-Why?” Mattheo seems unsure now. “What is it for?”

“It’s for me,” I admit. “The tether.”

“Through a hexstone?” Mattheo suddenly seems angered. “Have you- Professor, with all due respect, Rylan is a person- A living, breathing person- not some object that you can place a hexen on. We have no idea what something like this could-”

“We do, Mister King.” Kerum reaches across and places Mattheo’s hand over the stone, prompting him to complete the task. “There have been cases in our history where hexen’s much like the one you are about to create have been used on people- Living, breathing people.”

Mattheo stares at his hand as it hovers over the stone. “What happened to those people?”

“They were left unharmed by the runes.”

My skin crawls as Mattheo’s eyes meet mine. He seems torn now; between helping me and endangering me.

“What’s your take on this?” He asks me.

“My opinion doesn’t matter, or so I’m told.” I send Kerum a glare. “But if it will help make sure that I don’t shift and hurt someone, then I’m all for it.”

Mattheo sighs now. “Fine, I’ll do it. Show me what I’m creating.”

Kerum then walks the boy through each step to create the tether rune. The once blank, grey stone now holds four lines in it, all created by Mattheo’s own claw. Three of them create a K shape while the last line was used as a circle to encase the letter. Each stroke, Mattheo had to say something in a different language.

“Now, Mister Evans only needs to create his own mark on the stone.” Kerum pushes the stone closer towards me. “Use only three line and create an E out of Mister King’s K, please.”

Doing as I’m told, I carve the first part, then second, then the third part of the E. Mattheo’s K now looks like a disfigured hourglass with a line coming out of the middle of it. The stone’s curvatures begin glowing and I take a step back. The last time one was glowing, and I was close, I nearly lost all hearing.

“It is ready,” Kerum hums. “Mattheo, please grab the hexstone and place it in Rylan’s hand.”

With his left hand, Mattheo lifts the stone, seeming nervous as it emits a brighter glow, and gently places it in my shaking right hand. Within seconds the stone begins to glow even brighter while emitting a low hum. My hand becomes weighted and a searing pain spreads through it and up my arm. Dropping the stone, Mattheo can also be heard gasping and groaning in pain while holding his own hand that had been touching the stone.

Something is happening inside of me. I can feel it. Just under my skin, directly around my neck, something unnerving is moving. Grabbing at my neck, my hands tremble at the choking grip of whatever is on it. It’s as if I’ve been shackled, only this time, on my neck like a dog.

Finally, the choking eases up and I’m left on my hands and knees, panting from the sheer force of whatever that was. Glancing up, I notice Mattheo on his butt, his hands shake as he stares at the left one in confusion. His eyes trail until they meet my face and his own morphs into anger and disgust.

Standing on his feet, Mattheo begins shouting at Professor Kerum. “What were you thinking? You didn’t hear a word I said! He’s a person! Not some lap dog!”

Patting around on my neck, I feel nothing out of the ordinary, but there is still a burning and slight choking sensation.

“W-What happened to me?” I ask aloud. Neither of them seems to want to answer me, so I ask louder, “What did you do to me, old man?”

I can hear his throat clearing before he explains, “In order to be under the control of another, you needed to be... contained.”

“Collared,” Mattheo seethes. “He collared you like a measly dog.”

“It is far from being collared, Mister King,” Kerum argues. “Rylan is still free to make his own choices and has freewill, this is more of a precaution should he become less in control of himself.”

Heat spreads through me just as the pain had. Collared like a dog.

“I wanted help!” I shout while gripping blades of grass between my elongated claws. Heat sears away any chill that had been left in my body from the crisp autumn air. “I never wanted this! I never wanted to be controlled like some- some animal!”

I can feel it around my neck, tight and disgusting.

“I- I trusted you! I never wanted- I didn’t-“ There’s pain in my legs as the bones begin cracking and moving underneath my skin. Panic erupts in my chest. I’m shifting. “Ah! Stop!”

“Now would be the appropriate time to use your tether,” Kerum hums from somewhere at my side.

“No,” Mattheo growls. “You heard him. I’m not going to treat him like a dog.”

“The tether, Mister King.” Kerum sounds worried now.

“I think you mean leash,” Mattheo counters.

There’s another round of bone breaking in my lower back, and it causes me to collapse, growing exhausted. The ground blurs as my breathing becomes ragged. Creaking can be heard overhead from the lamp as it slowly sways. The light flickers in and out so much that I’m convinced it’s my vision blinking in and out.

“Are you ready to behave?” Noah growls out.

