Chapter 16
JACOB
THE BLACK FOREST
Itried to warn her. Confound it, Ella shouldn’t be here in the first place.
It’s my fault for not sending her away, but selfishly, I wanted her to stay.
She clings to me, and her body shakes in my arms. It’s wrong and despicable, but all I notice are the soft folds of her body and how perfect she feels against my chest.
“Don’t just stand there!” Wilhelm yells at me. “Get your sword!”
The massive beast’s dark fur is transforming into the smooth skin of a lady with long red hair. It’s shocking, even for me.
Could this be Red Cap?
“She shouldn’t be seeing this.” Wilhelm waves his hands about with frustration.
“She has every right to know what’s happening in her forest,” I say.
Dirt smears Ella’s cheek, and despite the wolf’s blood on her, she smells of lavender and dreams of what could’ve been.
Her lips are trembling. I’m tempted to brush my finger over them, tell her I’ll protect her, but these thoughts will only lead to trouble.
Besides, for Wilhelm’s sake, I need to pull myself together and focus.
We’ve found our next story to write, and I’ve a brother to keep alive.
“What’s happening?” Ella demands. “How is this possible?”
“It appears as if the wolves in this forest are shapeshifters,” I explain, reluctantly releasing her. “Half-human, half-wolf.”
“Werewolves,” Wilhelm says bitterly, pulling out a leather-bound book and quill from his satchel.
Ella gasps. “If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I’d never believe you.”
The wolf-woman’s eyes flutter open. I press the tip of my sword to her neck, right where her mark as a Forbidden is located. “Don’t even consider moving,” I order. “You’ll answer our questions quickly and honestly, or I’ll happily kill you.”
Wilhelm glares at me. “Can we for once do this without threats?” he asks, clearly not happy with my tactics. I’m sure when we get back home, he’ll give me an earful.
“Wait!” Ella shouts, coming to the woman’s other side. “I know her.”
“You do?” I ask, startled.
“This is Scarlet, the baker’s daughter.” She crouches beside the woman.
“I wouldn’t get so close,” I warn, my muscles tensing. If this Forbidden so much as puts a scratch on Ella, by all that’s holy, the creature will pay.
“Ella,” Scarlet whispers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you. The wolf inside me made me do it.”
“Don’t believe it,” I warn.
Ella scowls at me. “It’s not an it. This is Scarlet, my friend. Is it safe to touch her?”
“No,” both Wilhelm and I say.
Of course, she ignores us. Promptly, she rips her own dress into strips and, with shaky hands, tries to stop the blood. “You’re treating her like she’s a monster.”
“Maybe because she is,” I point out. I don’t like where this is going.
“Please.” Scarlet’s eyes are cloudy. “Don’t tell anyone about this or about who I am.”
“How did this happen to you?” Ella presses. “Did someone make you this way?”
I glance at Wilhelm. He gives me a nod and then continues writing as fast as he can. Good. Maybe Ella can uncover some of Scarlet’s story for us.
“You should never have helped these men,” Scarlet scolds. “They’re the enemy.”
“Says the person who tried to kill you,” I half-growl.
“By working with them,” Scarlet continues, “you have angered the pack.”
“Angered the pack?” Ella’s voice hitches. “There are others like you? Are they the ones responsible for your mother’s death?”
“How do you know it wasn’t these two?” Scarlet’s eyes drift to me. A sinister smile twists on her lips.
Damn it, this is going foul fast. Ella leaps to her feet and drags me off to the side. I allow her, but keep a close eye on the monster.
“Is that true?” Ella demands. “Did you kill her mother?”
“What do you think?” I snap because even though I’m not the one who did the deed, I’m capable of it. And given the opportunity, I would do it. “You saw the battle. I was defending myself. She was attacking me, and, if you remember, she’d have ripped you to pieces if given the chance.”
Tears spring to Ella’s eyes. I hate that I’m the one to cause it.
“You’re right,” Ella whispers as if she doesn’t want to admit the truth.
I sigh. “I know she was your friend, but if we don’t find out what’s going on, more villagers are going to die. Will you help us get her story so we can stop this madness?”
