Fairyfly - 3. Salvation

Slamming the door behind him, Esthor hurried up the winding stairs in his home, his midnight blue cape fluttering behind him as he walked. He opened the light wooden door opposite his bedroom and found himself in a spacious room he used for studying and practicing sorcery.

The western wall was covered in books, most of which he only perused, while the eastern wall had large windows that let vast amounts of sunlight in. The center of the room was occupied by a large wooden desk whose surface was covered in scrolls, various instruments, potions and half-burnt candles.

A telescope was placed near the table, which Esthor would use to observe the night sky through a large, round window on the ceiling. The sorcerer considered himself lucky, as instruments such as telescopes were exceptionally rare and expensive. He was given this one by his master Khalgos after he successfully finished his apprenticeship with him.

Although the books seemed to have been arranged arbitrarily, Esthor walked over to the shelves and quickly picked out three large books with dark purple covers, putting them in his backpack. He knew exactly what he was looking for. If anything could help him save the princess, it would be in those tomes – ’Illnesses and Cures’. Esthor received the coveted books as a reward after helping a grand vizier in the desert region of Khalanas, but the problem was that they were written ages ago, back before the Lykos started living closer to ordinary people. Therefore, he wasn’t sure if the Fever or any other Lykos-related diseases would even be mentioned, but he had no time to look into that now. He would deal with the problem one way or another.

Right now, he had one more matter to attend to before heading back to the king’s castle. Going over to one of the windows, Esthor stood right in front of it and blew on the glass, making it foggy. As he wiped it with his hand, the sorcerer called out: “Master Khalgos!”

Just a moment later, the familiar face of an old man with a dark gray goatee and longish hair appeared in the window.

“Esthor, my boy! How nice to see you, how are you?” Although in his early sixties, Khalgos looked youthful, with an air of dignity and command about him.

“Nice to see you too, Master Khalgos. Thank you for responding so quickly,” Esthor replied. He never cared much for social conventions and manners, but if there was anyone Esthor would always address with politeness and warmth, it was his master. “I apologize, but I’m in a bit of a hurry and I wanted to ask you something.”

“Of course, what is it?”

“Have you ever heard of anyone being cured of the Fever?”

Khalgos’ face instantly turned serious, making him look much older as the wrinkles lined his face.

“No, I can’t say that I have. I don’t think there was ever a case of a successful treatment. The Lykos, if they’re strong enough, can successfully live with the Fever for a considerable amount of time, but they can never shift back into human form.”

“Just as I thought,” Esthor replied, shaking his head. “What about regular people?”

“Why do you ask? Have you…?”

“No, nothing’s wrong with me,” Esthor immediately reassured him. He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “Someone demands my help… I’m trying to save someone. I promise to tell you all about it in person later. For now, I just need the information. Is there any hope of salvation?” he asked, guessing what the answer will most likely be and dreading it.

With a saddened face, Khalgos gently shook his head.

“I’m afraid I can only tell you what you already know. After a few days or weeks of pain and madness, the Fever is ultimately always fatal in ordinary people. Especially for someone weak.”

“I see…” Esthor replied. “I thought as much, but I had to confirm. Thank you, master. I have to go now, but…”

“Boy… be careful,” Khalgos interrupted him.

The young sorcerer looked at his master a few moments, both men quiet but the look on their faces saying everything.

“Of course I will be,” Esthor replied. “I promise to come and visit you soon, this week even,” he added.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

With a smile and a nod, the master’s face disappeared from the window. Picking up his backpack and magic scepter from the table, Esthor hurried out of his house. After untying his horse, he mounted it and rushed off in the direction of the king’s castle. He didn’t pay attention to the time, but it didn’t matter anyway. If the king wanted his help, he would have to wait – royalty or not.

This time, the laboratory was devoid of any staff. The only people inside were Princess Arabella, still in the same condition, guard commander Zane and the king himself, standing over his eldest daughter's bed.

While King Norius was caressing the princess’ hand and looking at her worriedly, Zane stood firm like a stone statue and cleared his throat.

“Your Majesty, I apologize but… Are you certain we can trust Esthor?”

The king lifted his gaze and looked into the distance, as if deep in thought.

“I don’t think I have any other option left. He will do what he can, and if…”

At that moment, the door opened and a guard entered.

“Your Majesty, sorcerer Esthor is here,” he announced ceremoniously.

“Let him in,” the king replied and the guard moved aside to let Esthor inside. His eyes went quickly from Zane to the king as he moved toward them.

“Any changes?”

“No, nothing,” King Norius replied, still looking at Arabella.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Esthor opened his backpack, pulling out three large tomes and placing them on a nearby table. Zane looked at them curiously. Who knows what kind of evil trickery and charms were hiding inside those profane books, he thought. Still, he dared not speak against the king’s wishes.

“Your Majesty, I apologize, but I would like to be left alone with the princess. I need to search through these books in peace and see if there are any rituals or spells I could perform. I’m sure you understand.”

“Of course,” the king replied hesitantly. “I shall order that you not be disturbed.”

Letting Zane walk in front of him, the king and his guard commander left the laboratory, leaving Esthor alone with Arabella. As soon as the door closed behind them, the sorcerer opened the first of the dusty ancient tomes and started browsing through it, looking for anything that might help him treat the young girl’s illness.

