Page 16 of The Wolf’s Secret Baby
Kull
It felt wrong to be in a place such as this. There was an eerie calm about these people, and I didn’t trust them one bit. Typhon and I had shared glances during our journey to their grove, wary of what awaited us and stunned that Ambrosia would make prisoners of us. It felt like a betrayal, but it had not been prudent to fight. The dryads had shown their strength and made it clear that they could have taken our lives with the mere passing of a moment. The grove smelled sickly sweet, and I could see other dryads among their tree village. I sniffed the air. It was difficult to distinguish their scent from the surrounding area, a fact I did not like. This camouflage felt deceptive, and I did not like one of my senses being nullified. I was also annoyed at them for having found me in the first place. I had not been careful enough to mask myself and during my way back to Typhon and Ambrosia, they had chased me. I hadn’t realized they were anything more than shadows at first and by the time I did it was too late.
We were ushered into a small hut. Our wrists were freed from their bindings.
“There will be guards outside your door. I need to tend to a matter but then I shall return, and we will speak about this war,” Vali said, turning on his heels and disappearing before we could say anything in return. The room was simple, unadorned with anything of note. Ambrosia sank to a sitting position, while Typhon and I remained standing.
“What have you done?” Typhon growled, speaking freely now that we were alone.
“This is better than fighting and dying. I know you live to test yourselves but there were so many of them it didn’t seem like a good idea to fight,” she replied.
“We’re still prisoners,” I said.
“It’s not nice, is it?” Ambrosia replied pointedly. Typhon and I hesitated.
“Was this your plan all along, to trap us?” Typhon asked.
“No, I had no idea these people even existed, and I hope we’re not going to be trapped for very long. If these people are against Vance, then maybe we can ally ourselves with them and we can be free.”
“You want us to turn on our pack?” I whispered.
“They turned on you a long time ago,” Ambrosia said. “I get that you have this sense of loyalty built into you, but you shouldn’t give Vance your respect simply because he’s a wolf. These people may not be wolves but if their goals align with yours then you should listen to what they have to say. You might be able to find some commonalities with them and maybe we’ll be able to escape further punishment. We should at least hear him out.”
Typhon bowed his head. “I suppose if nothing else we can learn about the extent of the threat these dryads pose to the wolves. If we return with news of an impending attack Vance would be grateful,” he spoke in a low tone. Ambrosia turned towards me and gave me a worried look. I began to see her wisdom. I knew that Vance wasn’t going to treat us as we wanted to be treated and yet Typhon was still thinking of things in those terms.
“We should listen to them. Hopefully they will not keep us as prisoners for long. Ambrosia is right. We should not show blind loyalty to the pack when they have not shown us the same courtesy in return. If there is a way to prevent this war, then we should see if it is feasible.”
“You would betray the pack?” Typhon hissed.
“Yes,” I said directly, turning towards him. “Ambrosia is right. They are never going to see us the way we want to be seen. It’s foolish to keep trying to earn their approval and respect because we’re always going to fall short. They are never going to allow us to walk alongside them, and do you think they’re going to give us an opportunity to win glory in the war? Every other wolf is going to fight honorably, and we are going to be left behind. We’ll have to hear the stories of triumph and valor, while everyone is going to look at us and taunt us. You are never going to get what you seek from them.”
Before Typhon could respond, Vali returned. He was alone, which I thought was brave of him. For all he knew, we were going to maul him the moment he appeared. He carried with him a tray. Upon the tray were simple cups filled with dark tea. I took one and sipped. It was bitter to the taste.
“I hope that after we speak you will not be considered enemies but if we do not come to a resolution then you will be treated as such. Even though there hasn’t been a formal declaration of war, we consider ourselves in a state of war because we know that the wolves are planning something. I want to know what it is and how to stop it.”
“We can’t help you with that,” I replied.
Vali tilted his head. “Can’t, or won’t?”
“You don’t understand. Typhon and Kull are not trusted with that kind of information. They are not in the alpha’s inner circle,” Ambrosia said.
“I see,” Vali mused. He paced around the room. His footsteps were so light his feet may as well have been made from feathers. “That is most troubling. I hoped that you would prove to be more useful. If you cannot help us…” he trailed away. I sensed what he was implying, and I did not like the sound of it.
“We can help you. We just need to know the nature of what you want. As I said before, we don’t want there to be a war. If there’s a way to stop it then we want to help,” Ambrosia said.
“But we’re not going to directly hurt the pack,” Typhon added quickly. “We’re not going to shed the blood of our own people. It wouldn’t help anyway. If you think we’re going to attack our alpha then-”
“I have no intention of asking you to do such a thing,” Vali interrupted Typhon. “I know wolves better than that. It goes against your nature entirely.” I stared into his grey eyes and tried to peer into them deeply, hoping that I could glean some kind of insight into his background, but they were a swirling mystery, and I found myself at a loss. “As I said, I mainly want information. To survive a war, one must know what the enemy is planning, something that I have been unable to achieve. I know that the wolves are planning something secret. I want to know what it is.”
