CHAPTER 14

They were able to get out of Wrexon with no further run-ins with Sir Thomas. Before they left the inn, Lola managed to break away from Russel. She went over to the desk where the inn owner sat and quietly handed him the envelope with instructions to give it to the knight. “I have a feeling he will be coming in here to ask questions about us,” she said. She had no idea if that feeling would actually pan out but she didn’t have a whole lot of other options. “He’s a shorter knight. Probably my age or a little bit older. Has blonde hair. You know him?” The owner nodded. “I’ve seen him a few times.” Lola breathed a minor sigh of relief. She pulled out her letter and gave it to the inn owner. Then she brought a small purse of coins out and discreetly placed it on the desk. She had managed to “liberate” them from an obnoxiously drunk man she marked after Russel went outside to wait for her. His training had been a valuable asset there but the guy had also been so full of booze he was an easy mark regardless. She didn’t like thieving and had always valued putting in the work for everything she got in life but in her current circumstances, beggars couldn't be choosers. She needed a bribe and fast. She pushed the purse of coins closer to the inn owner. “I would appreciate you waiting maybe an hour, possibly two, to give him the letter. If he comes in here directly after we depart, stall him.” He reached for the purse but eyed her suspiciously. His eyes darted toward the entrance to the inn where he’d just seen Russel leave. He leaned forward a little and started to whisper. “Are you in some danger, miss?” She jerked the coins back. “No. It’s not anything like that. The man I’m with is no danger to me,” she said hurriedly, suddenly feeling very foolish and worried that she had made a colossal error in judgment. She forced that thought out of her head and strengthened her resolve. This was the right move. She had to believe that. “This is in regards to something else. Something urgent and extremely important. Understood?” He didn’t look as convinced as she hoped he would but there was little she could do now. The proverbial first step had already been taken. She couldn’t back out. The inn owner took the purse of coins and after a few seconds of hesitation, he took the letter as well. It disappeared under a ledger that kept track of every person staying in the inn. “I will see that he gets this,” he said. “He doesn’t normally come into my establishment but if he does come asking about you, I will do what I can to stall him. I make no promises, however. If you are to be leaving Wrexon, do so now and with haste. The main road has checkpoints every ten miles. If you do not wish to be…questioned, perhaps a different route is in order?” Lola nodded, feeling waves of relief hitting her. She grabbed his hand in hers. “Thank you for your kindness. I will not forget it,” she said. Feeling much better about the whole situation, she turned and quickly walked out of the inn. The drunkard had since passed out over a table in the main dining room which was good for her. It meant she wouldn't have to deal with him a second time. Once she passed through the entrance doors, the bright, morning sunshine shone right into her eyes. She screwed them shut and threw a hand up to shield her face. Once she acclimated to the sudden light, she found Russel waiting for her at the foot of the inn’s porch steps. She made her way down to them and over to him. “Forget something?” he asked, curious. “Just wanted to extend a personal thanks to the owner of the inn. I really loved it here,” she said, which wasn’t untrue. The place was extremely beautiful and oddly peaceful being on such a busy street in Wrexon. “You never know when a person might need a compliment.” “I’ll be sure to remember that advice for the future,” he said with a broad smile. “Such a wise sentiment from one so young. I like it.” “I’m not much younger than you,” she joked. Then she looked at him, questioningly. She moved in closer and whispered, “Wait. How long do werewolves live? And how old are you really?” “We do have extended lifespans but only about double what a human would live. Most of us live to be between two and three hundred years old,” he explained, chuckling when he saw her complete look of shock. “I am still young, especially in regards to my kind. I am twenty-six.” She nudged him playfully. “That makes me feel a little better at least. I’m twenty so like I said, I’m not much younger than you.” “Right you are.” They continued on like that for the rest of the way out of Wrexon. With all the added people, came more soldiers and knights. There were half a dozen or more squads patrolling the streets with several of them getting too close to the pair for comfort on quite a few different occasions. They