My Envied Lady: Chapter 15

Chapter 15
Her head was still foggy from whatever she had been drugged with, but Sabina was determined to get them free before their captors came back. They were in a dark cavern, with only the faint sound of water splashing somewhere in the distance to give her a clue of where they could be. She had saved a hairpin to pick the lock on the cage with. After being captured by an evil and ancient wizard to be used as a living spell component about a year ago, she had insisted that Johan teacher her lockpicking. Unfortunately, this was much easier to do with guidance on a sunny summer afternoon and when one could see what one was doing. Maenad just sat in the corner, holding her head, almost as if she had given up already. It would have to be up to Sabina. Splashing and a slight glow in the distance made her jump. She worked furiously to get the tumblers to fall into place. The cave's entrance was very low; both humans had to stoop down to enter, but shortly after they were inside, it widened and they could stand upright, though they still had to dodge stalactites and their progress was painfully slow. It was pitch black and they dared not try and make a light source, instead depending on Tracker's directions. The stream had cut a good size cavern at some point in the distant past, and before long they could walk on dry ground instead of wading in the stream. " Snff, snff …Over here, this way. This cave smurfs off into others. There's a ledge, if you could help me up." The ledge was about as tall as Johan was, and they climbed up to hear the faint echo of voices, though it was difficult to tell who they belonged to. "I'm going first," Johan whispered to Peewit. "Be my guest, this place gives me the creeps!" "We'll lead, and let you know if the coast is clear" replied Papa Smurf. "Not so fast, child," said a familiar gravelly voice that made Sabina jump. It was the one Maenad called Fenris, the one with the yellow eyes of a werewolf. He produced a key and opened the cage, reached in and grabbed her by the arm. She kicked and screamed to escape, but he was frightfully strong, and held her as if she were a child's doll. "I've got to pack you up and ship you off to your new master, girlie. Don't worry; you'll come to no harm. I made a good living selling noble ladies in the markets in from Dublin to Byzantium, and buyers there don't like damaged goods...at least not too damaged." He produced strips of torn linen and bound her hand and foot, then gagged her. He tossed her roughly on a fine rug and rolled it up with her inside. "There, that should do for getting you out of here unnoticed when Lothar sends word. Now as for you …" Sabina heard the cage clunk and creak, and a choking sound. She'd give anything to see what was going on, or to escape. Were Johan and Peewit looking for her, or her uncle? She prayed desperately that they were. "…We need to deal with you and your betrayal against us. You let the boys die and had a nice little time in the King's court pretending to be a fine Lady. You couldn't even get through a simple raid without being captured. Pathetic." There was a smacking sound like someone being hit. "You really do make a better human, Maenad. Which is why I have a better idea than killing you outright. You've become so nice and docile, I think I'll just sell you. Make some money for myself, and for you, heh, where would you like to go? To Byzantium, maybe the Volga where the real barbarians are? They don't hesitate to have their way with their female slaves; yes, that seems a nice short mortal life for you." Sabina heard a thud by the cage and the door slam back shut. Then the commotion began. Johan and Peewit crawled through the narrow tunnel following the two Smurfs and the voices, which got clearer until they became audible, and the glow of a torch could be seen in the distance. "…To Byzantium, maybe the Volga where the real barbarians are? They don't hesitate to have their way with their female slaves…" The boys didn't wait to see if the coast was clear after hearing that. They pushed ahead to look down on a cramped cavern filled with treasure and a large iron kennel. Sabina was nowhere to be seen, but a huge scar-covered man held Maenad by her necklace; she struggled to not choke as she dangled from his fist. The huge man tossed her coughing back into the cage and slammed the door shut in her face. He turned smugly, but the smug look left his face when an arrow thudded into his chest. Johan stood in front of him, holding a bow defiantly. Peewit and the Smurfs slipped down behind him, the Smurfs to free Maenad, Peewit to look for Sabina. Fenris howled in pain and rage, pulling out the arrow and tossing it to one side. Rather than charge, he paused, and his form began to shimmer. Like a person shedding a cloak, his human form fell away, and in his place stood a giant storm-grey wolf. His side and chest bled from wounds that would not heal, infuriating wounds left by a weakling wolf and human child. Johan dashed to a pile of loot and grabbed an elaborate shield. It was more for tournaments than real battle. The wolf charged him and knocked him against the wall of the cavern, spilling treasures across the floor. He tried to bite, but Johan got the shield up, filling the enormous jaws. The Smurfs raced to Maenad and began undoing the binding spell. It would take a few minutes, and Papa Smurf needed to concentrate as much as he could. Tracker noticed that Fenris had dropped the key to the cage when he was shot. He scurried between the bars and shouted at Peewit to grab it. Peewit was nearly delirious with terror when he saw the werewolf change and attack Johan. The sound of shouting at his feet caused him to snap out of it. A Smurf with a red feather in his hat. "The key! Get the key and let Maenad loose!" "The key! Yes! Don't worry Maenad! I'm coming!" he ran where Tracker pointed, but jumped back as Fenris lunged toward him, wounded from several sword cuts. Joahn was bleeding as well, but fighting fiercely. Peewit resisted the urge to flee with every fiber of his being and continued to look for the key in the mess of broken pottery, coins and jewelry. Papa had gotten the binding off, and Maenad sat up, groggy. "Do you feel well enough to change, Drusillia? I have a plan, but you need to get me close to the other wolf." She nodded her head and rubbed the fading red marks on her neck. She too began to shimmer, and in an instant, a black direwolf stood before Papa Smurf. He leapt on her head and they watched helplessly as Johan tried to fight back the giant wolf and Peewit groped the floor looking for the lost key. "I have it!" shouted Tracker, dragging it closer to Peewit. Peewit ran over, lifted both the key and the Smurf and with shaking hands, unlocked the cage. Johan had managed to fight the wolf back once, but even with a silver blade, each cut seemed to only enrage him further. He shoved the shield in the wolf's snapping jaws for a final time before it shattered. He ran for the ledge he'd come down from, but he felt a sharp pain and a jerk as Fenris grabbed his leg and pulled him down. The sword clattered to the ground out of reach, and Fenris glared down at him, bringing back terrible memories of the night he'd first encountered such beasts. "Peewit! Smurfs! The sword, quickly!" he shouted in desperation. Before he could see his friends, a huge black shadow appeared on Fenris's back, yellow eyes flashing and white fangs bared. The Maenad! Fenris turned his attention from Johan, shook Maenad from his back and attacked her with all the ferocity he could muster. Though visibly smaller, she stood her ground for her friends' sake. Fenris did not notice the Smurf clinging to his neck, tying a red ribbon and silver coin to a tuft of his fur, anointing it with oil and saying a hurried chant. Johan limped over to where the silver sword fell and picked it up. Maenad was losing the fight, he had to look for an opening quickly, or they were all doomed. There! He lunged to the wolf and sunk the sword into his side. Fenris's eyes went wide. He left Maenad lying on the ground wounded and faced Johan. This boy really wanted to die! But something was wrong. Very, very wrong. He coughed up blood and stumbled across the room. He saw his paws turn to bare human hands as his vision faded. With a silver charm hanging from his now blonde hair, Fenris slumped to the ground dead, the silver sword still sticking from his side.