A War of Shadows...Part 1

The Shadowland whizzed by in a blur of grey and black images as I slowed a move fast trot. It was proving difficult to move too quickly through this stretch of wilderness since thick, twisted and very substantial trees existed both in the Shadowland and in the real world.

John had once told me that this only happed in the oldest of forests. “As trees age, their spirits strengthen, expanding their presence beyond the world of light to the land of shadow. It is almost as if their essence transfers slowly from one world to the next once they reach the height of their majesty. In some places in the Shadowland there are majestic, towering trees where there is now nothing but fields or cement roads in the world of the living. But alas, over time, those forests fade away in the Shadowland as well once the living trees have been gone long enough.”

My guess was that this stretch of Alaskan wilds hadn’t been significantly touched by Man for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

The howling of my pursuers grew louder, likely both because they were drawing closer and because their numbers were growing. If I didn’t pick up the pace soon, they would be upon me.

I tapped my forearms for reassurance, making sure that my batons were securely in place. Excalibur was practically humming in its sheath, eager to be called upon, but I continued to ignore the blade. I didn’t want to make it that easy for my pursuers to find me.

I pushed deeper into the tangled mass of branches as I wondered how much further it was to my destination. It was going to be a close call as to whether or not I would be able to beat my pursuers to it. If I didn’t win this race, things were going to become very unpleasant.

It wasn’t the shadow wolves that concerned me, but their masters…


***


“Rusty, you got a minute?” Herne’s face was showing the strain of several weeks of stress.

“Yeah, Herne, what’s up?”

He nodded and took my left arm by the elbow. “Come walk with me.”

I allowed him to guide me deeper into the Bat Cave, through the control room and towards the privacy of the small library that had been designated for command-level meetings. It was one of the few places where people weren’t bunked down.

Once we were in the library, he closed the door. I was surprised to see that we weren’t alone in the cramped space. Ravyn, Cerrydwen, the Frau, Alan and Jim had been waiting for us.

“What’s going on?” I was extremely curious about the need for a seemingly secret command meeting.

Everyone remained silent until the door clicked shut and Herne threw the bolt into place to lock us in. He was the first to break the silence. “Rusty, we think that our enemies have found a way to track some of our away parties through the Shadowland.”

This was a new development. “What makes you think that? I didn’t think that was even possible.”

Cerrydwen answered. “No one did. But the evidence is beginning to mount that El Diablito or the An’girasii themselves have found a way.”

Herne nodded. “On the last supply run, Jordan, one of Alana’s students, heard the sounds of what seemed to be wolves of some sort as soon as they entered the Shadowland to make their way back here. Jordan was smart enough not to lead them here, but led them off towards Canada before going to ground back in the real world. Once he could, he called for help. I just got back from that mission myself. I took a few of the security team with me. We ended up hitting a pack of shadow wolves that kept hanging around where Jordan and his crew had left the Shadowland. One of the creatures only looked like a wolf when we hit them. It was really a Doppelganger. It managed to jump one of the men in all of the confusion and escape.”

“Shit. So if they can track us in the Shadowland, it may only be a matter of time before they manage to track us back to the Bat Cave here.”

The Frau nodded, her eyes showing her concern. “That’s why we wanted to have this meeting in private. We’ve suspended all travel in and out until we can figure out the danger those trips are actually posing and how seriously they are looking for us.”

Ravyn was the next to speak. “Right now, Rusty, you’re going to be the only one we allow to travel in and out. We are also wondering how willing you would be serving as a decoy? I know how much you enjoy getting yourself into trouble.” She gave her most impish grin as she finished, knowing that I would take the bait.

I could see the logic of their thinking and nodded. “Well, if they are looking for any of us more than the others, I would certainly be the main target. But I am also the one best equipped to face any kind of attack as well.”

Cerrydwen’s eyes narrowed as she stepped forward to speak. “You are most familiar with the Shadowland and its strange rules. If you were willing to go out and wreak some havoc on a couple of their strongholds and make a lot of ‘noise’, it might attract the attention of whatever forces they have looking for our away parties.”

Herne folded his arms across his chest. “And, if you found that there was some basis for our concerns about being tracked, we would like to see about setting up an ambush…”


***


I had spent the better part of a week stomping around the Shadowland and the real world, stirring up trouble in a number of places. In that week, I had doubled back and slain the wolves that had picked up my trail on at least three different occasions. But it only took a few hours after each battle for a new, larger pack to catch my scent and begin the hunt anew. The pack that both trailed and flanked me now must comprise at least twenty individuals.

This pack, though, was not only larger and better organized than the last couple, but it was smarter. This pack wasn’t comprised solely of shadow wolves. There was some thing, or a group of things, that were just behind the wolves. I could feel it, them, there driving the wolves on.

I pushed on through the forest of giant black trees knowing that my allies lay in wait ahead…


***


Once I had confirmed that the wolves were indeed able to track me in the Shadowland and that there was a concerted effort to do so, I slipped back into the real world to make a phone call.

“Yeah?” Herne’s voice was gruff.

“It’s me. I’ve been tracked twice now. I’ve eliminated the wolves each time, but a new pack takes over within hours for the ones I kill.”

He grunted. “So our worst fears have been confirmed. Are you prepared to move forward with the plan as we discussed?”

“Yes. I’ll see you at the rendezvous point in three days time.”

“Are you going to be able to stay ahead of them?” There was concern in his voice as he asked that question.

“I’ll be fine. Both Drake and John taught me well. Just be ready for the party when I get there, I intend to bring as many of to the event as I can find.”


***


My destination was only a few hundred yards ahead. My pursuers seemed to sense the coming climax as well—the howls grew louder and more insistent. The pack behind and around me had grown in the last hour as well. I could sense the presence of at least one Bane and had glimpsed a group of Reavers out of the corner of my eye. I could only presume that several Doppelgangers had joined the pack as well.

As soon as I emerged onto the trail that Herne had told me would be there, I picked up the pace and gained a few valuable seconds in my quest to beat the enemy to the rendezvous point. I just hope that Herne had been able to get everyone into place in time…