The handwritten pages contained descriptions of symptoms and medicines for numerous diseases and conditions, many of which he'd never even heard of before, some in mysterious languages he couldn't understand, but there was nothing on how to cure the Fever. The closest he got to it was the third tome, which mentioned the Lykos and the fact that there were some illnesses spread by them. One of the passages read:

“Any travelers intent on going west are advised to take heed, especially when traveling at night. The perilous Howling Forests are to be avoided at all costs, for the uncivilized race of Lykos resides within these dark woods. Some of their specimen seem to be wild and bloodthirsty, not hesitating to rend into pieces anything that comes their way.”

However, the book never went into more detail on the matter. It was useless after all, forcing Esthor to turn to other methods. He was ready to try anything, so he picked up his scepter and moved closer to the bed.

After attempting some incantations and healing spells, none of which had any effect on the princess, Esthor realized he'd finally exhausted all of his options.

"I didn't want to do this, but I have no choice," he muttered to the girl, not knowing if she could even hear him.

Esthor knew very well that if he faltered now, the girl would soon be consumed by the vicious illness and pose a threat to all around her. Once she turned into a Lykos, she’d be capable of slaughtering half the castle in that mindless, frenzied state.

With a deep sigh, he picked up his scepter and stood over the girl, muttering unintelligible words. As the tip of the scepter began to glow an unearthly shade of white, the girl's tortured body was lifted off the bed and started twitching.

Merely seconds later, as Esthor finished his dark incantation, Arabella's body dropped onto the bed, now motionless. Pressing a finger against her neck to check the pulse, he confirmed the girl was no longer breathing.

His mission was complete.

"What the hell are you doing!?" a loud voice suddenly came from behind, and before he could even turn around, Esthor felt a powerful blow to the back of his head before everything went black, as his body hit the cold concrete floor.

~~

Moving through the shadow of trees and avoiding moonlit areas, Rulf was quickly pacing toward the king's castle, trying to stay undetected. He had taken this path many times in the last few months, so he already knew it by heart.

So many times did he sneak to Bella's side of the castle late at night, hoping to see her just for a minute and feel her warm lips against his own. However, tonight was different. Tonight would be the last time, for tomorrow she would become the wife of Prince Terryn. Rulf didn't know him, but he already hated the man. It didn't matter who he was, all Rulf knew was that he was stealing his Bella away from him.

As he approached the castle grounds, the young Lykos felt a strange sensation, as if something was missing, out of order. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what, but he just couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something amiss.

Attributing this to his distraught state over Arabella's imminent departure, Rulf put his feeling of unease aside and easily jumped over the stone fence in his wolf form, striding toward the girl's tower. He could see candles burning in her room, which filled his sorry heart with happiness. She was there, waiting for him, knowing he would come.

He easily climbed the wall and knocked on her window. After a few moments, the drapes were opened all the way and Rulf noticed the window was already ajar. He pushed it open and jumped inside only to gasp in shock, standing as if frozen to the spot. Instead of his lovely Arabella, a guard was standing at the door, pointing his sword at Rulf.

“Stay where you are!”

The young Lykos quickly turned around, but another guard was standing at the window, blocking his only way out. Dashing to the man who was already pulling his sword out, Rulf quickly threw the drapes over the guard and shoved him into the wall with all his force. With the other guard two steps behind him, he had no time to lose. He jumped out the window and used his claws to hang onto the wall, just as he would do when climbing up.

"After him!" he heard one of the guards yell and realized it was only a matter of time before others were alerted to his presence.

The young wolf nimbly scaled down the wall and just as he was about to make a run for the woods, he stopped in his tracks once again. Two more guards were waiting for him, probably alerted by the noise. As soon as they spotted him, the men drew their swords and started running toward him.

Realizing he couldn't escape to the forest, Rulf wasted no time in running the other way - toward the town. It was risky, but it was his only option.

He knew the only chance he had to evade the pursuit was to reach the main street - it was the only place that would be full of people at this hour.

Running as fast as his legs could carry him, he darted behind the first house he could reach, immediately shifting back into his human form in an attempt to throw the guards off.

In less than a minute, he was on the main street, losing himself in the crowd, just another ordinary man among dozens of others.

Even though his heart was beating a mile a minute, Rulf tried to steady his breathing and not draw any attention to himself. The guards could've been anywhere around him, lurking from the shadow and waiting for the right moment to strike, but he knew that if he started running or looking around nervously, he would immediately arouse their suspicion.

Slowly strolling down the street as if taking a relaxing evening walk, Rulf pretended to observe the streetlights as he passed other people walking in couples or alone. Once he reached the end of the street, he snuck into one of the alleys and continued zigzagging through narrow side streets, making sure he wasn't being followed. As soon as he was out of town, he breathed a sigh of relief and shifted back into Lykos form, running off into the woods where he would be safe, hidden among the trees.

Once he was back in well-known territory and didn't have to fear for his safety anymore, his thoughts went straight back to his princess.

"What about Bella?! If they’d found out about us, what will they do to her?"

He couldn't return to the castle after this close call, that much he knew, but he also knew he wouldn't rest until he was sure Bella was alright.

Big thanks to all Fairyfly readers and my beta reader @AusGlitterati! 
Hold on tight for the next chapter!