Page 30 of The Silent Mountain (Under the Werewolf Crown #2)

thirty

The Attack

*FAVIAN*

T he moment I told Erin what Alana said, she was already up on her feet and running out of the room. Stefan and I follow her at some distance. I want to give her the time to reach Ludwig first. He is her patient, and she deserves to be there first.

On our way, Alana catches up to us. “Do you know what happened?” I ask her.

“No, Cassie was in full panic. Elio went with her to calm her down.”

I feel the signature twinge of worry and simmering anger in my chest at my brother doing something reckless again, but I try to fight it down. I promised him I would trust him and his abilities more. He is not a child anymore, and he had the potion, so he should be safe. All he did was go with one of our witches, to make sure she keeps it together and to check on what’s going on.

That’s being responsible, and nothing I should feel angry about.

If only I could stop myself from worrying all the time.

He promised me he would be careful, Alana links me. He sounded sincere and very much in control.

I apologize, you must have felt my chaotic emotions.

It doesn’t matter, she reassures me. I know why you are worried.

I take her hand, squeezing it lightly before picking up my pace to follow Erin. By now, Erin has disappeared into the cottage. Stepping closer, I finally bump into my brother. He looks pale and worried, but otherwise seems to be alright.

“Elio!” I say. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “Ludwig was tossing around in his bed. He seems to be much worse than yesterday.”

“Thank you for checking on him immediately.”

Elio smiles. Before he can answer though, we can hear groans of pain from inside. “Is that Ludwig?” I ask, alarmed.

Stefan’s eyes are clouded in worry. “I think so.”

“I will check on him. Wait here,” I command. “Alana-“

“I will wait here too,” she says. “I am not sure if he wants me to see him in such a weak state.”

“That’s what I wanted to say,” I admit, squeezing her hand one more time. “Elio, please stay with Alana.”

“I will,” he promises. “Maybe we can go for a walk?” he asks.

“I like that idea,” Alana admits. “Let’s make sure to get our minds off this.”

Elio looks relieved at her words. I know he is trying to be strong and tough, but while he might not be a little child anymore, he is still so young. I am glad that he will get some distraction. I wait for both of them to walk away before stepping inside.

The air in the room is fouler than it was a day ago, instantly raising my worries. Why is it progressing so fast in Ludwig? Barbara had days!

“Your Highness,” Frederick says while approaching me, clearly distraught. “Ludwig has deteriorated.”

“But how?” I exclaim.

“Erin believes he was already weakened,” he mutters. “And he might have been infected longer than we thought he was. He was with Barbara a lot.”

Damn it, that makes sense. Or does it? Maybe she scratched him before, but we didn’t know.

I follow the groans and step inside the room where Ludwig is currently resting. Fortunately, Erin has managed to calm him down a bit. He does look completely distraught, almost as if he doesn’t realize what’s happening around him. “I saw him…” he mumbles. “He was… I saw him…”

“Who did you see?” Erin asks softly.

“He… he was here…”

Erin turns her head to look at me. “He had a nightmare,” she declares.

“I wasn’t able to wake him up,” Frederick admits.

“A nightmare?”

I notice how Ludwig keeps muttering something, his fingers tapping against the blanket and twitching nervously. “Give him a pen and a sheet of paper,” I say.

Frederick looks at me, surprised. “What?”

“Do as I say.”

I don’t need to ask twice. Frederick hurries to fulfill my demands, and soon Ludwig holds a pen in his hands. Frederick is keeping the paper in place, his eyes widening in shock when Ludwig starts scribbling something down on it, as if he is in a trance. The pen in his hands is moving fast and surprisingly efficiently. Once he is done, he drops the pen and sinks back into the bed, closing his eyes. His breath is less rigid now, but his face is still pale.

Erin gently taps his forehead with an ointment while Frederick hands me the paper. He shakes his head. “I… I did not expect this,” he stutters.

Studying the paper, I notice, to my surprise, that Ludwig has drawn something. A cloaked figure, most likely a man, wearing a mask. And around him, there are birds fluttering, some of them dead on the ground.

“By Aengus,” I mutter.

Erin wipes her hands clean and comes closer again. “The birds again,” she announces.

“And who is that figure?” I ask.

She stares at the drawing as if she wants to cast a spell on it, but then she just sighs in frustration. “If only I knew.”

“You haven’t seen it anywhere before?”

“Unfortunately not, and I pride myself in knowing a lot,” she admits, before handing the drawing to Stefan. Just like her, he stares at it in deep concentration.

“The birds, it’s always the birds.”

“Indeed. It’s always them.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Erin,” I say. “Please make sure that Ludwig is as comfortable as possible.”

“I will,” she promises. None of us dares to comment on Ludwig’s general health. We saw what happened with Barbara. I know that Erin is tirelessly working on saving Ludwig’s life, but she can only do so much, and we need to be prepared for the worst.

“Can I keep the drawing for now?” Erin asks. “I will try to research.”

“Of course,” I say. “Stefan, when you are done, hand her back-“

I don’t get to finish my sentence, as a scream tears through the room. My first instinct is that it’s Ludwig again, but then there are more noises coming to my ears, and I instantly know it’s from outside. “Another attack!” I yell.

“Damn it!” Stefan curses.

“Erin, stay inside,” I command. “Make sure Ludwig and Cassie remain safe!”

“Yes, Your Highness!” She pauses. “Your Highness, if it’s birds or other creatures attacking, if you can, catch one of them alive. It might help me find out what type of curse they are carrying and manipulate it!”

“I will try,” I say.

Stefan and I hurry outside, noticing the black clouds in the sky.

