Greywolf - Asena's Revenge

Over our heads, the golden moon flares as if a second sun just appeared in the sky. Then a ball of golden fire shoots out from its surface. A loud clap of thunder rolls over us as it streaks downward, with a second and a third golden fireball right behind the first. Two more claps of thunder echo off the hills as the first fireball dips beneath the tree line.

A massive explosion erupts to the north as the earth throws us off our feet. Men shout in fear while their Warghorses scream in panic, the beasts throwing off their riders and fleeing as the second and third fireballs strike. More massive explosions shake the earth, and looking up, there's a huge cloud mushrooming up into the air. The golden moon returns to normal and winks out as if it had never existed.

I stare at the spot in the sky as horror threatens to overwhelm me in a dark wave. Wysper isn't dead. Wysper wouldn't kill herself, even to save her people; she must've found a way to bypass the bad effects. I need to find her. Grabbing the tree trunk beside me, I stagger to my feet as Castor gives me a questioning look. "I need to leave and find Wysper," I tell him. "Tell Hypam I'll be back as soon as I can."

Before I can take a step, a large hand clamps itself on my armored shoulder. "Greywolf," Asena growls, "we need you to come with us."

"What are you doing here?" I say, glancing over my shoulder. Asena's in armor, but without a helm, her sword and fighting axe at her belt. Papa's standing beside her. "Has Attila's army arrived?"

Papa shakes his head. "When the satellite moon began charging, I grabbed your mother and we entered the Grey. I knew you'd be somewhere close to the vanguard."

I try to slip from Asena's grasp. "I've got to go back to Ebora Castle and find Wysper."

Asena's grip only tightens. "You're not going anywhere near there."

"But-"

She puts her hairy face next to mine. "Whether she's alive or dead, there's nothing you can do for her. But the two Celestials who forced her to make this choice are still alive, and if we don't go kill them immediately, they'll run home just long enough to raise another army and try again. This has to end now."

Castor staggers to his feet. "How could they still be alive after that."

Asena growls, "Because Attila received a report that they'd moved their command tent, putting it further away from the main part of the army."

"And since I led the scouting party," Hypam says as she walks up, limping slightly, "I can tell you exactly where they are." All around us, warriors are chasing after their Warghorses or standing around in a daze, and she shakes her head. "I need to organize my men, but I can send one of my scouts who can show-"

"We don't have time to spare," papa says, interrupting, "and it has to be you. Attila trusts you completely, right?"

"As far as I know," Hypam replies, her expression becoming puzzled, "but what-"

"Tell your second-in-command to get the men together and get ready. When we finish off Balor and Camulos, whatever remains of the Gaul's army's going to be fleeing straight towards the vanguard."

Hypam mutters something I think is her cursing, then turns towards a warrior staggering towards us. She begins yelling out instructions in their language, the man's dazed expression quickly becoming focused, and he taps his fist to his chest when she's done. Hypam turns back around. "I'm ready, but my fool Warghorse threw me off and carried my sword and bow with him."

"We just need you to lead us to the command tent," papa says. "We'll do the rest."

Hypam gives him a dubious look, but only says, "Alright then, let's go." Papa makes a large gate, and all of us make sure we're touching him as we step through into the Grey.

Katanas in our hands, papa and I do our fast circle as the smells and colors of the world bleed away. Nothing stirs, so papa nods to Hypam and she takes the lead. Her leg muscles must be easing, for her slight limp vanishes as she breaks into a trot, the rest of us matching her pace as we race through the detailed shadows of trees, bushes, and warriors chasing down fear-maddened Warghorses.

We continue on, up and down the ridges and small hills, Hypam slowing occasionally to check her bearings before resuming the pace. As we get close to the Gaul's encampment, the trees are becoming shrouded by a dark greyness. Hypam looks over her shoulder. "Ghostdog, is this smoke we're running through?"

