Wendigo Wars (13 page)

Gasps went up around the table and the Protectors all started talking at once. Paul held his hand up for silence. Mathilde couldn’t help feeling that she should have done it. She was meant to be the one in control but being with Dash clouded her mind and her priorities.

“Go on Dashiel,” said Paul, holding his hands up to settle the Protectors. Dash nodded then continued with his story.

“There are no bars to keep the people in but they are kept back by the wendigo chained close enough to get them were they to try and escape. I don’t know how they came to be there. Snatched away like we were maybe. Some of the babies were so young that they must have been born there, in captivity. The blood on the floors had dried but the smell must have driven the wendigo mad when the women gave birth.”

Around the table there was now only silence. Some of the Protectors had looks of horror and some had looks of confusion. Seb had lost the sarcastic look which he had worn so far and spoke directly and civilly to Dash for the first time since meeting him.

“Hostages? What does Zhu want to secure their freedom?”

“No. Not hostages. Food.”

This time Mathilde was among the people to gasp.

“You remember I told you that Zhu made a proposition to my father to rule Romania together and for criminals and unfortunates to be surrendered to Zhu to provide food for the wendigo?”

The people around the table nodded, some leant forwards to hear what was to come next, others leant backwards with horrified “oh”s as they realised what Dash was going to say. Having seen the conversations with Zhu first-hand, Violette and Mathilde were less surprised.

“Zhu did not come up with this idea out of the blue. He has already been doing it - for three years. Gein rejoiced in telling me more details than I wanted to know. He took me to see the chambers before he released me. Zhu captures healthy mature men and women and he feeds them to the wendigo to keep them in his thrall. Many of the captives thought that they were going to die within days of being captured. Many were slaughtered in those first few days. Those that were left thought their end was near. Some prayed, some succumbed to more earthly urges, making the most of what small joys they could get from living...”

“Sex,” said Seb, not cringing away from the issue.

Dash nodded and looked down. Mathilde noticed his cheeks colour. For a moment she forgot about their situation and wondered if this was because he was a gentleman or perhaps because he was less experienced than she had assumed.

“Yes... sex. Then the wendigo stopped attacking them so regularly. They were picked off every few days but the women of child bearing age were left alone.”

“Like breeding cattle. Just like he said to your father... and this is just the beginning,” said Mathilde. Silence fell again.

“Ok we vote - all in favour of rescuing the captives and killing as many wendigo as we can raise your hand. Think carefully. To go to war may mean that we all die.” Paul caught the eye of every man and woman at the table, finishing with Mathilde who gave a small nod of agreement.

The gathering thought for only a second before each member slowly raised their hand. Mathilde was not surprised that Seb was the first. Despite all of his mixed feelings for Mathilde and Dash he would always do the right thing. His capacity to love people (well – most people!), even those he had never met, had always been limitless.

“So we go to war. Tomorrow,” said Paul with a decisive nod.

War had been declared.

Chapter Fifteen

Having separated for the day the Protectors had gone to say goodbye to their loved ones, each hoping that it would not be for the last time. The group had collectively made the decision to leave most of the Protectors behind and journey to the Polovragi Monestary as a small group. This gave them the benefit of taking only the strongest of the Bucharest Protectors and also leaving the Bucharest settlement in a good defense position if wendigo attacked in Paul’s absence. Dash assured them that they would find reinforcements at the Monastery to help them to rescue the captives.

Paul and the three Protectors that had been chosen to travel with Seb, Mathilde and Dash met back up once their final goodbyes had been said. Alan – whose heavily pregnant wife had chosen the settlement’s good over her own; Jewel - with loving parents and siblings who would worry the whole time she was away; Louisa – with elderly parents who relied on her for care and company. Not one of the Protectors left without leaving some heartache or fear behind them.

The whole settlement understood the need to go, that they had to save the people who were captive and overcome the wendigo now before everyone was at risk. At the same time no-one wanted them to go and there was a shared fear that they were sending some of their loved ones off to die with no hope of victory.