“As we said, we have no knowledge of secrets,” I replied. It rankled me to have to admit to a stranger that we did not hold a privileged position in our pack. Vali must have thought us fools. Vali remained silent for a few moments as he pondered the situation.
“There is still a way you can help us. We have discovered compounds used by wolves. They are guarded heavily. We have not been able to find a way in. But our distant observations have revealed busy activity, which has intensified recently. We have witnessed wolves going to and fro, and it begs the question of what is being guarded? It must be something valuable, as I cannot imagine the wolves would be stationed there unless there was something important.”
Typhon and I glanced at each other. This was the moment when my loyalties were truly tested.
“Vance has been speaking about some secret weapon,” I said. Typhon glared at me, while Vali’s eyes widened in shock. His eyes were large, and their size was pronounced as the whites of his eyes were stark compared to his smudged features.
“Do you know anything more of this weapon? How destructive is it? How is it going to affect the landscape?” Vali asked, the questions flowing from his tongue. It was the first time I had seen him flustered, perhaps even panicked. It was wise of him to do so because whatever Vance was planning, it wasn’t good.
“We don’t know anything,” Typhon growled.
“But Vance is confident it will prove decisive. He would not make a move like this unless he was sure that he could win,” I added.
“Then whatever is held in these compounds is important to the war effort. We need to discover the nature of his weapons. We need to find out how we can stop them,” Vali stopped pacing suddenly and turned towards us. “I need you to infiltrate one of these compounds.”
Typhon laughed. “We’re not going to do your dirty work for you. We have told you what we know. That is the extent of which we are going to help you. You are not going to make spies of us.”
Vali frowned. “You may have been taught that war is the natural state of the world, but you are wrong. There should be balance and peace. War upsets the natural balance. It spreads a wave of destruction across the land that swallows everything whole. If you were true to yourselves then you would understand this and you would seek to prevent your alpha from performing this abominable act. I have been around for a long time. I knew wolves who would be disgusted by these actions. Are you really content to allow him to cut a swathe of destruction across the land? He will turn this place to ash. I cannot allow that to happen and neither should you.”
“He wouldn’t do that. Vance is many things, but he is not that callous towards his surroundings.” Typhon replied.
“Are you sure?” Vali asked.
I pursed my lips. Although I did not speak, the thought that passed through my mind was a stern ‘no’.
“We should investigate this,” Ambrosia said. “It’s important that we know how Vance is planning to fight this war. What if the nature of this weapon is too terrible to comprehend? What if Vance has been so blinded by a lust for violence that he has created something abhorrent that is going to burn everything? We need to be certain for ourselves. I don’t believe you are content to stand by and allow this to happen. Ask yourselves what depths Vance will sink to in order to guarantee victory and then ask yourselves if you’re willing to live with that.”
Her words were persuasive. I could see doubt flicker in Typhon’s eyes, although he was not ready to accept the truth. I was different. Could I envision Vance burning the entire world? Sadly, yes. And he had been acting smug about this weapon that was going to bring him a decisive advantage. He was a cunning man and never engaged in a fight he was not confident he could win. Whatever he had been planning, it was enough to make him feel that he could emerge victorious. Vali had a right to be concerned. We all did, because if Vance felt confident that he was going to win a war then woe betide anyone who got in his way.
“Ambrosia makes sense. We will do what you ask,” I said. There was a look of betrayal in Typhon’s eyes.
“I will form a scouting party to come with you. Rest for now. Then we will take you to one of the compounds,” Vali said. He also promised that someone would be along presently with food. Then, he took his leave of us.
As soon as he walked away, Typhon rounded on me. “How could you do such a thing? Now that we are traitors, Vance is never going to accept us.”
“He was never going to do such a thing anyway. It’s time you opened your eyes Typhon. You can’t possibly still be blinded by him! Besides, aren’t you at least a little curious about what he’s been planning this entire time? We’ve both heard them speak about the secret weapon that is going to ensure his victory. I don’t want to stand by and watch him burn the world, especially when we’re not going to be able to share in the spoils,” I replied.
“It doesn’t mean that you have to betray him, either. This is just a mission to learn what he’s planning, that’s all. You can still decide what you do with that information,” Ambrosia said this more softly than I ever could, and Typhon responded to her gentle nature. “Vance doesn’t know anything that’s happening here. As far as he’s concerned you might well have infiltrated an enemy camp on his behalf.”
Typhon seemed settled by this, and food was brought to us shortly. I bristled with the thought that we were among enemies, but then again it felt that way no matter where we were. The only people I could trust were Typhon and Ambrosia, the rest were a mystery. As we ate there was much on my mind. The path ahead seemed dangerous but at least I wasn’t going to walk it alone. I thought about Ambrosia’s wish to return to her old life, and I couldn’t imagine her being an ordinary person in an ordinary world. She seemed far too important for that, and I didn’t believe she should be wasted on such a thing.