He nods. "The forest's burning. If either Camulos or Balor was anywhere but in the rear with the gear, we won't have to worry about them. Nothing survives a ghost-moon strike."

Asena snorts. "Balor was born a coward, and Camulos just wants to drink. If their command tent was out of the field of fire, we'll find them still alive."

As we crest a rocky hill with only a few scraggly trees on top, Hypam stops to catch her breath as she points towards another hill farther off. "That's where they are." I stop next to her and gaze outward. The hill's bare of trees, its sides covered in collapsed shadow tents and still intact wagons, with the shadows of horses galloping madly south. A few people seem to be chasing them, but most seem to be staggering around or sitting on the ground. The top of the hill's covered in the ruins of an old fort or castle, without any roof or even an intact wall. A giant collapsed tent is in the center.

Castor stops beside me and grips my shoulder. "Greywolf, the army..." As his words trail off, I look towards Ebora Castle off to the right.

I gasp. The Gaul's army is gone. The catapults, soldiers, and all their tents and gear have been blasted to bits, with a massive crater in their place. The air must be filled with smoke, because the outline of the castle and the town are hazy. But they're still intact. "The Gauls must've been ready to start their own bombardment," papa says. "I estimate it's about half a league to that hill, so let's drop to a walk so we'll be fresh when we find them." He glances at Asena. "They won't have enough time to escape, even if they're in the middle of doing so."

Asena nods as I say, "Papa, once they're dead, I'm going back to Ebora Castle and find Wysper."

Motioning with his hand to keep Asena from speaking, papa moves in front of me. "Depending on how things go, I may not be able to let you return there right away. However," this time holding his hand in front of me, "once everything is over, you and I will travel to Ebora Castle and look for her." My eyes narrow, and he adds, "Word of honor."

"I'm holding you to that."

Asena snorts, but papa ignores her as he nods, and starts down the hill at a brisk walk, the rest of us following behind. As we begin climbing the hill, moving through the shadows which have hardly moved at all, he points with the tip of his sword up the hill. Standing between two stones is the shadow of a large man in armor raising a jug to his lips. "That's Camulos for sure."

"Balor won't be far off," Asena snarls. "He's the one I really want, but Camulos needs to die as well."

"Agreed," papa says as he leads us through a different gap into the ruin. The shadows of men and women, in simple tunics and dresses, are beginning to pull chests out from underneath the collapsed fabric and place them on a cart. But there's no other warrior except for Camulos, whose back is now towards us as papa stops. "Greywolf, give your sword to Hypam, and the moment you touch the real world, summon your Shadow Wolf."

"What?" I whirl on him. "This is my fight too."

"Of course it is. That's why you're summoning the creature that's already hurt a Celestial badly, and has grown since then. Hypam will keep any random soldiers off you until Camulos is dead."

"But...Ow!" I say as Asena cuffs the back of my head.

"Don't argue with your father," she growls, scowling at me when I give her a dark look. "I need to focus on killing Celestials, and not on worrying whether you're safe or not. Am I clear, or do you need another smack to unscramble your brains?"

Rubbing the back of my head, I give her a scowl of my own. "Someday I won't have to summon anything to help, because I'll be bigger than you and just as tough."

To my surprise, Asena grips my shoulder as a savage grins seizes her face. "Wotan's blood, I wish I could be there to see it. You'll be taller than Titan, and strong enough to wield one of his Greatswords in each hand. Famous warriors will piss themselves at the sound of your name." She gives my shoulder a rough squeeze. "On that day, you won't need your Shadow Warg. Today..."

She leaves the words hanging and I grumble, "You don't have to rub it in."

Asena goes to mock cuff me, and I instinctively duck, Hypam covering her mouth to hide the smile as I hand her my katana, hilt first. "Asena," papa says, "I need to find Balor while you and the Shadow Warg handle Camulos. Be careful; even dead drunk, he's a good fighter."