“Birds, again.”

“I used to love them,” Stefan exclaims. “But now they are such a terrifying sight.”

I reach out to the guards at the shore. Situation?

We are being attacked, but just by a couple of birds. We are fine, Your Highness!

The answer from the guards at the borders is less positive though. “Stefan, head to the west border and make sure to help them fend off these monsters. I will help the east.”

I am so surprised by the sudden attack that I forget to think of Elio and Alana. Only once I am at the border do I remember that they wanted to go for a walk.

Alana! I link her. Where are you?

Up the mountains, she instantly replies. What’s going on? We can just see birds circling around the area.

Stay where you are with Elio! We are being attacked!

Favian, we can help!

Please, I beg her. The less I need to worry about, the better.

She sighs. Fine, but we will need to talk about this eventually!

*ALANA*

“What’s going on down there?” Elio asks, pacing around anxiously. We walked for a while, both of us at an ambitious pace, and soon were far away from the clan and up one of the mountains. It’s then that we spot the clan area and see the birds circling it.

“Favian just linked me, they are being attacked,” I explain nervously.

“We need to help them!”

“I promised him we would stay here.”

Elio groans.

“Yeah, that was my initial reaction as well,” I admit.

“Why is he like that!?” Elio exclaims. “This is our home and our clan, too! Why doesn’t he trust me at all?”

“It’s not just you,” I say.

“But how come you accept it so easily?”

“I don’t,” I admit. “But I know we are all he has,” I add. “His trauma runs deep, Elio. I know it’s frustrating, but let’s try to be patient with him and work on it.”

“Alright,” Elio says with a sigh. “He has been more relaxed since you’ve been with us.”

“Let’s find a better spot,” I tell him. “I want to be able to see what’s going on.”

“There is a cliff a bit ahead,” he says. “We will see the whole area from there.”

I let Elio take the lead, and we make it to the cliff, though it’s more like an extension of the mountain than a cliff itself. He was right with his promise, though, it gives a view of the whole clan area. A beautiful observation platform, although now the scene is nothing but scary. Flocks of birds are fluttering above the clan while the dragons have lunged into the air and are fighting back.

Favian obviously wants to get rid of this problem, judging by the aggressive way the dragons are fighting back. Fortunately, they all had the potion.

“Let’s hope they truly get rid of them,” Elio mutters.

“Can we even do that?” I ask. “Birds are birds; they will come and go. If we get rid of this flock, won’t another one just reappear?”

“Probably,” Elio says.

A surreal sound ahead of us pulls me out of our talk. For a split second, I am confused. It’s just a couple of seconds of inattention, but they are enough for me to be distracted. I spin around, suddenly staring at a pitch-black bird the size of a small dragon above us.

“Careful, Elio!” I yell, pushing him to the side before the bird can lunge at him. With Elio out of the way, I come eye to eye with the gigantic bird.

By the Goddess Aine, I have never seen such a beast before! What is this? Red eyes seem to stare right into my soul, the feathers have been plucked, and bones and skin are hanging off the creature. Whatever this is, I am sure it’s not a normal bird!

A loud screech rips through the air, making me wince in pain. Blood drips out of my nose. I try to ignore it and reach for my dagger, but I am too slow. The creature grips, its claws driving deep into my shoulder and making it impossible for me to even move before it drags me away from the mountain and towards the ocean.

“Alana!” Elio yells.

I can see him shift and take off in his dragon form. “No, Elio. Stay back!”

The creature screeches again, making me convulse in pain. Favian, I try to reach out to my mate. Favian, can you hear me?

I am greeted by deafening silence.

It’s blocking my connection to Favian, although I am marked! How is that possible?

Meanwhile, Elio has caught up to us, rushing towards the ugly creature with his claws upfront. He knocks against it with full force. The grip of the creature loosens slightly, and I use the moment to grab my dagger again, driving it into its body with full force. I don’t know what I hit or if it works, but I don’t care. I am not going to die doing nothing!

The bird creature screeches again, spurring me on, that my efforts aren’t in vain. I keep digging my dagger into its claws until I can finally feel its grip loosen fully, making me drop down into the ocean. Both Elio and the creature follow me.

Ros curses when we finally reach the water. The pain takes my breath away, but it’s still manageable. I want wings! She huffs. We have been falling into the water a lot recently!

You are right, but we have other problems now!

Ros and I ready ourselves to attack the ugly creature, when I hear the soft humming again. It’s the same as last time I was in the water. The alluring voice… I try to force my eyes to stay open and my mind focused. Next to me, Elio drops into the water in his human form. His strength must have left him again. He is too young to remain in his dragon form for long. Favian once explained to me that it’s different to fly over the ocean. It sucks the strength out of the dragons much faster, probably, because it’s the space between two realms.

“What’s this melody?” Elio mutters, his eyes glossing over.

I grab him by his hand, shaking it slightly. “Don’t listen to it!”

The creature above circles before lunging towards us again. It happens so fast I can barely register what’s truly going on. Suddenly, there is a face next to Elio and me. A creature that looks vaguely feminine, almost human, just with greenish skin and hair as black as the night. Instead of teeth, she has fangs, little sharp teeth that I don’t want to come in contact with, ever. Elio and I are both completely frozen, barely able to react when she grabs us and pulls us with her into the depths of the ocean. Above us, I can see the bird’s claws diving into the water, not reaching us, and then the tentacles of a sea monster suddenly hurtling upwards and wrapping around it. The screeching makes me almost lose consciousness, while the new creature keeps dragging us more and more to the depths of the ocean.