kept their heads low and made sure not to draw any unwanted attention to themselves. That strategy ended up working pretty efficiently. They picked up Serk and left Wrexon less than an hour later. Once they were outside of the city, Lola asked if there was an alternate route they could take. One that wasn’t a main thoroughfare. “There are one or two less traveled roads,” Russel told her. “Why do you ask?” “With all the tensions being stirred up, I think the king will most likely have the main roads in Alcroft monitored with checkpoints. We should avoid those if at all possible. We definitely don’t want to run into another issue like we had with Sir Thomas,” she explained. “An excellent point,” he remarked. “That was pretty strange, I have to admit.” “Well, strange as it was, he should be far behind us now. How long till we cross the border into Oclan?” she asked. “From here, it’s four days. Three if we take less breaks,” he said. “Or, I can shift into my wolf form and you can ride Serk. We could cut down our time to maybe a day and a half that way.” But she looked nervous about that and considering her past trauma with Drake, he didn’t blame her. “You’re in control when you shift?” she asked. “When you’re a wolf I mean?” “There are a few rare ones, men like Drake, who opt to let the wolf take over completely. They are savage and merciless killers. Most in my kingdom have control over that side of themselves. It is rare for us to choose to let the wolf in 100% because then we are not ourselves anymore,” he said. “It is also extremely hard to come back from. Once you do, there’s a…stain on the person they can never really come back from.” “You speak as if you talk from experience,” she told him, not wanting to sound scared but unable to mask it. Memories of what Drake and his crew of deranged wolves did flashed through her mind and she shuddered. “Not me,” he said, trying to reassure her. Then his eyes went distant. “But someone close. They’re…gone now.” She didn’t say anything for a long time and wondered who it was that went so far over to the wolf part of themselves they weren’t able to recover. Was it a family member? His mom? Maybe a brother or sister? Or was it a friend? Or a past lover? She was insanely curious but could tell how painful the subject was and decided in the end, to let the matter drop. “I think speed will be helpful but shifting into a wolf is a bad idea right now with all the knights and soldiers roaming around. Not to mention ordinary people. You could be spotted,” Lola said. “I thought about that too, which is why you would be taking Serk alone on the roads and I would be sticking to the deeper forest. I can track you from there and keep pace while at the same time, I can stay out of sight,” he replied. “I still don’t like the risk. Even in the deep woods, you might accidentally run into someone like a hunter. Let’s stick to the barely used roads. A little more time is better than being chased by soldiers and potentially murdered when we didn’t even do anything.” She patted Serk’s flank affectionately. “Besides, Serk’s gotten used to being riderless. He’ll probably hate me if I get on him now.” As if in either agreement or disagreement, they couldn't tell which, Serk neighed loudly causing them both to laugh. They spent the next few hours along a dirt road that could barely be called a road. It was going west and north, according to Russel’s compass so it would eventually get them where they needed to go. The way was uneven, annoying, and exhausting. There were dozens of rocks along the road that somehow, they always managed to either step on, stub their foot into enough to where they almost tripped, or twisting one or both feet on. When tempers were at an all-time high, they decided they needed a rest. Russel moved them off the road, even though they hadn’t seen a single soul in the few hours they’d been walking along it, and into the woods. They walked through them for a good while until they came to a space big enough for them to set up a camp. A small creek was nearby and he took Serk over there to get him some water. As soon as they got comfortable, something happened to Lola. She suddenly stiffened. A cold, eerie feeling just went down the length of her spine. “What’s the matter?” Russel asked. “I don’t know,” she told him truthfully. It was the same sensation she experienced before in Gloucester and then again during her training with Russel. It made her whole body feel like it was charged, like it wanted to either fight or flee. She looked at him, confused and scared. “What can I…” he started to ask and then stopped. His nostrils flared wide and he sniffed deeply. After he did, his face went hard and serious. “What’s the matter?” she asked, unable to keep fear out of her voice. He looked at her. “Ghouls.”