The Wolves Book 1: Call of the Wolves

Chapter 12

Chapters 12, 13, and 14 are dedicated to allergictoglitter, because her character is entering in those chapters.

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Island

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(Ana's POV)

I woke up in the captain's cabin, but I was alone. The spot where Aiden lay last night was cold.

'Aiden?'

'You're awake. Get dressed and come outside, you'll want to see this.'

I looked down at myself and blushed. I was in a very loose camisole and mini shorts. 'Okay.' I said.

I put a jacket, sweatpants, and sandals on, hurrying to the door.

I opened it to find the rest of the group that came on the deck, looking out into the distance. Oden was showing them an island, just big enough to see on the horizon.

"We're still fairly far away, but I reckon we'll be there around in about five minutes, then we'll make our way through the forest to the portal." Oden was saying.

Aiden came up to me and hugged me tight. "Morning, Ana."

"Good morning, princess." Oden said, before I could respond to Aiden.

"Good morning." I said, rubbing my eyes. "Whoa." I looked up at the island it was bigger, like it had moved closer, rather than us moving towards it. Now I understood why Oden only said five minutes. We were almost there.

"Yeah. The island moves either away or towards a boat depending on a person's intentions." Oden explained.

"Magic." Kate whispered.

"Yes. The whole Faery world is magic." Oden said.

"Wow." Sarah said in awe.

We stood staring as the island grew closer and closer. I'm almost home. I thought.

In a few minutes we were on the island, leaving the boat anchored in the sand. I watched as the rest of the group started off into the woods.

"Wait!" Oden and I called at the same time. They looked back at us, confused.

"If you go into the woods blindly, you'll never find the portal. No matter how many times you wander around in there." Oden explained.

"We have to find the river." I said.

"Left or right?" Kate asked, peering down the beach.

"It doesn't matter. We'll eventually get to it either way." Oden said.

"We'd better hurry. We'll want the sun on our side when we head through the forest." I said.

The group set off to my right with Oden in the lead. I followed after the last person, keeping a close lookout.

It was late morning by the time we found the tiny stream, flowing down from the center of the island into the ocean.

"That seems impossible!" Kyle exclaimed, as we neared the stream.

"It's not. There's a spring in the center. It's seawater though, so don't try to drink it." Oden explained.

"The water comes from below the island. Then the pressure brings the water up from the ocean below." I said.

We started up the hill, making our way through the trees. I felt a knot tighten in my stomach. We'd soon be up against the guardian. And no matter what, Oden wasn't allowed to interfere.

We were walking for a long time. It had been hours since we saw the beach.

Soon we were up against the very air that we were walking through. The air in front of us had solidified into jello like substance.

"What's going on?" Sarah yelled.

"There's magic trying to keep us from the portal." Oden said.

"Do something!" I yelled back at him.

Oden stopped walking. He held up his hands and started to concentrate. The air started turning back to its gaseous state. We all started to breathe easier.

"It was a spell to keep away intruders." Oden said.

"We aren't intruders!" Kyle yelled.

"No, but the spell works against all who try to enter, none the same." Oden said.

"Oh." Kyle said.

"We're close." Aiden said.

We made our way further into the forest, following the river and watching the trees. We didn't see any creatures nor did we see any tree move, but I knew that they could.

We stepped into a clearing. The spring was in the middle, but there was no one in sight.

Aiden frowned. "Where's the guardian?" He asked.

I turned to look at Oden. He nodded, then disappeared.

"Where's he running off to?" John asked.

"He's a guardian. I got past him by bringing up an old memory and unveiling his identity. These next guardians are up for a fight. Not a game of hide and seek." I said.

"Then why are they hiding?" Aiden growled.

I frowned at him. "They aren't. Let me handle this. Nobody interferes." I said sternly.

I looked around, finding the spaces where the invisible guardians waited, finding the space I had to stand on when I went against one.

I remembered what Oden had told me before. He had said that Clarissa had stayed. If that was true, then she was most likely a guardian. I most definitely did not want to fight her. Then there were usually two others. A female and a male warrior. I wanted my odds to be pretty even, but for me, that would have been a hard choice.

I knew that most of the warriors had hard training, both male and female. I was tilting towards the male side, but I knew that he would probably be muscular and four times my size. I looked at the diagrams on the floor, opposite the portal.

They were designed so that anyone who just accidently stepped on one would bring out the guardian. But I knew better. I had to confuse my opponent, and they would appear on the one that the intruder didn't step on.

The diagrams were more like carvings. A summonings. There were teeth and claws on the left, a sword on the right and a bow in the middle. I looked at Aiden and sighed.

Since few males took on archery, rather preferring swords, I stepped on the middle carving.

A white light glowed around the carving and the mirrored one, in front of the portal. In a flash, I went from being alone to holding my weapon of choice and facing a guardian with black and red hair.