She swallows hard, searching my face. Finally, she nods, face white as ash. “Yes. I’ll help you.”
“Thank you.” I lead her back to Scarlet’s side. “Why don’t you ask her some questions?”
Slowly and carefully, Ella quizzes Scarlet over locations and people until she gets Scarlet to admit that when her mother refused to join the pack, they killed her.
They were going to kill Scarlet next, but she decided to join them rather than die.
I stand by, ready to strike the creature while Wilhelm continues to write as fast as possible.
It’s amazing how easily Ella draws information out of the werewolf.
Perhaps my tactics are all wrong, or maybe it’s just Ella and her gentle spirit.
“But I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Scarlet says. I don’t like how much stronger her voice is. “You must believe me. Everything we do is for a greater purpose.”
“Who’s your leader?” I demand.
“I’ll tell you nothing.” Scarlet spits on my spurred boots. My glare deepens. “We’ve been watching you.”
My heart sinks. They were the ones who ransacked our house. How much do they know?
“This greater purpose,” Ella continues smoothly. “It sounds wonderful. Can you tell me about it?”
“Our lives are more than just existing,” Scarlet says eagerly, sitting up. I grip my sword steady, ready to pierce her skin. “We have a greater calling, and even though Mother died, her body was taken to the sacred grounds. Just like yours will be.”
In a rushing tide, her skin ripples. Bristles of fur break through. Her face contorts and her body twists, bones snapping and reshaping. Claws stretch out toward Ella as if to cut her.
I drive my sword straight through her heart. Wilhelm leaps to his feet and tosses me the ax. With a quick slice, I cut off the beast’s head.
Ella’s screams echo through the forest.
And then there’s silence. The three of us stare in shock as the beast returns to Scarlet’s body—beheaded.
I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.
“That went sour fast,” I say.
“No kidding.” Wilhelm lets out a long breath and wipes the sweat from his brow.
“She’s gone,” Ella says in a trembling voice. “She was evil and horrible, and yet I can only hope God took her soul. Is that wrong?”
“No, not at all,” I say. Because you still see the good in the world.
I unfurl the blanket I keep in my pack in case a Forbidden dies in front of humans and cover Scarlet.
Now I just need to get Ella away so Wilhelm can write “the end,” and she doesn’t discover who we really are.
I hate hiding the truth from her, but if she knew what we actually did, I doubt she’d be so ready to help us.
“I’ll escort Ella back home while you deal with the body,” I tell Wilhelm, who promptly lifts his eyebrows.
“Or I could take her back while you deal with the body.” Wilhelm grins.
Ella shudders and wraps her arms around herself.
“I don’t need any escorting, thank you.” She grimaces at her torn and bloodied skirts, and her face pales even more.
“Both of you have injuries that need tending to, and I can’t allow you to return to the village bleeding and soiled.
Stop by my house, and I’ll make sure your needs are met. ”
I walk her to her property line, intending on declining her invitation, but the words just don’t seem to come out before she stiffly marches across the field to her home. I watch her go, amazed at her inner strength.
“Did you forget our rule about getting too close to the locals?” Wilhelm asks me when I return.
He’s right. It’s how we got imprisoned after getting too friendly with a blacksmith. If Wilhelm hadn’t snagged the key, we would’ve been executed.
I stomp about as I gather the arrows and yank off the blanket. “We wouldn’t have gotten Little Cap’s story so quickly if it hadn’t been for Ella.”
“She did seem to know exactly the right things to say.” Wilhelm scribbles the last of the words for the werewolf story.
The words spiral up into an inky funnel, swirling around and then sucking up the body into its blackness before returning to the book.
He shuts the tomes, and color returns to Wilhelm’s face.
“She’s bewitched you.” Wilhelm snatches up the blanket and straps his bow to his back. “You sure she’s not one of them?”
“You’re implying she’s a witch? Or one of these werewolves? That’s ridiculous, and you know that. Besides, she doesn’t bear the mark on her neck.”
“Maybe hers is hidden in a place we can’t see. Have you thought of that?”
“I am now.” I grin.
He huffs and storms down the path.