My quest led me to a village several miles beyond the snowy mountains. There was a large but downtrodden cottage nestled amidst the tiny houses. The wooden frames barely seemed to be holding themselves together.
A gust of wind escaped through my lips as I struck the door ring against the wooden framework. There was a creak and a curious face peeked through the half-opened door. “Who are you? Are you here to meet me?” A sweet voice fell in my ears as the teenage girl’s gaze assessed me from top to bottom.
“Umm… I am looking for someone.”
“Oh, come in,” she said, opening the door wider. Her casual response made me wonder if it was common for people to show up at the door and say they were looking for someone. She ushered me to an old-fashioned hall.
The fire blazed under the mantle. Two boys were lying on rugs painting something. They threw a cursory glance at me and went back to their work.
“Who is it, Lydia?” A slightly choked voice sounded from inside. The curtains parted and a middle-aged woman dressed in a blue dress came into my view.
The moment my gaze fell on her face a bolt of lightning struck me. My heart stopped beating and everything else faded into the background.
This couldn’t be happening. This was impossible. I had to be dreaming. I stepped forward and raised my hand intending to touch her. However, I stopped before my fingers could come in contact with her face; afraid that she would vanish the moment I touched her.
Her gaze bore into mine and she took a step forward, causing my fingers to brush against her cheeks. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she chewed her bottom lip.
My hand flew to my mouth as a stream of tears ran down my cheeks too. “Mom,” the word left my lips as a reverent whisper.
“Justin? It is you,” I was pulled into a tight hug, “I never thought I would see you again in this lifetime.” She kept repeating those words, again and again, all the while patting my back soothingly.
“Do you have any idea how much I missed you? How can you just vanish from our lives?” I stuttered as I pulled away. “I… I thought you were dead.”
“I know…. I am so sorry, Justin…. I didn’t have any choice.” She said in a shaky voice. She looked so exhausted and weary. It had just been two years but my mother looked like she had aged a decade.
My lips pressed into a thin line and I asked, “What happened two years ago, mom? Why did father tell me that… that you are dead?”
She held my hand and led me to the bamboo stools. “It is a long story, Justin. One that is better if forgotten.”
“Here, have some hot chocolate,” Lydia said walking over to me. Turning to my mother, she continued, “I think you should tell him everything, Aunt Ayame. He deserves to know.”
“But, knowing the truth will put him in danger.”
“Mom,” I said, clasping her hand with mine. “Your son has grown up now. He isn’t afraid of anything. He plays with death for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
A peal of dry laughter left her lips. She placed her palm against my cheeks, “I don’t know if I should be happy or terrified.”
With a sigh of resignation, she started narrating what happened two years ago, “Hades has always been ambitious; driven by the quest for power. Principles and virtues mean nothing to him. He can do anything if it means getting more power.”
“I don’t understand. Father can be a bit ambitious but I still don’t believe he would break all the principles for the sake of power.”
“Until two years ago, I didn’t believe either. That fateful day, I saw him venture into the forbidden grounds of the Zodiac. I so wish I had just called out to him instead of following him secretly….” Her voice trailed off and her eyes glazed over.
“That day I found out that Hades was the one who had created the Vexin wolves.”
“Wait, what do you mean created? Aren’t Vexin wolves abominations conceived under the new moon?”
“That is just a myth, son. A story to hide the truth from the world. Vexin wolves are a result of a science experiment gone wrong.
The Lycan King had initially started this experiment twelve years ago to save his brother who was born with an abnormal condition. His brother’s bone and muscle structure were so weak that he couldn’t shift to his wolf form.
So, he was injected with God knows how many kinds of serums. The results didn’t turn out as expected. He did shift to his wolf form but could never shift back. He lost awareness and grew more and more crazed with each passing day.
My mind veered to the beast I had seen in the dungeon. Was he Lycan King’s brother?
“Seeing the disastrous results, The Lycan King forbade everyone from conducting research in this field.”
“How did father end up creating Vexin wolves then?”
“He doesn’t show it but Hades is very shrewd. He had it all planned right from the beginning. Every decision in his life right from marrying me to befriending the Lycan King was structured in such a way that it would help him create the Vexin wolves. He wanted to rule the werewolves with the power of the beasts but…”
“But?”
“Hades managed to create the Vexin wolves but he couldn’t control them. However, this didn’t stop him from creating more wolves.” My mother’s face blanched as she continued, “I made the mistake of confronting him. I tried so hard to explain but he just wouldn’t listen. In the end, I threatened that I would tell the Lycan King about everything. That triggered him in the wrong way. When I was visiting my cousin, he set the entire house on fire with the help of a witch.”
My ears rang with her words and my heart sank, “You mean to say that father was the one who tried to kill you? This can’t be true….”
She rubbed my shoulders, regret flashing in her eyes, “I am sorry, Justin…. How I wish this was all a figment of my imagination .” Her expression hardened, “The truth is that he wouldn’t hesitate to use you.” She grabbed my arms; her eyes widening with fear, “You have to be careful when you are with him, Justin.”
I averted my gaze. He had already been using me for over eight months now. I didn’t want to tell her that and add to her worry. So, I changed the topic, “How did you end up here?”
“All I can remember is drowning in a sea of fire and smoke. I was sure that I was going to die but this flash of blue light appeared out of nowhere and engulfed me.”
“She must be the same girl who saved me,” Lydia interrupted, taking the empty cup from my hand. “I remember seeing a silhouette in the blue light.”
A girl? Could it be? No, I was thinking too much. If it was true, I could never atone for what I had done. My fingers trembled as I pulled out the picture of a notice I had ripped off a wall, “Do you know her?”
Her eyes widened and her lips lifted in an ecstatic smile, “She is the one! She is the one who saved me.” She chattered as she ran her fingers along the portrait. “Do you know her? Can you take me to her?”
Mom took the portrait from her hand. Her expression grew thoughtful, “I remember seeing her once too. About a year ago, she saved our village from a Vexin wolf.”
“Are you sure? Is it possible that you both are mistaken?” I managed to stutter as a sinking sensation engulfed me.
“Lydia could be mistaken. But, I can never be. We had been living in terror for over a month, withdrawing to the basement. When there were no food supplies left, I volunteered to go to the market.
That scene is still stark clear in my mind. Everything was in ruins, Justin; the buildings had crumbled, the putrid stench of death hung in the air. It was the thought of these starving children that kept me going.
All of a sudden, there was a loud thud, followed by the shrillest howl I have ever heard. When I went to check, I found the vexin wolf lying in a pool of blood and this frail-looking girl was standing next to it.
I would never have believed that she killed the wolf but the next moment, she whisked me away with lightning speed, saving me from a large chunk of debris that had fallen off a building.
I wanted to thank her but she just vanished.” Mom took the poster from my hand and ran her fingertips over it, “I had thought that it was all my imagination. It turns out she is real after all.” Her face turned pale and her eyes widened in horror, “Why does this poster say that she is going to be executed?”
My mouth went dry and my mind blanked out. What was I supposed to say?
“I don’t know about the others but the lycan king does have some sense of justice.” She held my hand and urged me. “You have to meet him, Justin. You have to tell him that there is some misunderstanding. Will you do that for me?”
When I didn’t reply, she continued urging, “I know Hades very well, Justin. He must have created many more Vexin wolves by now. Think what would happen, if he sets them all free.” The little color in her face drained and she gulped, “There will be chaos everywhere; everything will be destroyed, Justin. Promise me that you will try to save her.”