The Midnight Wolf (part 3)

“Mum, I’m going out, ok?” I yell to her as I scramble to get my shoes on. I know I have to help Ezzy and I usually go out late at night on my own so Mum should be fine with my impromptu outing.

“Um, ok, just… you know, be responsible.” My mum responds from the other room. I throw open the front door and slam it behind me, running towards Ezzy’s house a couple of streets away. I look around me hurriedly, ensuring no humans are around before I shift into my wolf form, my white fur shining in the moonlight. I race to Ezzy’s house, running as fast as I can on my four legs.

I finally get to her house, panting, and shift back into my human form, knocking on the front door quickly. I wait for an answer, shifting from foot to foot as I try to calm my racing heart. As soon as the door opens I look up and start speaking hurriedly.

“Mr. Willows, I’m sorry to interrupt your evening, but Ezzy just texted me and said she was in trouble. Is she here? Can I talk to her?” I say, my height causing me to look down on Ezzy’s father slightly. Mr. Willows frowns.

“Last I checked, Ezmerelda was in her room. You can go see her if you want…” He says, taking a step back to let me in. He’s looking at me weirdly, as if I had grown a second head or something. Mr. Willows calls up the stairs to Ezzy.

“Ezmerelda! Ethan is here to see you!” He calls, and we wait for an answer. None comes and Mr. Willows frowns. He start walking up the stairs, me following him closely. When we get to Ezzy’s room, Mr. Willows knocks on the door, but still no response. He opens the door and we both freeze, taking in the sight before us.

Ezzy’s room is a mess, her drawers emptied all over the room, her lizard enclosure smashed and it’s contents also scattered around the room. Her window is open and her blinds blow in the slight breeze the open window lets through. Mr. Willows turns to me, His brow furrowed and his eyes wide.

“You said Ezzy texted you? What did she say? When was it?” He asks, his voice tense. I pull out my phone to get the exact words up. Mr. Willows frowns as he reads the texts, looking up at me again once he is done.

“And this was only ten minutes ago?” He asks, and I can see the cogs turning in his head.

“Yeah, I came over here as fast as I could. She told you about her vision, right?” I ask, sniffing around her room a bit, trying to find out what happened.

“Yes, her mum and I both know about it. Does that mean….. So, you are the wolf from her vision but the man is…. Her lizard?” He says, lifting items of clothing up, obviously as desperate as I am to find some hint or clue.

“I think so? I mean, you saw, she didn’t give me very many details….” Then it hits me. “Wait, I know where she is. Or, well, at least where the lizard-fairy-thing is going to be. If I wait at the park, The lizard is going to have to come along at some point and then I can confront it and find out where Ezzy is.” Mr. Willows nods. 

“That’s a good idea. I can stay here in case she comes back here for some reason.” Now it’s my turn to nod.

“Sounds like a plan. I think I’ve got your number so I can text you if I see her. You can do the same for me.” I say, hurrying down the stairs. I quickly exit Ezzy’s house via the unlocked back door, immediately shifting into my wolf form and not caring if there are any humans about. I start running towards the park we usually go to, keeping all my senses alert and searching for any sign of Ezzy or the lizard thing. I never really asked what her lizard’s name was…

When I jump over the park fence, my huge, white form easily clearing the six-foot bars, I find the spot Ezzy had described, prowling through the trees around the clearing and smelling everything, my ears perked for the slightest sound. I hear a branch crack and my head whips towards it, finding only a startled pigeon. Then I smell something… Something familiar. Ezzy. I bound forward, letting my nose and instincts guide me. I come out into the open, finding a sense very much like the one Ezzy described. Only, instead of a man, it was a small girl. She looks about eight, but I can’t be sure in the moonlight. But I also smell something weird about this girl… something…. Non-human about her. Knowing that I’m in the company of a fellow non-human, I shift back into my human form, frowning at the girl.

“Who are you? Why are you here?” I say, taking a step closer. The girl raises a finger.

“Ah-ah-ah… I would advise you not to come any closer. Your little girlfriend is only hanging by a thread.” She says, her voice weird and sickly sweet. Suddenly, like a curtain being drawn back, I can see Ezzy, tied up with what looked like spider silk and stuck on a huge, sticky-looking web in a particularly big tree. The girl flicks her wrist and one of the web’s support threads snaps, the web sagging slightly and making Ezzy cry out from under the gag she has in her mouth. I gasp, just stopping myself from moving to Ezzy, gritting my teeth as I glare at who I know now is the evil fairy.

“What do you want with her? Let her go!” I say, feeling desperate and confused, angry at this small, wicked being and wishing I could just help Ezzy be safe. The little girl just laughs, the cackling not matching the innocent-looking form in front of me.

