To Cheat Death

Chapter Twenty

Sitting in the driest corner in my cell, I wrapped my arms around my legs. My eyes hurt from straining to see so I closed them.
A strange sense of detachment came over me. That was not me still in a strange dark place. My parents weren't dead.
Tears of self pitty rose.

"Get a grip." A whispering voice said.
I jumped, the werewolf hadn't spoken in weeks.

"Your not getting anywhere bemoaning your fate." She continued.
"Do something."

"I can't. I'm in a cell. What am I supposed to do?" Even in my own head I sounded like a whiny child wanting something petty.

"Then wait, make a plan. Use your time wisely."

So I did. I thought long and hard discarding plan after plan.

I can't say how long I waited, long enough for my muscles to ache from the stone ground, but eventually lights shown through the darkness, burning my dilated eyes.

Two different guards made a beeline for the cell next to mine.

The light reached the man's wide, crazed, eyes.

Yanking the door open, they seized the man who had attacked the guard.

They dragged him away anything but passively. His eyes were blank as if he was already dead and in the ground.

"Your next." Said my werewolf.
"Do something."

They came all too soon. At their hard eyes, I couldn't stop myself from shuddering. Never before had I seen eyes like these before. No value of human life resided there.

I squashed the flicker of fear that tried to control me.

I would not be led like a lamb to the slaughter.

As soon as they came in I opened my mouth, about to give them a piece of my mind, but they each grabbed an arm, hauled me up, and started dragging me out the cell and down the hall.

"Wait-" I stuttered, yanking at their holds on me but they paid as much attention to me as if I were a heavy bothersome load they couldn't wait to be rid of.

Stumbling as they walked through the halls, I couldn't help but still as the lantern light hit the walls. They were covered with an intricate web of design. Scribbles that almost made words tugged at my mind, impossible to ignore.

"I don't know such magic. It is not of the werewolves." My wolf said in awe.

I pondered the writings on the wall, almost forgetting about my current predicament. A strange magic drew me and I knew I needed to do something but what it was evaded my grasp.

Blinking at the door opened before me, I realized I had no idea where I was. Light peeked from the open door, and one guard pulled me in while the other one shut and locked the door behind him.

"You'll be fine. The hovgoy is distracted with the other one. Just dump her and get out of there." The second guard said through the door.

The hand holding my arm was clammy and a bead of sweat ran down his forehead.
He nodded nervously, opened another door, nearly blinding me with the light, and shoved me forward without ceremony.

"Here." He said gruffly, throwing my talisman before me ouside the door.
"Not that it will do you any good."

I ripped my arm from his and dove for my talisman, snatching it up and changing.

I swung around growling, but the door was shut. Noises and scents suddenly assaulted my senses.

A large amount of people were near. Screaming. Putrid with the smells of too close bodies and food that had been sitting out too long. And the menacing scent of blood.

I wheeled back around and the sights before me hit like a hammer. A wide arena with a tall cement wall that went up thirdly feet at least. Above that people of every description stood and sat and screamed.

Just across the way a creature stood over something.

Blood darkened its claws and fur, and with a heave I realized the mess before the monster must have been the man in the cell beside me.
If I had been human I would have been sick.

The monster was fifteen feet tall. It was built like a bear with a snout like a beaver. It's back was curled and hunched like an old man. It's eyes were small and dark in a way that said it relied more on its other senses and that it's sight was weak. It's arms ended in huge claws that dangled to its knees. It wore leather armer that looked more for show than anything else. Short brown fur covered it body but something else drew your eye. Long beautiful feathers dangled from its back. The ends were tied at his neck and fell almost to its waist. The colors ranged from golden yellow to copper red and gleamed as if muddy ground around it didn't exist.

"AND NOW!" A booming voice said from boxes arrayed around the area. My ears flicked back and I flinched. Changing back human, I hoped my weaker ears would take the booming voice better.

"THE PROMINENT ONE GRACIOUSLY PRESENTS HIS SECOND CHALLENGER OF THE DAY! A WOLF SHIFTER! BE SURE TO PLACE YOUR BETS BEFORE TOO LONG AND THE MATCH IS OVER!"

Mocking laughter rang through the area.
Clapping my hand over my ears and falling to my knees, I tried to avert my eyes from what used to be the man in the next cell. I gagged.

"AND NOW THE STRONGEST HAVGOY EVER MADE, THE SAME ONE WHO KILLED THE LAST PHOENIX WILL NOW DEMONSTRATE HIS AMAZING STRENGTH AND PROWESS IN BATTLE!"

"What is it? A havgoy? What tales speak of such a creature?" I murmured to myself.

"It must be dark magic." My shewolf said.

A vivid memory hit me. My mother sat at the fireplace, me in her lap.
"It was a black creature, a winged snake. Made by an deep evil magic that molded a snake and bird together. These creatures are rare but that's what your father thought he saw a long time ago. You must never Change into a black creature. They will control you. Evil magic will change who you are. You must never change into a winged snake."

I nodded in a way only a nine year old could have.
"Or Griffins."

She laughed, happy.
"Well, Griffins have been extinct for some time now but they were started by dark magic tampering."

I shook off the vision, bitting back grief as if they had died yesterday.
"I can't survive against such a creature! Look at how big it is!"

"It's dumb. It has no intelligence of its own. Look, it hasn't charged you yet. Come now. I'm only telling you what you already know. I am only after all a part of you."
My werewolfs voice became exasperated.

"Ok I can't change into it. I can't beat it with a matter of strength, my wolf is nowhere near the same fighting level."
I clenched my teeth in frustration.
"If I had my feather I could fly out!"

Feather. Phoenix.

Killed the last Phoenix.

"I have an idea."