Wolf

“Wolf?” Keegan called out, confused by the emptiness of the house. It was just past dawn but it had been a long time since Wolf had left because of that. The redhead found it hard to believe that, after last night, his demon would have left. Wolf had been calm for once, demure even, while Keegan ranted and screamed and sobbed at the thought of losing him. He’d never seen the demon so gentle and subdued.

So where was Wolf now? Keegan wandered room to room, though there were only three, before making his way outside. It must have rained last night, he realized, with the ground so slick and puddles sporadically placed around the yard. The mud squelched between his bare toes, making him frown. Keegan had never much liked that feeling. Footprints moved into the woods and Keegan decided to follow them. He was positive that they were Wolf’s, mostly because they were barefoot and so light that they were hardly there. Even in parts where lush grass gave way to mud the prints were faint.

It was nearly mid-morning by the time Keegan was starting to feel ridiculous. Wolf had probably been sprinting, meaning he was significantly farther ahead, and had probably just needed to get away for a while. He wouldn’t want Keegan interrupting that; obviously, if he had, Keegan would have been told where the demon was headed. The human was just starting to feel guilty when he heard a poorly muffled scream. Keegan let out a curse as he took off running, recognizing the voice entirely too well.

Only when he reached the edge of the clearing that Wolf was in did he stop. Keegan was in crude breeches and a tunic, completely weaponless and unprepared. Needing a weapon had never occurred to him and even the dagger he normally carried was sitting next to his bed, useless.

Wolf was tied between two trees, arms bound taught between thick branches. Though his legs were free, he was tied so high that only his bare toes touched the ground. His eyes were deep crimson, and his face and tunic were smeared with blood. Keegan knew he had to help but he didn’t even see an enemy. There, he realized, when a movement to the side of the clearing caught his eye.

A creature stood there, looking almost human, but its skin was as black as the night, as if it was the darkness itself, and it blended almost perfectly with the shadows. Keegan thought it had a mouth of some kind because he could hear it speaking, but he couldn’t see one. Only the creature’s eyes were colored but there no white to them, only a deep, bloody red.

With each strange word coming from it Wolf seemed to writhe more, twitching and thrashing against his bindings. Keegan couldn’t stand to see the demon in so much pain but he had no way to help. Before he could take a step forward, to do what he wasn’t quite sure, a scream ripped from his lover’s throat, raw and agonized.

The sound was terrible, driving Keegan to his knees for a moment. He took a breath, shoving himself back to his feet and refusing to be discouraged. Even as his demon screamed he crept along the outskirts of the clearing. The other creature was chanting, voice deep and bell-like. Keegan shuddered as memories from the lake washed over him.

As much as he wanted to run, to escape and never hear these sounds again, he couldn’t abandon Wolf. Steeling himself, Keegan ran forward. A small stick that he’d found, with a slightly sharpened end, was grasped tight in his hand. He lunged forward, stabbing at the rope to no avail. He gasped, eyes landing at the end of the rope, tied in only a simple slipknot. It had probably been done as a taunt to Wolf, that it would take only the slightest effort to actually release him.

“Get out,” Wolf gasped, eyes horrified as they met Keegan’s. The demon’s neck was taught, muscles straining as he looked back at the human. It was only then that Keegan noticed that the chanting had ceased. He worked quicker then, jumping to reach the top of the second rope binding Wolf. As soon as the tension was released the demon whimpered, crumpling to his knees.

Keegan tried to reach him, wanting to help, but the creature stood only a few steps away; Keegan could feel its amusement. A scratching sound, a laugh he realized, echoed through the clearing.

“You’ve already won,” Wolf said, defeated. He didn’t even attempt to stand. “Don’t bring a human into this.”

“No, a human shouldn’t be involved,” it said, surprising Keegan with its agreement. Even as close as he was to the creature now, he could see no mouth. “If, however, he were a demon too…“ The creature stopped speaking in favor of lunging at the human. Keegan sunk into a defensive stance instinctively, taking only a moment to grab the stick he’d held earlier from the ground. It wouldn’t do much against whatever this monster was, but it was better than being completely unarmed.

Wolf let out a dark growl, body rising up as he caught the creature and drug it to the ground. Keegan knew he should run- he had to escape- but he couldn’t desert Wolf. The time for that had passed if it had ever been an option to begin with. The demon was growling as he wrestled the creature, desperate and feral. Keegan couldn’t follow the movements, seeing only thrashing limbs. There was near silence as the fight continued and the human took a deep breath. He stepped to the edge of the pair, watching closely until he saw Wolf’s torso. His foot snaked out, slamming into it hard enough to send the demon rolling to the side.