“It’s not her I want, you stupid dog. It’s you! You and your blasted father, but someone got to him first! Oohh… Vanessa will be next, mark my words!” The little girl yells, cackling again at the end of her remark. I frown and shake my head, thinking this fairy might be a bit deranged.

“If you wanted me, why on earth would you involve Ezzy?” I say, taking a very small step forward, hoping the fairy won’t notice. She just cackles louder, throwing her head back and allowing me to take another very small shuffle forward and closer to Ezzy.

“Despite what your primitive brain can piece together, I am not the evil monster you believe me to be. I have some pity for this poor girl, given her misfortune to fall for you, so I have come to help her out in her choices. I have had multiple experiences with Alphas, and I’m done. That’s why I tried to kill your father and found that unfortunately that witch, Vanessa, got to it first. I mean, she didn’t even have a right to touch him! He was dating me first before he cheated on me with her! Oooh, when I get my hands on her! But never mind, now is the time to exact revenge on a different aspect of my disappointing life. You!” The fairy says, pointing at me with a chubby finger. By this point, I definitely think this fairy needs serious therapeutic help, but I have also taken a few small steps closer to Ezzy.

“Ok, but what does this have to do with me? I’m not my father. I hardly even know him. Why would you want to… uh, punish me?” I say, wondering what this bizarre circumstance might be considered. My gaze keeps flicking to Ezzy, making sure she’s alright and trying to figure out a way to free her from the fairy’s trap. The fairy gives an annoyed-sounding sigh, rolling her eyes and putting one small hand on her hip.

“Don’t you listen to anything? I’m here to kill you, to have my revenge on your father and then save this girl from a most unfortunate fate! Oh, but I also need your blood to undo a spell that wich cast on me when she saw me, ready to kill your father. Although I don’t really get where she’s coming from, I have just as much a right to be there as she did! I had even more of a right actually!” The fairy rants angrily. Then she shakes her head as if to focus back on why she’s here.

“Anyway, like I said, I need to kill you. So, if you don’t want your dear, uh… Ezzy, I think you called her, to die as well, you’ll kindly hand over your head. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, and frankly, either way is fun for me.” I stare in amazement and slight horror at the little girl in front of me. I can’t believe this is actually happening, but I can tell by the bloodthirsty look in her eyes that this fairy is dead serious (if you’ll excuse the pun). 

Suddenly, the fairy lunges at me, but in midair, she shifts and suddenly there’s a writhing snake heading directly to my head. I duck and shift into my wolf form, running away and towards Ezzy, hoping to reach her before the snake-fairy reaches me. Suddenly I feel a sharp pain in my left back leg, a howl of pain escaping me before I stumble. I turn and grab the snake with my teeth, yanking the fangs out of my leg and throwing the snake away into the trees. I hear a nasty thud, but I continue trying to get to Ezzy, the giant spider’s web glinting in the moonlight.

I’m almost to the base of the tree before I hear a voice shouting my name.

“Ethan, stop! Face me like the wolf your father claimed you were!” I turn around and the fairy is standing there, in the little girl’s form again, a look of pure hate on her face. She lifts a finger and sends a bolt of lightning straight at me, and I try to jump out of the way, but it’s close and I can feel my fur rising with static energy. A low, threatening growl emanates from my throat and I can feel my wolfish instincts kicking in, my tail swishing back and forth warningly. I slowly stalk towards the fairy, my hackles raised and my teeth bared.

“My father didn’t know me because he was a coward. He was too afraid of responsibility to face the facts. I’m nothing like him and nothing he said will ever reflect on me. I don’t know what your problem is, but you chose the wrong werewolf to mess with. I will defeat you and make sure Ezzy is safe. If you back down now, I’ll try to be gentle.” I say, slowly circling the young-looking girl. She just cackles and shoots another bolt of lightning at me, making me yelp and dive out of the way. I growl again and I resume my circling, not really wanting ot hurt the fairy but knowing that if I don’t act fast, I’ll be the one getting hurt. Suddenly, the fairy shifts again, changing into a familiar-looking figure. I gasp as I see who the fairy has turned into, my step-father smirking back at me.

“You wouldn’t hurt dear old, John, would you?” The girly voice is still there, making the whole situation even weirder. The fairy spreads her arms tauntingly and I finally snap. I bare my teeth and lunge at her, and in the split second I’m airborne, I realise that I’ve now perfectly re-created Ezzy’s vision.

I land heavily on top of the fairy, growling into a face I know so well but not recognising the crazed look in the eyes of my stepfather.

“Take the stupid mask off, fairy. Or I’ll tear the face off of you.” I growl lowly, my teeth only inches from the fairy’s nose. A flicker of fear flashes in the fairy’s eyes and I feel bad for a moment but I know I can’t show it, otherwise I might lose the upper hand. But then the fairy smirks.