As the group set out, the settlement was silent. Were it not for the electric crackle of fear and anticipation in the air the procession would have seemed like a funeral march. They made their way out of Bucharest and left the oppressive, grey buildings behind their mood lightened.

Jewel and Louisa began to chat about the people they had left behind and the competence of some of the more portly members of the Protectorate.

“Marcus will protect the settlement if wendigo attack,” Louisa said as the group began their journey along the flat and wide open space which would lead them to the forest and eventually the Carpathian Mountains and Polovragi.

“Yes, he will protect them well,” agreed Jewel. “After all the wendigo will get so full on his fat stomach that they won’t want to eat for a week.”

Both girls laughed then went onto good natured joking about other members of the Protectorate left behind. Seb and Paul, meanwhile, spent the journey sharing war stories of their many encounters of wendigo and their theories about how Zhu could be controlling them. Mathilde tried to join in each conversation but whenever she did she was reminded about how hard she found it when she tried to make new friends. It was like her mind went blank every time she started to chip in and she began to ramble, leaving the other people in the conversation nodding along in uncomfortable confusion. What’s more Jewel, Alan and Louisa all seemed a bit wary of her – a reaction she was unfortunately used to from new people.

After a while she dropped back and resorted to walking in silence with Dash who gave her the odd achingly meaningful smile but largely stayed quiet and absorbed in his own world. By the end of their first day of travelling Mathilde was more exhausted at her attempts to fit in and feel comfortable with the group than she was with the long, long walk that they had endured.

The next day passed much the same, although thankfully Dash was more talkative. It wasn’t long before dark fell again and, as they entered the forest, the merriment of the other members of the group dropped to a whisper as they spent their energies watching out for an attack from the closely packed trees in the twilight hour.

Chapter Sixteen

“Here’s a good place to spend the night”

Mathilde dropped her bag onto the floor. With an evergreen canopy of tree branches above and a wide circular shape to the clearing it was perfect and the snow barely covered the ground. Mathilde set to work building a central fire whilst the rest of the group went to gather wood to make a fire barrier around the perimeter of the clearing. By nightfall the camp was complete and the various game animals caught during the day were roasting over the fire creating a delicious smell that lifted the hearts of the tired, hungry travelers. Mathilde was thankful that cooked food did nothing for the appetite of wendigo or they would never be able to have a hot meal and send such delicious smells into the air without luring an attacker.

As they ate a mood of levity hung over the camp. Two days into their journey and only one day from the Polovragi monastery and so far there had been no incidents.  With full stomachs and the warmth and lights of the many fires the travelers settled down for the night, leaving Paul and Louisa to take the first shift of the night watch.

As the Protectors lay their sleeping pads down for the night Seb made a move to set his pad down next to Mathilde’s but Dash beat him to it, throwing an evil look his way as he did. It had been the same way the night before and each time they had settled down to rest or eat. Mathilde was growing annoyed with the macho possessiveness that they were both getting a bit too fond of, especially as nothing had ever actually been formalised with either of them. Seb knew where he stood with her but still wouldn’t back off and Mathilde and Dash had only ever held hands. Sure there was something between them that produced a strong addictive feeling in Mathilde, but they had never even kissed and had never spoken about what may be going on or how they felt for each other.

Mathilde wasn’t even sure how she felt about Dash. All she knew was that whenever he wasn’t in her eye-line she felt an almost overwhelming need to seek him out and when she saw him she had to hold herself back from going to him. The need to make some physical contact with him, even a brush of the fingertips, was so strong that it constantly caught her by surprise when it made her heart speed or her stomach plunge. Yet every touch made her want more. It was never enough. At the same time she was scared to touch him for fear of where it might lead. Her need for him was all encompassing yet her head told her to stay back, that he was damaged beyond repair by what he had seen and, although he had used the other humans as the reason for going to Polovragi, he seemed to have an obsessive, self-destructive need to find his sister and destroy Zhu. Mathilde had just about held onto enough of a sense of self preservation to not give into her urges and fall for Dash completely.

