The First King

Prew sat on the ground, surrounded by papers and a few maps. She furrowed her brows before scribbling an idea onto one of the parchments. It had been several days since they had been at the Black Shadow Keep, and in that time, they had crossed over the Gantawa Range, passed Lucent Depths, and met with the Wildfang pack. Now, they sat about thirty miles south of The Twin Mountains, a large vampire keep.

Callum, the Alpha of the Wildfangs, had two dozen warriors patrolling the area around the castle. Reports had been gradually coming in, with the number of vampires totaling over a hundred. They had not escaped yet to Thresnora, but Prew knew it would not be long before they left. She scratched her head, thinking through the potential options.

With a sigh, Prew looked up from the map she had been staring at. Alder and Rowan were sitting around a fire, cooking up rabbits that she had killed. Sofia was nearby, sitting with her legs crossed and her eyes closed. The four of them and the rest of her army were stopped for a midday break. They had been on the move for five hours, starting earlier in the morning before dawn. But Prew was anxious. Knowing that the vampires were still there excited her, but at the same time, she feared that it would be a repeat of a few days ago. The plan was to reach The Twin Mountains by this time tomorrow, attacking when the sun was at its highest point. So much could happen in a day; the vampires could all leave. What would 24 wolves do to stop 100 or more vampires?

Prew let out a heavy scowl as she lay back on the ground. Sofia opened one of her eyes, turning her attention to the woman before her.

"What is on your mind, Your Majesty?" She inquired curiously.

"Everything!" Prew yelled as she dramatically held up her arms. "I am worried, excited, anxious, and afraid. Every conceivable emotion is flowing through my body, overwhelming me. I can't think straight, and I don't think I've slept more than two hours in a row."

"If you'd like, I can use magic to make you sleep. Perhaps it would help to relax you?"

"If I am asleep, then nothing will get done. There is so much to do, and I feel that if I don't plan for every scenario, then we might fail."

"You act as if you must be the one to do everything," Sofia remarked as she looked at Prew with a hint of pity. "You are surrounded by so many bright minds and experienced fighters. There is no reason you have to do it all. Listening to others and having them help you will only make you a better leader."

"Or will I look weak because I am a woman, allowing for the men around me to make decisions on my behalf?" Prew countered with a frown.

"The people that would think you are weak are the very same people who rely on you for protection. They will never admit that they need your help, but without you, they would surely die. The kings that look down upon you, upon me, because we are women, are the ones who are truly weak. But their pride keeps them from admitting it. They would rather die on their hills of arrogance, and you know what? Let them. You are better than those men. And not only that, but you have the support and the love of many more who don't think you are weak. Relying on others won't change the minds of the wolves, witches, and humans who follow you. So, take a break. Let someone else plan our route or choose our course of action. You still have a voice, a say in all of this. You won't be relinquishing your power because you gave someone else the ability to have a say."

"Uh... Prew?" Rowan gasped. Prew sat up, turning to look at him. He was not facing her, but she could see he had gone white. She turned her gaze, trying to find what he was staring at. In the distance, a faint red line floated in the air.

"Something's wrong," Prew uttered as she rose to her feet. Red in the sky meant that Konrad's group had used their signal. A new wave of fear washed over her body, sending a cold shiver down her spine.

"Take my wolves!" Alder shouted as he stood.

"What?" She had not heard him, though his voice was loud. All that Prew could hear was her heart thumping, echoing within her ears. Alder walked over to her, grabbing her shoulders roughly.

"Go get on that beast of yours, take my wolves, and go," he instructed firmly.

"But... The Twin-"

"Prew! What is more important? The vampires or Konrad?" Alder interrupted.

"Konrad," she whispered as she glanced up at him.

"Then go! I'll handle the vampires."

"But what about you? I can't take all of your warriors," Prew argued as she furrowed her brows. Her mind was finally registering what he was saying.

"I'll send one of the humans back to fetch Callum and the rest of his warriors," Alder replied as he finally released her shoulders. "The two of us will handle the vampires. Once we are done, we will join up with you and Konrad."

"Alright," Prew conceded before releasing a deep exhale.

After taking a moment to compose herself, she whistled for her horse. Meeka came trotting up, followed closely behind by dozens of wolves, all shifted and ready to go. Alder cupped his hands, offering for Prew to use him as leverage to climb onto her horse. With no time to argue, she placed her foot on his hands and mounted onto Meeka. After adjusting her position, Prew glanced over, noticing Rowan was still sitting on the ground, eyes still fixated on the red smoke.

"Rowan! Say your incantation and shift!" She commanded, rousing him from his frozen state. He turned to her, his eyes darkened with anger. With a curt nod of his head, he said his words and shifted into his wolf.

"Hold up!" Sofia called out as she rode up on her own horse. Running up beside her was another witch.

"This better be good," Prew scowled.

"Y-your Majesty," the young witch stuttered as she curtsied to Prew. "I-I-I have been working on combining several healing spells that help the heart and lun-"

"To the point!" Prew interjected harshly.

"Esther has been working on a spell to make our horses and the wolves maintain their top running speed without becoming exhausted," Sofia stated quickly.

"The only problem is, if you come to a complete stop, the spell breaks," Esther added.

"But it'll allow for us to push without having to slow down?" Prew inquired with a mixture of curiosity and desperation in her voice.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Do it."

The young woman stepped up, placing her hand on Meeka's neck. The horse snorted, but Prew yanked firmly onto his mane, doing her best to keep him steady. The witch let out a shaky breath as she closed her eyes. Her hand began to glow as she concentrated her magic.

"Varay cuso quaire ateniyi centuoauin."

