Black Pearl

Chapter 20

I had no plan, no idea what I was doing. All I knew was that these men had hurt innocent women, scarred children, harmed men. They had to face some kind of consequence and I was not going to let some brewed barley stand in my way.

I paused briefly when Pirate turned his massive head towards me, his ears pricked upward. The bandits were already so far ahead of me, I could barely make out their shapes in the light of the lantern they carried. Pirate would surely eat up that distance faster than I would, but his metal clad hooves would bring attention to me. 

I didn't know what I intended to accomplish, but I knew that stealth was the only way that I would be successful. My slippers made no sound on the cobblestone road as I followed the dim light in the distance.

Even from the distance, I could hear the two men snickering and snorting as they went. It almost felt like I was following them to a sporting match or some kind of prank. Then, the words turned sour. One of them said something about killing a bitch, but his voice was mangled in the breeze and I couldn't catch the rest of his statement or his partner's reply.

I should have been afraid. I should have wanted to abandon my quest right then. But it only pushed me on harder. I would not let these men cause harm to anyone else. They had done more than enough damage. The way the child cried, how the man twisted his hat anxiously in his sweating palms, it was all seared into my mind, permanent. Those poor people would never walk alone at night again, would never see the woods without flinching. Even though they had survived, some part of them died.

I picked up my pace, hoping to hear more. I didn't notice that the few lights of the town were now far behind me and that I was walking on soft dirt instead of a packed trail.

"We were so close to gettin' that last one. Shame the arrow couldn't hit the heart," one of them said.

"Seems like werewolf skin is thicker than humans."

"Or maybe you're just a shit shot."

"If you think you're so good, then you do it this time! You're the one who always freezes up when he has a werewolf in front of em!"

"Calm down, you don't want to wake anyone. It was just a joke anyway. We'll get them today, you'll see. One arrow will bring a werewolf down, just like any human."

I continued to listen as we wove away from the farm plots, moving towards a densely wooded area. I knew what I had to do now, the plan formulating in my mind. I would wait until they were in position, until they were focused on their victim. Then, I would do everything I could to distract them. I could jump on their backs, claw at their eyes, swung fallen branches at them, anything. 

Every story that I heard from the werewolves indicated that they fought back. They were not timid creatures. I could not take on two human men by myself, but with a powerful werewolf on my side, I was certain that we could not lose. 

But I would not have the chance to be the hero. Something coarse and abrasive slipped around my neck. With a single, powerful jerk I was yanked backwards so hard my feet almost came out from under me. I let out a feeble choking sound, my hands clawing at the rope, but I was unable to pull it away from my airways.

"What do we have here? A little lady looking some excitement in the middle of the night?" a man hissed into my ear.

How had I not heard him? I had been moving so quietly. But I had also been so intent on the people in front of me that I never thought about who was behind me. I never even considered a second threat.

My heart hammered and I realized one detail that I had allowed to slip through the crack. Each victim said that there was always at least a group of three. Sometimes more. But never less.