My head shakes defiantly despite the burning my ankles. He’s been trying to break me for days, but I won’t do it. If there’s anything that has always been consistent with me over the years he’s been doing this, it’s that I’ve never given in. I’ll take my stubbornness with me to the grave.

He growls once more before kicking out. Another snap and my knee buckles this time. The chains on the wall hold me tightly, stretching my arms out way above my head, causing a strain in my already sore shoulders.

“I’ll give you one more chance, boy.” Noah then unlocks the chain on my right wrist, causing me to dangle halfway off the wall. “Are you going to behave?” He unlocks the left and I’m face first on the concrete of the basement floor.

“Just kill me,” I barely whimper.

Noah’s snarl is loud as he kicks out, connecting with my stomach. The familiar churning of heat and something sour spreads from my lower belly and up into my throat. His kicks have always been rough, but these are damaging.

“Fight it or accept it.” He leans down and his breath reeks of alcohol. “There is no in between.”

There’s a jolt of some type of electrical current and I’m slammed against the ground on my back, the air leaves from my lungs. The sky above me is a darker blue while gray clouds begin leaking. Small pitter patters of rain tap against my face as I heave. The invisible collar around my throat is tighter than before, heavier as well.

Mattheo pants from somewhere close by and Kerum can be heard ushering whispering students back to the school. I must’ve shifted or attempted to. Mattheo’s little tether thing must’ve brought me out of it.

Something rough in material, but cool, is draped over my shaking naked body. Mattheo’s face comes into view. His eyes are wide, and his black hair hangs down over his face and shoulders, loose from its rubber band, and clinging wet to his forehead.

“I- I’m so sorry, Rylan.” His forehead rests on my bare shoulder now. “I didn’t want to use it, but you went after the others-“ His voice falters and he makes a choking noise. “I had to. I’m so sorry.”

I nearly attacked the other students. There would have been more names to add to the list of people that I have hurt or murdered. James, Mattheo, Corey- They could’ve been one of those names if it hadn’t been for the tether Kerum made us create.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, I lean away from Mattheo so that our eyes meet. “Thank you.” He stares down at me in shock. “I would’ve- Thanks.”

It takes a moment, but he finally gives a small smile and nods. “We’ll get through this, together.”

“Together,” I agree.

It will take practice and a lot of getting used to, but with Mattheo helping me stay in control, I could avoid moments like this- Waking up naked after nearly murdering innocent people. Having this rune made tether, this leash and collar, is the only way to be in control right now. And that’s something that I severely lack.

Fight it or accept it, huh, Noah? Well, I choose to fight it this time. No more will I sit and accept the crap hand I’ve been dealt. I’ll fight until this stupid collar is ripped off and the leash has snapped in half. Anything to gain control back over myself in some way.

November 12th, 2005 – Saturday, 1:15pm

Kerum lays another twenty-pound bag down thirty feet from where I’m standing. He stands next to it, confidently waiting for me to tell him what color dot has been placed on the middle of the bag. We’ve been doing this for nearly an hour and he’s yet to grow tired of it.

“I’m waiting, Mister Evans.” His hands are laced in front of him, and he has a cheesy grin on his face.

“Shouldn’t old people like you take naps on the weekends?” I shout to him.

I can make out the widening of his smile even from this far away, but he still doesn’t answer. This has been happening for a couple weeks now. We’ll train and then I’ll study with Amaya and Minnie, then the boys will drag me out of bed to complete a prank. It’s a never-ending cycle.

The tightness around my throat is evidence of the collar that was put there last weekend, another constant. The entire school knows that I shifted and nearly attacked a group of first years in the courtyard, but none of them know about the tether. The only ones aware of it are Kerum, the boys, and Amaya. I had to confide in someone after nearly breaking down once I had a moment to myself. She found me and talked me through it, the panic attack.

There is no strain now as I use my Lycan vision to make out the color dot in the bag. “Yellow. Can I go now?”

Kerum looks between me and the bag before shaking his head. “I wonder if he could do more than thirty feet,” he mumbles to himself. He then shouts, “All good here. Come collect the bags and place them in the storage shed then you’re free to roam with your classmates.”

As I’m walking towards him, there’s a thundering of feet approaching us. No, not feet, paws. Standing at the edge of the woods is a pack of seven wolves. At the front of the pack, a black wolf stands tall with its chest puffed out. Even in wolf form he still has this arrogant air about him, Phineas Finley.

Shifting back down, he’s now older version of his son; blonde, annoying, and evil. “Kerum.” He nods towards the professor before asking in his nasally voice, “Has the council came to a decision involving the invalid?”