Asena snorts. "We'll see. Create the gate, but if you find him, don't kill Balor." She thumps her chest. "I want that pleasure myself." Papa nods, and as he creates the oval gate a horse-length away from Camulos, she turns towards Hypam and Castor. "Both of you keep my son safe, and warn me if Balor shows up. He's tricky."

"We will" Castor growls. "Whether she's alive or dead, avenge Wysper." Asena nods and takes off at a run, with me, Castor, and Hypam right behind her as we race through the gate.

Color returns to the world, the air acrid with the smell of smoke and the screams of men in pain, or fear. "Camulos," Asena roars, "vengeance for Wysper!"

Wysper's not dead, but nows not the time. I slide to a stop, preparing myself to become the gate as the large warrior in leather and steel, whirls around and flings the jug at Asena's bare head while drawing his sword. It flies past her and smashes on a fallen stone as she rams him with her shoulder. Both of them stagger, Camulos almost falling as Asena recovers and drives her fighting-axe into his armored thigh. It bites deep through leather and metal rings, into the flesh beneath, and Camulos bellows in pain as blood spurts. He swings wildly, Asena blocking with her sword blade as she rips out the axe from his leg and loops it around to swing again.

Behind us, voices are shrieking, and Hypam turns with my katana in both hands as I become the gate to the Shadowlands. The Shadow wolf leaps through as it takes my strength... no, it's not a wolf anymore. My Shadow Warg's as big as a Warghorse now, with a Warg's face and body. I collapse onto the ground, and its rounded head turns to give me a feral grin before its long claws dig into the dirt. Then the Shadow Warg bounds away towards the fight.

Castor and Hypam kneel beside me on the ground. "You okay?" I nod, and Hypam props me up as she says, "That creature's grown so much I could ride it into battle."

I nod again as the Shadow Warg darts past Asena, who's blocking Camulos' frenzied swings, and savages his injured leg. Camulos bellows as he falls, his elbow striking a fallen stone as he lands on his back. He bellows again as his hand opens and the sword flies away. The Shadow Warg grins at Asena as it steps back, and watches as she plants her booted foot on Camulos' chest. "Move, and I'll gut you like a fish," she snarls, the tip of her sword a finger's length from his nose. "Where's Balor hiding?"

"Right over here," a man's voice says as he steps out from behind a standing stone. Dressed in armor with his head bare, he holds in his hand a small ceramic pot the same shape as the one Castor and I made explode in the Gaul's camp. "Sorry, Cam."

"Balor," Camulos yells as the other Celestial hurls the pot towards them, Castor pushing Hypam down on top of me, "you bast-"

The pot shatters on the fallen stone and explodes. Asena and the Shadow Warg are blown backwards as fire erupts for a moment, raining dirt and small stones before black smoke rolls over us, making us cough. It clears, and rubbing my eyes, I can see Asena's landed only a few feet away from us, the leather of her armor smoldering and her face blackened. Her eyes are staring up unblinking at the sky.

The Shadow Warg's laying in a crumpled heap on its side a short distance away, and as Balor draws his sword, he keeps glancing at it as he cautiously walks towards us. "Greywolf, I've been expecting you. Though I didn't expect you'd arrive with so much company." He stops beside Asena's still smoking body and glances down. "Even the fiercest will finally fall, at the end."

It feels like someone's taken a knife and carved out my insides, leaving a dark, hollow place with nothing to fill it. Asena's dead. I can't believe it, yet I have to. She doesn't even twitch. Castor moves off us, remaining crouched beside me as Hypam rises with my katana in one hand. "You fight without honor," she snarls, gripping the hilt with both and holding the blade towards him. "Asena could've slain you without the Shadow Warg's help."

Balor chuckles. "Why do you think I used explosives? There is no honor in war... nor do you have any skill with that sword, judging from the way you're standing. Once I've taken my trophy from Asena's body, I'll take that sword away and you with us, so I can break you down slowly."

