ichor - jason grace

XVI

"Wolves," Piper said. "They sound close."

Jason rose and summoned his sword. Leo and Coach Hedge got to their feet too.

Piper tried but stumbled. Nell guided Piper back to the ground

"Stay there, both of you," Jason said. "We'll protect you."

Nell scowled, she hated the idea of just sitting back and doing nothing, but without a weapon, unless she wanted to be ripped to shreds, she'd have to deal with it.

Then, just outside the entrance of the cave, she saw a pair of red eyes glowing in the dark. Nell took a deep breath, but she couldn't stop her fingers from twitching, desperate for some kind of a weapon.

More wolves edged into the firelight - black beats bigger than great Danes, with ice and snow caked on their fur. Their fangs gleamed, and their glowing red eyes looked disturbingly intelligent. The wold n front was almost as tall as a horse, his mouth stained as if he'd just made a fresh kill.

Nell heard Piper pull her dagger out of the sheath.

Then Jason stepped forward and said something in Latin.

"What the fuck," she muttered under her breath. That was twice now, Jason had broken out into Latin.

The alpha wolf curled his lip. The fur stood up along his spine. One of his lieutenants tried to advance, but the alpha wolf snapped at his ear. Then all the wolves backed into the dark.

"Dude, I gotta study Latin." Leo's hammer shook in his hand. "What'd you say, Jason?"

Hedge cursed. "Whatever it was, it wasn't enough. Look."

The wolves were coming back, but the alpha wolf wasn't with them. They didn't attack. They waited - at least a dozen now, in a rough semi-circle just outside the firelight, blocking the cave exit.

The coach hefted his club. "Here's the plan. I'll kill them all, and you guys escape."

"Not a chance," Nell said, and the same time as Piper spoke up.

"Coach, they'll rip you apart,"

"Nah, I'm good."

Then Nell saw the silhouette of a man coming through the storm, wading through the wolf pack.

"Stick together," Jason said. "They respect a pack. And Hedge, no crazy stuff. We're not leaving you or anyone else behind."

Nell positioned herself in front of Piper. Right now, she was the weak link in their 'pack'. And her fear was obvious. She was sick, injured, and cold.

The wolves parted, and the man stepped into the firelight. His hair was greasy and ragged, the colour of fireplace soot, topped with a crown of what looked like finger bones. His robes were tattered fur - wolf, rabbit, raccoon, deer, and several other Nell couldn't identify. The furs didn't look cured, and from the smell, they weren't very fresh. His frame was lithe and muscular, like a distance runners. But the most horrible thing was his face. His thin pale skin was pulled tight over his skull, and his teeth were sharpened like fangs. His eyes glowed bright red like his wolves' - and they fixed on Jason with absolute hatred.

"Ecce," he said. "Filli Romani."

"Speak English, wolfman!" Hedge bellowed.

The wolfman snarled. "Tell your faun to mind his tongue, son ion Rome. Or he'll be my first snack."

Faun was the Roman name for satyr. Not exactly helpful information. It would help if she knew who he was, but everything seemed to escape her mind the second she tried to remember anything.