Rebirth

Chapter 49: Wolf of the Wind

Hurrying down the hall, I stopped towards the last doors before the right turn. Knocking, I waited a moment, before Garlos opened up and yawned at me. His hair was a mess, and he wore striped pjs pants. "What's up," He asked tiredly.

"It's time to talk about your magic."

"Now? I'm still half asleep."

Crossing my arms, I watched him hard. Then, slightly losing my patience, I grabbed the nearby vase, pulled out the flowers, and splashed the cold water on his face. He jumped back, rubbing his eyes and glaring at me, "What the hell!"

"Shut up for a second." I said, stepping in and closing the door. Walking around the room, I examined, making sure the two of us was totally alone, then walked and sat in front of him. "Start talkin."

He searched my eyes, his anger dimming, replaced by a worried look. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Well.." He touched his cheek, "Look."

I mimicked his motion, blinking and looking at my fingers. "Probably the water from the vase." When I looked at him, he shook his head and grabbed a mirror, showing me my reflection. "You're crying man.. Something happen?"

I wiped the tears away. "No.. Not really." My voice was hollow. In truth, I was hurt, somewhat. Thinking about leaving, not just the guild, but disappearing completely must've tugged at my heart in someway. Of course, no one would know that since I never told them, and by the time they figured it out, IF they figured it out, I'd be long gone, and they'd be safe from any danger I'd bring. It wasn't fair to them, but it was the better option.

"Alright.. If you say so." He placed the mirror by his side, the reflection facing upwards. "So then, where to start.. I guess. When I was born. I was as normal as a wolf could be. I hunted, ate, slept, hell even peed, as normal as everyone else did. My dad was a swell guy, and my mom was beautiful. We would go hunting separate from the pack every month, to catch some good food to eat. It was a pretty good life, until I turned 9. That's when the old pack leader died, and his son took over. He was a kind guy, and cared for everyone, but a month after him getting brought up to power, we got into a war."

"With who? And what for?"

"It was a civil war. The pack had growing tensions since there was an increase of male wolves mating, not just with our kind. The half wolves were taken in, along with their mothers, and the previous king wouldn't have it. That's when it started. The pack split up, some to defend the half bloods, others to eradicate them. First battle was bloody, and the half bloods were actually starting to win. Until the younger wolves were drafted in. I was 11 when I was recruited. First battle was awful, and I was scared for sure. When it ended, I slipped away, grabbed a drink, and met a wolf around the same age as me. We really hit it off, and became best friends... Then, well...." He paused, taking a deep breath and relaxing his body. "I found out he was a half blood.. Next time we met, we fought on the battlegrounds. Numerous times we had the chance to kill each other, and numerous times we never did."

"I have a pretty good idea of what... But, go on."

He nodded, gripping his knees. "It was the last battle of the war, so due to that, we were all fighting ten times harder. I beat him in hand to hand, and he was hoping I would let him escape.. We were out for blood.. I had no choice.." He looked at his hands. "His blood still stains my hands, and I often have nightmares about it. As he was dying, he looked at me, terrified, as if he just saw a beast. He cursed me, said he would hate me, even in death. I did what I thought would honor him, and..."

"You.. ate him?"

"No. I don't have a taste for fur. I sucked the magical essence from him."

I paused a moment, laughing quietly. "Sounded fun..."

"Disgusting.. But, that's where my magic came from.. I used it and turned the entire pack around. As I did, the king died a few months later. Zhaniah's mother was in charge then. Strong woman, frightening too..." He chuckled. "At any rate, that's where my magic abilities came from. I can control the Gale to no limit."

"Your magic isn't exactly your own.. You're just using it in honor of your friend.." I looked down. "You're really skilled."

"Not as much as you. I haven't seen anyone wield magic to that ability."

Sighing, I got to my feet, rubbing my head. "Thanks... I'm heading to bed. I'm exhausted."

He nodded. My eyes fell on the mirror, and my voice caught in my throat for a bit. Relaxing, and taking a deep breath, I said, "Was the mirror always cracked?"

Garlos blinked, and looked at the mirror. "... No.. It wasn't." He ran a finger down the crack, center on the mirror. "This is fresh..."

"How? We're the only ones..." I trailed off. There was a faint trail in the mirror, that looked slightly like shadows. "There's someone in here."

"In the room.. Or in the castle?" We shared glances, turning and racing to the door, opening it quick. Julienn was standing outside, hand raised and ready to knock. "What's going-"

"No time to explain. Go wake up the others," I said, moving past her.

"Why? What's going on!"

"Someone's in the castle..." I looked at her. "And something tells me he's trying to get out now." The two looked at each other, then back to me and nodded. I moved down the hall, heading lower into the castle. If someone wanted to escape this place, what better place to go than underground?