“I think you forgot one thing…” The fairy says, snapping her fingers and Ezzy cries out behind me. I don’t want to look away from the fairy in case she tries to do something, but I can’t help but look back at Ezzy for a moment, noticing a giant spider now inching towards the wrapped-up and wiggling form of Ezzy. I desperately hope that the spider is an illusion, but I know fairies have the ability to create things out of thin air, as well as shape-shift. The second I look away from the fairy, I feel a bolt of magic hit me and suddenly I’m floating, in my human form, above the ground and contained in some sort of magical cage. I can see the thin layer of light blue magic encasing me and whenever I try to move, I can feel a huge amount of resistance, like I’m moving through quicksand.

“Let… me… go…” I grit out from between my teeth, unable to move my mouth properly. The fairy just laughs and twists her hand so I’m thrown to the ground, still unable to move properly. She leans over me, a wicked-looking knife now glinting in her hand. She raises it like she’s about to stab me, but then two things happen; Ezzy lets out a blood-curdling screech from beneath the gag she has in her mouth and Ezzy’s mother, who is not much taller than Ezzy, runs into the clearing, holding a strange, leafy-looking weapon. She rushes over to me and the fairy, a murderous look on her face.

“If you touch even a single part of that sweet boy, I will scatter your remains all over this park, in pieces so small, no one will know what they are.” Ezzy’s mother threatens fiercely, quickly striding over to the fairy, who has now shifted back into her little girl form, and putting her leafy-looking blade against the fairy’s neck. The fairy’s eyes widen at the sudden turn of events and she slowly puts her hands up in a timid surrender. But I can see that she’s still trying to figure out a way to turn the situation around and she still hasn’t released the spell that keeps me on the ground.

But then Ezzy’s mother pulls out what looks like a thick bracelet and clicks it onto one of the fairy’s raised wrists, immediately releasing me from the spell and as the blue magic disappears, I can hear a thump and a muffled curse. I turn my head and find Ezzy, lying on the ground in a heap, struggling to undo her gag. I try to get up and help her, but as I put pressure on my left leg, I suddenly remember the snake bite, a stab of white-hot pain arcing up my leg and causing my knee to buckle. I fall to the ground with a very undignified grunt, breathing heavily as I feel the pain still stabbing my leg.

Ezzy’s mother is still dealing with the fairy, calling the Non-Human Watch, basically the police for supernatural happenings, and not paying attention to me or her daughter. I carefully twist and look at the back of my leg, wincing as I see the red fang marks and the strange black lines that have now appeared where blue vanes used to be. It looks like the venom hasn’t spread very far yet, but damn does it hurt.

Ezzy finally manages to get her gag off and when she does, she rushes over to me, checking my face for anything that might be wrong.

“Are you ok? What happened, what did she say, why does your leg look like that, did she bite you how much does it hurt, would you like me to help?” Ezzy says in a rush, fussing over the marks on my leg. I let out a little strained laugh.

“Yeah, it hurts…. A lot. She did bite me but how are you going to help?” I ask, not trying to be mean, but genuinely wondering how she thinks she could help with a magical snake bite.

“Elves each have a special talent, like my mum is very good at magic-smithing, making magical weapons and stuff like that, whereas I’m very good at magical healing,” Ezzy says, placing her hands gently on the bite marks. I finch, expecting it to hurt, but all I feel is a cooling sort of feeling creeping up my leg, countering the heat of the pain quickly. I stare at Ezzy in wonder, thinking that she just keeps getting better and better.

“Thanks, that’s… wow, that’s a whole lot better, thanks,” I say, not knowing how to articulate my feelings of gratitude and relief. She smiles back at me and I can feel my heart fluttering a bit despite the weird circumstances of the evening.

“Can you stand?” She asks, getting up and extending a delicate hand to me. I grab it and try not to pull her down as I use her to help me stand up. My left leg is a bit wobbly, but thanks to Ezzy’s healing trick, I don’t feel any pain and even the red marks are starting to fade.

“Yeah, I think I’m ok now. All thanks to you though.” I say, smiling back at her. We walk over to Ezzys mum, my steps are a bit hesitant at first but I slowly regain my confidence and we can spot the Non-Human Watch coming towards us with a magical shrinking tool and a small cage in hand.

The fairy is taken care of quickly, and I can still hear her tiny, high-pitched screams as they walk away with her in the cage. Ezzy’s mum checks me over as well, but I assure her I’m fine. We soon make it back to Ezzy’s house where I say goodbye to the girls and head back to my own house, exhausted from the events that just took place. I don’t even bother talking to my mum or John, knowing I’m too tired to tell them the whole story tonight. They can wait to hear it at the same time all the kids hear it. I think as I settle into bed, and I soon drop off, slipping into a deep and dreamless slumber…