“Phineas-” Kerum steps more in front of me as he confronts the man. “Surely you have more important matters to deal with. Why must you concern yourself with the academy’s affairs?”

“I believe we both know why, old friend. Should I take over as headmaster, I would need to know everything there is to know about these students. Even little invalids like this one.” Phineas’ eyes narrow on me now. “Rylan Evans, yes?”

“In the flesh.” I don’t let my eyes leave his. Looking away is a sign of weakness. “Phineas Finley, right?”

“So, you’ve heard of me.” He says it with no surprise in his tone.

“Nothing I can repeat,” I admit, letting my smirk grow.

Kerum clears his throat while ushering me towards the bags. “I think it best to put your training bags away, Mister Evans. Phineas and I have much to discuss.” He then mutters, “Mainly his delusions of taking over the academy.”

It’s hard to miss the smirk that Kerum is attempting to wipe from his lips as he ushers me away from the group of large men. The idea of Phineas Finley becoming the headmaster of Rienridge is enough to make someone rip their own hair out. The coward of a man seems to openly take pleasure in attempting to downgrade me in front of everyone. All it would take is just one little anger session with him and he’d quickly back off of me, but Mattheo says it would make things look worse on me with the council.

The two twenty-pound bags seem heavier now on each shoulder as I grow closer to the shed. The less angry I am the less power I seem to have. Keeping my emotions in check really is the only way to keep everyone around me safe.

The bags slip from my shoulders, causing me to groan in discomfort. Stupid bags nearly dislocated them.

“Look at the little invalid.” Finley’s voice is irritating enough without the humming behind it. “Seems Father was right to be worried about you not being a true Lycan.”

“Look at him struggle to hold his little bags,” Wilson taunts from Finley’s left.

Gratt stands on the other side of Finley with a small smirk. “Must be a bit too heavy for the poor kid.”

Cracking my neck from side to side, I let their words roll right between my aching shoulder blades. “How are things, Finley? Still changing bandages?”

The blonde’s face contorts. “Fully healed, mutt.” Clearly, I’ve struck a nerve. “As for you, whatever it is you’ve been doing to get your strength, we will find out.”

“Yeah, and you’ll be reported to the council,” Gratt warns.

They still think that I’ve been taking some kind of drug or using hexen’s to boost my strength and win against Finley. I can only assume now that Finley hasn’t told them about how weak he truly is while human. We’ll need to keep it that way or Faye could get in a lot of trouble at home, according to how terrified she was about me finding out the truth.

“Report me then,” I counter. “I could care less. You know, while you’re at it, why don’t you mention the little secret trips you three have been taking off campus as well.”

Fear strikes all three of their faces and it’s as if I’ve won the lottery. My suspicions were correct then. They’ve been leaving and going into town or somewhere close by. None of us are allowed to leave campus without special permission and an adult escort. Flecther’s dad is high up in the ranks and it would probably not end well for the kid if his dad found out that he’s been breaking the rules.

“You don’t know anything, Evans,” Finley practically spits.

I quirk a brow at him. “I think I do, Finley. And I think your father just might believe me.”

His gaze darkens now as he steps to move forward. There’s a quick blur of movement, something splotched in dark colors. The moving ball of fur runs back between us and knocks Finley backwards. The blonde falls onto his back and begins scrambling towards the other two boys. All three of them look terrified as they look around for the culprit, but there’s no one in sight.

“W-Who’s there?” Wilson’s voice shakes.

Finley shouts from the ground, “Show yourself!”

The blur then darts back once more before knocking Leslie Wilson onto his back. The boys scramble around once more before it comes darting back and does the same to Connor Gratt. Now, all three boys are knocking one another over trying their best to get away from the invisible force.

Finley glances over his shoulder at me, standing alone on the practice field by the shed. “I hope the shadow hound tears you mutts apart!”

Finally, all three boys have made their way back to the school and I’m left feeling both confused and satisfied. I’m almost sure that one of them had wet themselves.

The air around me begins whipping around until there’s a blur of grey, brown, and white circling me like a tornado. The air has almost left my lungs by the time the blur comes to a full-stop just in front of me. A tall wolf, grey with twinges of brown in its coat along with two front paws painted white, stands with its chest puffed out and panting from the tornado display.

Mattheo and James come rushing up towards us, both laughing as they high-five one another. The wolf in front of me begins prancing from one paw to the other is a show of excitement.

“Nice one, Corey!” Mattheo cheers.

“Brilliant speed as always,” James compliments.

