Broken, but Not Defeated

Chapter 15 (Juliana)

We all trudge through the frost-covered fallen leaves, and no one is in the mood to make jokes. I wish I knew if he was still alive. But in my heart, I know William is gone forever. I hold on to the hope, that maybe the witches had mercy, or that he found a way out.

"Let's rest here, Juliana," Wesley says, breaking my thoughts. I look around, the sun is just rising.

"Okay," I whisper. "I'm just going to walk ahead by myself. With Beorn," I add when Cole starts to get up. I walk away from them. Beorn races ahead, and all of a sudden I hear Beorn start to growl.

"Beorn, come!" A branch cracks. "Beorn?" I turn around and there is a white wolf staring at me with its head cocked. She lets out a soft whine. The map glows.

Trust the Wolf. She will be a guide and a comfort.

-E

"Hello, girl. Are you lost?" That's all the encouragement it needs. It races up to me and falls on its back, begging for a belly rub. Just then Beorn breaks through the dormant bushes and barks happily. The two of them start chasing each other. "Wesley, Cole, Anya, come look." Cole stops beside me.

"What in the name of—" Wesley starts.

"Is that a wolf?" Anya asks.

"Watch." I kneel in the dirt and clap my hands together. The wolf races over and starts to lick my face. I laugh. "Cool, right?"

"What's her name?" Cole asks, kneeling beside me.

"You want to keep it," Anya notes, taking a step back.

I ignore her. Besides, if she has a problem with it, Wesley can comfort her. "I think I will name her Artic."

"Artic," Cole says. At that, she leaps up, wagging her tail and barking happily.

Wesley sighs. "Well, I guess we are going to have two animals with us to feed."

"Yay." I clap my hands "Come Artic, Beorn." They both start racing in front of us. We follow. My heart feels a lot lighter.

For three days we walk. On the third night, we hear horses.

"Wesley, what was that?"

"Horse hooves. Hide, quick." We all run through the dead forest, looking for a place to hide. Anya picks up Beorn; I can't find Artic, where are you, girl? Just then I see the commander's horse pass not more than an arm's length away. This is it. We're going to be caught. Both Wesley and Cole have their swords in hand. There are at least seven men traveling with the Commander. The men dismount. Wesley and Cole charge from different directions. Wesley attacks the Commander. They go at it, swords crashing. Three of the men pounce on Cole, and the rest of them surround Wesley.

"Drop your weapons." Both the boys drop their weapons into a pile of crimson and orange leaves. "You are in violation of the King."

All of a sudden I hear a wolf's howl. More follow suit. There have to be at least seventeen of them. Then I see it, a black wolf with a scar above its eye. The same wolf that traveled with the witch! It stands on a rock right in plain sight of the Commander and lets out a deep growl. Then it throws back its head and howls. Artic places her two front feet on a dying log, two feet away from me. Wolves seem to appear out of nowhere. My mouth falls open, there are way more than seventeen. Just then I see her, the same witch that told me the news about William. She is standing next to the black wolf. Twelve other witches stand up from their hiding place.

"No Commander, it's you who is in direct violation," she says in a dark voice.

"Who are you?" The commander asks without a hint of fear, but I can tell he's scared because his hands are shaking.

"None of your business, but you have ten seconds to mount your horses and get out of here."

At that, the commander's men drop their swords and rush to their horses. The commander gives the witch a look.

"We will be back, Witch." They all gallop away, jumping over dead bushes and avoiding low-hanging red and golden leaf covered branches. Wesley grabs his sword, wiping off the leaves stuck to it.

"That would not be a smart move, boy," I hear the commander say as she walks over to him.

"Are you the Commander of the Thirteen?" I ask, coming out of my hiding spot. I make my way over to Artic, who wags her tail in greeting. The witch notices and scowls.

"I remember you, the young girl in the forest. You are a long way from home."

"And I remember you, witchling," I say looking her directly in the eyes.