Hypam takes an uncertain step backwards as Castor gets to his feet. "You'll have to go through me first."

Balor shrugs. "If you wish. However, wouldn't you rather remain as Greywolf's bodyguard? I plan to break him down as well, then mold him the way I want him to become. But I can add one of your fangs as a trophy, if you insist. Would you like to see my collection?" Without waiting for an answer, Balor reaches underneath the collar of his armor and pulls out a necklace of white pearls... no, not pearls. Those are teeth.

Some look human, while some are different kinds of fangs. He holds them up. "Whenever I kill a dangerous enemy, I take one of their teeth as a trophy. Kings, Khans, monsters... even a few Celestials." He draws his knife as he kneels down next to Asena's body. "I've wanted one of the Wolf-mother's fangs for a long, long, time." I stare, frozen in horror, as he bends over her head, setting the knife down on her chest as he moves to open her mouth.

Asena grabs Balor by the collar of his armor and pulls his throat to her lips, baring her fangs and biting down hard. Then she pushes him away with all of her strength. Blood sprays as she rips out his throat. He falls backwards, surprise and horror on his face as he tries to rise with his hands at his neck, but then collapses. Hypam rushes over to her as Asena rises just enough to spit Balor's flesh back in his face, before collapsing herself.

Castor helps me over to her as Asena laughs with bloody teeth. "I wanted to die," she gasps, "with my teeth... in an enemy's throat."

I sit down beside her and Castor helps me put her blood covered head in my lap. "You finally got your wish." I can't help it; tears begin flowing from my eyes, and I can't stop them. "Asena-"

"Hush." Asena raises a hand as if she's going to cuff me, but it falters and I grasp it instead. She gasps, "You're finally... off the leash... what?" Asena looks past me, as if someone's standing at my shoulder. "Yasataar says... when the war... is over... come to... Ebora Castle. Wysper... will be... waiting, what?" Asena's expression becomes puzzled. "She says... when you do... I will get... my other wish... but won't remember... ever making it."

"Can't I go to Ebora now?"

Asena squeezes my hand. "Too soon," she gasps. Then she grips my fingers tight as her eyes focus on my face. "Win this war. Kill... them all... for me."

"We'll win it together," papa says as he kneels down on Asena's other side. He takes her free hand with both of his. "Greywolf will merge with his Shadow Warg, and Hypam will be holding him while he does, so she can be part of the transformation as well."

"I'm going to what?" Hypam's eyes narrow as she glares down at him. "Ghostdog, what are you planning this time?"

Papa looks up at her with a mysterious smile. "Greywolf listens to you, and if you're part of the transformation, the Shadow Warg he's going to become will listen as well. Attila's warriors will see you as an omen of victory."

"If they don't burn me as a witch, first."

Papa shrugs. "I don't plan to let Greywolf remain merged for too long, just long enough for Attila to help the Brittani kick the Gauls off the island. But it's important the Khanate accepts you both this way, for in the months to come, Attila's going to need all the help you both can give him." Papa's weathered face grows solemn. "I cannot predict with any certainty about what lies ahead, yet at times I can see signs in the Grey concerning the future. Right now, they're showing me a great evil bubbling up from the east, and Attila as the only one who can stop it."

Hypam stares at papa with a suspicious expression clouding her face. "Could you at least be a little more specific? What evil?"

Papa shrugs again and Asena weakly laughs. "Welcome... to my... world." She lets go of papa and reaches up to pull my head down. "Remember what... I've taught you. Titan-"

"Once the Grey Warg Khanate has accepted them and your son returns to normal," papa says, "I'm going to have Titan take over Greywolf's training. He will be in good hands."

"The best... better than... mine. Ghostdog?"

Papa caresses her hairy face with his hand. "I'm here."

Asena draws a shuddering breath as she presses my cheek against hers. "Tell Titan... today is... a good day... to die."

She exhales, and when she doesn't inhale again, papa reaches out with a gentle hand and closes her eyes.