Meeka's breath deepened as his heart began to race. His feet stomped the ground as the urge to run surged through his body. Esther looked up to Prew as she stepped back.

"Remember, don't stop until you get there," the witch stated as she moved to Sofia's horse. She repeated the same incantation, only slightly changing one of the words when she moved on to the wolves. Once everyone had the spell coursing through their veins, they took off.

Meeka took the lead, his legs pushing him faster than he had ever gone before. He did not need any encouragement or kicks from Prew. The spell controlled his body, calming his heart and expanding his lungs. Even after running for several miles, his coat only had a slight hint of perspiration. Prew glanced at her side, watching as the wolves ran alongside her horse. Though they were faster than Meeka, they did their best not to go past her.

Every so often, Prew would look up into the sky. The red smoke slowly faded as the wind carried it through the air. Konrad's exact location was unknown to them, but they knew he was East. Her eyes left the sky as they scanned the horizon. Since they were far from the Gantawa Range, the land here was flat, with the occasional hill. It allowed for her to see a greater distance, but much to her dismay, she did not spot anyone. Prew had hoped that she would be able to see the fighting, or even dark witches, anything that would help lead her to Konrad.

Prew's legs grew sore from the constant galloping. Never once had Meeka run this hard for this long. At the very least, it seemed that he was not feeling the same soreness that she was. It amazed her that a few, incoherent set of words could be so useful. Her whole life, Prew had been taught that witches weren't friendly and that magic could hurt you. But, at the same time, she was taught that wolves were arrogant, vicious creatures. Sure, they were arrogant but vicious? Not once had she encountered a wolf who fit that word. Even Alder, who was aggressive, had his soft moments.

Prew's head shot up at the sound of a wolf growling. She looked over, noticing Rowan sniffing the air intently as he ran. What she did not know was that he suddenly started to hear mind links. With him traveling far from the other pack members, Rowan could not hear from anyone. Mind links, though a necessary form of communication for wolves, only worked so far. But now, with the sudden realization that he could hear them, it meant they were close. It only took a few sniffs of the air for Rowan to catch the scent of blood.

His wolf began to speed up, leading the way toward a thick forest. Prew bit her lip as they neared the tree line. The wolves would be able to maneuver through the thick brush with ease, but not the horses. Meeka would need to slow down, at the risk of breaking the spell. But Prew had to trust that Rowan knew where he was going. He was her best hope at getting to Konrad.

On the other side of the woods, surrounded by a sea of black cloaks, was Nero. He stood on the edge of the magical barrier that protected him and the 11 others from Thresnora witches. Dark clouds and weapons bounced off the barrier like a bubble, unable to pierce it. Nero glanced back at Jude, but nothing had changed. The witch’s eyes were white, and his mouth moved, though no words were audibly spoken. Konrad could not comprehend what Jude was doing, nor did he care. He was the only reason they were still alive at this moment. But the barrier wasn’t going to hold much longer. Cracks were beginning to form, and the top looked as if it would crumble at any moment.

Nero’s head perked up as voices began to fill his head. His wolves were now close enough that he could hear their mind links. He turned back to the barrier, looking out to the dark witches. From what Konrad could see, they were all staring at him, unaware of the incoming wolves. Nero began to snarl as he paced the edge, snapping his jaws at any witch that made eye contact. It was all that he could do to keep their attention on him.

After a few minutes, though, it stopped working. The witches began to turn away from him as wolves approached from the woods. Nero pawed at the barrier, ready to get out to fight, but it was not coming down. He turned to Jude, realizing he was unaware of what was happening outside their bubble. The wolf hurried to the witch and nuzzled against his leg. With a gasp, Jude’s eyes returned to normal, and he dropped his hands. In doing so, the barrier fell, exposing them to the dark witches. Jude glanced at Nero with concern before looking up as the sounds of fighting filled the air.

Dozens upon dozens of wolves were attacking the witches, followed closely behind by human soldiers on horses. With the barrier down, Nero ran from his small group to join in the fight. He lunged upwards, slamming into the back of a witch. As the person fell forward onto the ground, the wolf dug his claws into the witch's shoulders. The man screamed out in pain, attracting the attention of several other witches.

A burst of dark magic rammed into Nero, knocking him off the witch. The wolf rolled onto the ground before landing on his side. Konrad scowled as a searing pain went across his left shoulder. Nero kicked his legs, attempting to stand back up, but a male witch jumped onto him. A silver chain was quickly wrapped over his snout, preventing the wolf from biting at the man.

Konrad and Nero both began to struggle in unison as the witch held them firmly to the ground. The skin around their mouth sizzled as the silver dug into the fur. Konrad’s heart began to race as the memories of his parents being dragged away filled his vision. They were taken away, their bodies tortured before they were cruelly decapitated. And now, as he felt himself being dragged across the ground, it was his turn. He did not want this, but they were binding his feet, taking away his ability to escape.

Konrad yelled over mind link, but it was too chaotic. No one could hear him over the rest. As he continued to fight against the witch's hold, his body began to grow heavy, and his mind became clouded. They were doing something to him, causing him to lose consciousness. With a sigh, his head fell to the ground with a thud. At this point, he was resigned to his fate. Through blurry vision, he could see a large, golden horse rush to him. And for a moment, it looked as if it was Prew.

Prew…

In his final moments, his mind had thought of her, creating illusions of her in his vision. Even the smell of blueberries filled his nose. It all seemed so real, as if she were here. Even the way she shot off an arrow, landing it into the witch that stood above him, felt lifelike. The gasp of pain, the smell of the blood, it was… so realistic.