The wolf- Corey- dips his head in a display of bowing. His ears swivel every few seconds and his nose twitches uncontrollably. Corey’s nose nudges against my face and I fling myself back away from him. His ears tuck against his skull, showing he’s sorry for the ambush. My cheek is cold and wet from the touch, but I’m not as angry as I thought I would be.

I look back towards Mattheo and James. “Would it be rude to pet him?”

Both seem to be too stunned to answer. There’s another nudging, against my arm this time. Corey’s wet nose tucks against the inside crease of my elbow and he huffs out.

A chuckle escapes my lips before I can stop it. “I guess that’s a no.”

Reaching out a steady hand, I let my fingers tangle in the grey fur. He’s softer than I thought he would be. The fur just on top of the surface is like a blanket, but underneath, the fur is coarse and rough, much like a real wolf.

Corey’s body slowly crackles and shudders until he’s standing on two legs with a toothy grin. “Did ya’ like the performance?”

A louder chuckle escapes this time. “I did. Maybe next time, though, go a little easier when tossing them around.”

He tilts his head from side to side before humming out, “We’ll see.”

“So, what all happened with Finley?” Mattheo asks.

“Which one?” I rebut.

Corey’s eyes widen. “You mean Finley senior?”

I nod. “He made an appearance during my training with Kerum. He mentioned something about taking over the school soon.”

“Doubtful,” James snorts. “That maniac has been saying he’s the academy’s future since before our first year. No way would that happen.”

“Yeah, as long as Kerum’s alive, he’s the headmaster,” Mattheo offers.

“Hey, before he ran off, Finley mentioned something about a shadow hound-” I look between the boys. “What’s a shadow hound?”

The remembrance of those smoke tendrils where the man had died and the shadows that had been haunting my dreams cause sweat to trickle down the back of my neck. The boys look almost a bit nervous to answer, but Corey finally breaks.

“Well, there’s a bit of legend about them.”

“Them?” I question. “As in, there being more than one shadow hound?”

Mattheo sighs now. “Yeah, but they’re a legend for a reason- No one’s ever seen one.”

“Yes, they have.” Corey puffs his chest out now, clearly offended. “Darren did. He told me himself that he seen one, just outside of Virginia.”

“When did he tell you that-” James circles Corey now playfully. “Was it before or after he got thrown in the looney bin?”

With unshed tears, Corey huffs and walks away from the three of us. Mattheo sends James a deadly glare he normally gives me when I unknowingly hurt Corey’s feelings. James throws his hands up while laughing a bit.

“Come on, Matt.” He motions towards Corey’s retreating form. “You know just well as I do that Darren has as much credibility as a blind man. Only a fool would believe him.”

“Walk. Away.” There’s a certain danger behind Mattheo’s words. “Now, James.”

James stares at his friend now in disbelief. There’s almost like an unspoken conversation taking place. Mattheo seems to win as James finally sighs before walking off towards our crying friend.

The tension in the air follows after James, leaving Mattheo and I in a much calmer atmosphere. His black hair is pulled back today, showing off his two stud earrings. His grey sweater and dark-wash jeans are nothing special compared to his normal attire, but the bright yellow nail polish is new.

“So, the shadow hounds?” I ask him.

He nods while explaining, “Legend says that back in the day, when our own parents were in school, there was this guy. He had gone crazy with the idea that black furs were the only ones that should be considered Lycan’s and that anything less than that should be servants. He went so far as to murder some grey and brown furs to make himself stronger.”

“Stronger- How would killing people make someone stronger?”

“Good question.” Mattheo motions for me to follow him towards the school. “You see, the legend says that this guy had found a way to rip someone’s wolf from them, killing them in the process and inhaling the wolf. No one believes it, of course. It’s just an old scary story that parents told their kids so they wouldn’t play outside after dark.” He then pretends to be a doting parent. “Come inside before the lights come on, kids, or Lorcan will steal your wolf.”

I stop in my tracks. “L-Lorcan.”

“Yeah, that’s what his name was, allegedly.”

The sweat that had been slowly trickling down my neck is back, but now it’s streaming down my shoulder blades and down my spine. The hair on my body is standing at attention. What if the man isn’t a scary story- What if Lorcan is real?

Stealing someone’s wolf. I’m barely connected to mine and Kerum says it’s why I’m always feeling uncomfortable in my own body, so I couldn’t imagine having the thing ripped completely away from me.

“Rylan.” Mattheo grips my shoulders, forcing me to look at him. “It’s just a legend. There is no shadow hound and it’s not possible to rip a wolf from someone. That’s mad. Alright?”

He’s right. If something like that were possible then the students would’ve been warned about it beforehand. Right?