Before the creature could follow, Keegan fell onto it, shoving the jagged stick into its neck. The stick sunk in, making the creature wail in pain. The human yanked it out just long enough to plunge it back in, wincing as he felt a popping against the branch. Keegan knew he had hit its jugular just as he had been aiming for.

“He will still die; and I will return,” it hissed out, voice wet and gurgling. The creature thrashed about for only a few more seconds before stilling. Keegan hesitated, afraid to move away from it. It had sounded so sure about its immortality.

Wolf screamed, though he kept it muffled, and Keegan abandoned the creature in favor to rushing to Wolf’s side. He pinned his shoulders down, attempting to stop him from thrashing so desperately.

“You idiot,” Wolf snapped once he’d stilled, breathing labored, his chest heaving up and down. “When I die, it’ll come back and it will come, for you. It bound itself to my magic,” Wolf gasped out, shaking his head.

“You can’t die then,” Keegan said simply, offering the demon a cheeky smile. Wolf let out an exasperated laugh, bringing his hand up to Keegan’s cheek. His eyes were sad as they met Keegan’s.

“I love you, my Keegan,” the demon said, running his thumb across his human’s jaw. “You’re so hopeful. Go Keegan, and take my sword. It’s over there,” Wolf explained, motioning to the edge of the clearing the creature had been standing at. “If you kill it again it will stay dead. Kill it or it will kill everyone you love, and then take you.”

“You won’t die Wolf,” Keegan said fiercely, grasping Wolf’s hand in desperation.

“I’m so sorry for bringing you into this. I never thought it would go this far. I never thought you’d actually care for me.”

“You planned on killing me first,” Keegan said without thinking. He knew it probably wasn’t a good idea but he realized it only after the words had left his mouth. He didn’t want this to be the last conversation he had with his lover. It wasn’t important anymore, what could have happened between them.

“Silly,” Wolf choked out with a gruff, pained laugh. “The time I could have killed you passed long ago. I never told you before but I couldn’t stand to see you dead.” The demon shuddered, as if he were truly seeing the image, before his eyes closed and he moaned in pain.

“Wolf! Wolf!” Keegan pleaded, desperate to see the demon’s eyes open.

“It’ll return on the new moon,” the demon gasped out, thrashing against the ground and Keegan’s grip. The demon’s hands were locked around the human’s arms, nails sinking in and drawing blood as he tried to the shove the human off.

“Wolf, Wolf stop,” Keegan said firmly, despite the pleading in his voice. He couldn’t help the small whimper of pain that escaped at the punctures in his skin. The hold was far too tight for him to escape and Wolf was cutting deep into his arms as he thrashed about. Hysteria bubbled up, choking Keegan, as he realized Wolf might kill him without even meaning to.

Keegan felt strange though, a lump developing in his throat even as a gentle, reassuring warmth flooded through him. He felt safe suddenly, and the blood sliding down his arms only added to the sweet, golden warmth. Wolf’s screams faded out so that Keegan heard only the gentle singing of the birds and a soft trickle of water.

A flash of a memory came to him, a little blonde boy with striking amber eyes playing in the water. Another then, and another, as the boy grew and his hair darkened until it was nearly black. Finally he saw the young man, all dressed in the finery of a noble. His hair was wavy and a solid black now, an amber ribbon tying long locks away from his face. He was smiling and reaching for the delicate hand of a lady. The lady was smiling wide, hair braided, as she smoothed her hand over the wedding gown she wore. But then the man was pulling away, taking off into the forest, running and running, until he reached a little pond. He smiled in relief at the man standing there, holding out his hand and beckoning him forward. As soon as the two linked hands the dark-haired man gasped, sinking to his knees with a scream. The second man whispered a name, dark and malicious.

The memories ended in a burning flash but the warmth didn’t fade away. Keegan looked down at the demon, watching as he thrashed about nearly in slow motion.

“Cináed.” The name slid from Keegan’s lips unconsciously, hardly even a breath, but with it the warmth shattered. The cuts burned viciously against his skin as the blood left burning red streaks down his arms. Wolf let out a scream, echoing through the trees, before going limp, arms falling away from Keegan and landing with a dull thud in the grass.

“Wolf,” Keegan yelped, leaning over the demon and frantically searching for any sign of life. “No, no you have to wake up,” Keegan pleaded, a whimper escaping him and acting only as a precursor to his sobs. “Come back,” he begged, grasping the demon’s face, tears falling onto it. “I love you. I need you here Wolf, please.”

As desperate as his pleas were Wolf never moved, skin cooling even as Keegan shook him, begged him to awaken. The idea of never seeing Wolf smirking at him or feeling the safety of his arms was unfathomable. He knew he should go back, take Wolf with him, but he didn’t quite have the energy. The blood loss made him feel weak, and he couldn’t do more than collapse against Wolf’s body, sobbing until unconsciousness finally claimed him.