As Mathilde lay down on her sleeping pad she suddenly found herself staring into Dash’s eyes as he lay down on his. The bright blue made her forget that it was night for a second and they shone the colour of the sky when the temperatures were at their warmest.

“Hi.”

“Hi”

“Think Seb wants to kill me?”

“Don’t be silly. He doesn’t think of me that way. He’s just protective.”

Dash raised his eyebrow at Mathilde’s willful ignorance of what was quite obvious to everyone else. Mathilde felt herself blush and could not avoid the fact that, even in the dark, she could feel Seb’s eyes burning as he stared at Dash’s back.

“Ok, whatever. You are wrong, you know, but let’s just not talk about it alright?”

“Whatever makes you happy”

Dash reached out from under his sleeping blankets to hold Mathilde’s hand. As his warm fingers wrapped themselves around hers she felt the tingle running up her arm, through her chest and into her stomach. It was all at once familiar and surprising. This was the most physical contact they ever had and yet Mathilde could not imagine anything feeling as strong or intimate as this. So intimate that she felt exposed when other people caught them holding hands.

“So what about when this is all over? If we survive, what does that mean for us?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well when you have Suzanna back you won’t really need me anymore.”

“She is my sister, nothing else, why wouldn’t I need you?”

“Well, because, I mean isn’t part of you wanting me just because you needed me on your side so that the rest of the Protectors would help you?”

Dash sat up and dropped Mathilde’s hand.

“You don’t trust me.”

“No, that isn’t true. Of course I trust you. It’s just, well what could you possibly see in me to make me worth your time? All I have to offer is my Protectorate.” Mathilde stuttered out her questions. It turned out she was even worse at having a love-life than she was at everything else. Dash’s face relaxed and he reached forwards to take Mathilde’s face between his hands.

“You are crazy.”

Mathilde raised her eyebrows. That was a compliment? It seemed to her more like confirmation of what she had said. Dash chuckled at her expression.

“That is a good thing. Mathilde you are strong and honest and you have a truly good heart. You have given your whole life to looking after others and you never complain. You are beautiful and interesting and I want nothing more than to be with you forever.”

Dash kept on looking at her and traced the scar on her face with his finger. Mathilde tried to maintain eye contact but her eyes kept flicking to his lips in a way that she couldn’t control. As Dash moved closer the breath which came from their mouths to mingle in the frosted air became more rapid until it seemed like they were breathing in only each other. As Dash got closer Mathilde saw his perfect blue eyes close and his feathery, thick black eyelashes touch his cheeks. She closed her eyes too and waited for their lips to touch. Then the whispering started.

Mathilde’s eyes flew open just in time to see Dash’s do the same. Their faces were only inches apart and Dash still held her face between his hands as they sat frozen into position and listened.

The whispers were suddenly all around them. Half whispers with evil tones, panicked whispers of people about to be found, pleading whispers of people already caught, screams and sobbing of people at the end of their lives and finally gnashing and tearing of muscle and fibres, torn by sharp needle teeth. “Wendigo” whispered Mathilde before leaping up.

Mathilde looked around. The camp was still secure and the rest of the travellers were getting to their feet and grabbing their weapons.

“What’s going on?” Mathilde shouted to Paul

“They’re in the woods. It sounds like we are surrounded.”

“Close in, backs to the fire, archer be ready to fire at the first sighting of a wendigo. Do not break formation. Do not trust what you hear. Do not go to the voices.”

The Protectorate and Dash formed a tight circle with their backs to the fire. They stood frozen, weapons at the ready, waiting for the attack. They all knew that there was only so long that the wendigo would avoid the fire before taking the risk and leaping over it. Even the heat which radiated from the fire seemed to cause them agony but not enough to hold them off forever. They were ruled by their hunger.