Vilkacis English Version

Chapter 4 A Battle for Freedom

Chapter 4 A Battle for Freedom

No one knew for sure which side the vilkacis will join until the first soldiers of the Brotherhood were slaughtered and dismembered. The blood of the enemy stained in crimson red the white carpet of snow that covered the stoned floor. A heavy blizzard made almost impossible to distinguish between the clashing forces and the iron clanged rampantly as the armies fused immersed in a raw and fierce battle. It could be heard the screams of those who were wounded by the sword or by the claw echoing on the decayed walls of the fortress.

The Livonian Brothers outnumbered the scarce group of villagers who fought for their lives and the freedom of their region, but one by one their numbers were diminished. Zemgale warriors were brave and battled with conviction. The vilkacis had come to help them and were scattered in all directions inside the fortress. With incredible strength, the wolf-like creatures threw the enemy soldiers off their horses and attacked them with unmerciful violence, tearing the flesh of the miserable knights with their claws and canine sharp teeth.

In the rear end of the fortification, two soldiers cornered Old Miloslav. He held his sword tight high in his hands, to fight back the pair of bulky men that closed the gap between him and the wall behind. They stepped forward and he walked backwards until his back reached the cold wall.

Mila had just beheaded one of the enemy soldiers and still had part of his dead body in her mouth wiggling it like a ragged doll. Her amber eyes glistened with red shades in the minute she spotted the two soldiers that cornered her father. Immediately she dropped the dead man and scampered across the fortress to save old Miloslav. A second after, right when the two Brotherhood warriors were about to strike against her father, Mila got there. With a quick and violent blow, she threw one of the men into the air, crashing badly against the wall behind. The second soldier was now the one with his back on the stoned hedge. His body trembled. "Please, no..." He begged for his life. But Mila had to defend her father from the attackers. No one could be left alive.

The golden haired she-wolf advanced just one step. She was a lot bigger than the soldier who was already two meters tall. Her eyes, angry garnets reflected the man's frightened gestures, yet she couldn't show mercy for this soldier for he was the enemy. She didn't want to dismember him in front of her father. Old Miloslav was already impressed by her presence. Mila grabbed the man by his right elbow and hurled him in the air, crashing high on the turret a few meters away. His bones broke with the violent impact and then he fell to the floor, dead.

The she-wolf stood in front of her dad and stared at him.

"Mila..." He whispered.

Mila gently lifted his father and placed him on her back and ran over the hundreds of dead bodies scattered all over the floor. In the distance the retreat call was given. Master Volkwin and less than fifty Christ Knights fled running out the fortress and down the snowy hill.

Inside the fortification, reigned chaos and blood blanketed the stoned walls and floor. There were only a few dozens men left standing, all of them part of the zemgale tribes. The enemy had been defeated and the villagers celebrated intoning victory chants.

The vilkacis one by one left the fortress. Only Mila and her mate remained. Both old Miloslav and his she-wolf daughter stood face by face. A tear dropped from her amber eyes and her father stroke the fur on her face and wiped the salty drop of sadness with his fingers.

"Don't be sad. I'll tell your mother you're doing fine. Take the word to the rest of your pack that we owe so much gratitude for this. You can go now... I love you Mila." The old man smiled to his daughter and clung to her neck in the form of a fatherly hug. A loud howl was heard and Mila knew it was time to return with the rest of the pack.

"Vilkacis!" The villagers cried cheerfully and waved goodbye to the creatures that ran out the fortress.

Once in the forest, they transformed into humans again. The blizzard hit hard against their naked bodies, but the flakes melted by the touch of their skin. Mila grabbed his mate's hand and followed the rest of the pack while disappearing into the thickness of the woodlands.

The rest of the villagers began their walk home to live as free men and women again.

The End

***This short story was inspired by the video clip of the song She-Wolf (Falling to Pieces) David Guetta ft. Sia. The story is set in a real place and time in history, the take of Riga and Aizkraukle in the former Terra Mariana, now the central region of Latvia and Lithuania by the Brotherhood of the Sword also known as the Christ Knights.