Wendigo Wars (3 page)

“It’s unheard of,” said Mathilde aghast. “It goes against their natural behavior.”

“That wasn’t the worst of it” said Violette “When they were dragged into the settlement we saw that there was a message carved into their backs”

“Who would do that? How would they do it? Hang on, carved? You mean written right?” Mathilde looked confused as the tale grew stranger.

“No. I mean carved. Someone had carved the same message into the flesh on the back of each wendigo. They were so thin that we could see bone underneath the cuts. There was no blood. The edges of the letters were frozen, as if they had been carved with wendigo claws.”

“What did they say?” asked Fleur in hushed tones.

“It was a letter of sorts, or a declaration of war? I’m not sure how to describe it. It said ‘
We will tear and slash and eat. Your blood will run and the snow of this world will be stained red. This world is for the wendigo. In anticipation, General Zhu.
’ ”

“What?”said Mathilde, sharing a confused look with Fleur

“I know! No-one knows who General Zhu is or how he managed to get the wendigo to work together.”

“How did he even get to the wendigo without being torn to pieces?”asked Fleur.

“No-one knows. No-one knows what to do, no-one knows who General Zhu is, no-one knows... no-one knows anything. We are just waiting for something to happen but nothing does. It’s been silence since then. As if this General Zhu is trying to drive us mad. We are running low on food and need to send the Protectorate on a hunting trip but the Protector Superior doesn’t want his group to go out until we know what’s going on. It’s too dangerous. What do we do Tilly?”

Violette looked pleadingly at Mathilde. She had never before needed to ask Mathilde’s advice and it felt strange for either of her sisters to be asking for her help.

“Does your Protector Superior not have a plan? Paul has been a Protector Superior for over twenty years. He has far more experience than I have.”

“You know experience isn’t everything Mathilde. He is at a loss about what to do. He told me to ask your advice. This is in your blood. You are the daughter of Jean Louis and the descendant of Joseph Fiddell, the first of our Protectors before the world could even imagine that the wendigo were anything more than a legend.”

“So are you”

“Don’t be difficult Tilly. You have a sixth sense for what to do in battle. It is what you were born to do. No amount of experience can top that. He knows that and trusts that you can help us. We all do.”

Mathilde raised her eyebrow to give Violette a cynical look.

“That wasn’t your fault Tilly. You trained Jack well and you gave the right commands. You know what to do in battle but you cannot control the actions of other people. That is not in your power. And besides... there is the prophecy”

Mathilde sighed and nodded in acknowledgement. She knew in her head that it was not her fault she was just having trouble convincing her heart of that. The prophecy? Now that was a different matter but now was probably not the best time to start on her usual rant of the prophecy being pointless nonsense.

“I need to come to Bucharest - to meet and plan with Paul. Tell him to prepare for my arrival and you work with the community to make your food last. We’ll be there in a fortnight.”

“I will tell Father,” said Fleur, knowing that this was the most she could do to help.

The sisters gave each other a final squeeze of the hand then let go and each began to speed their breathing up to a normal pace. Fleur was the first to fade away from the dream plain. She always was, being the most accomplished spirit walker among them. Violette disappeared next and Mathilde last, same as always - forever having to try just a little harder to get the job done.

Mathilde stood up from her sleeping pad and stretched her back and legs. Morning had crept up on her whilst she had been in the dream plain and today was going to be a busy day. She rolled the sleeping pad up and went to store it in the corner of the room. There was a lot to do before the trip and only a week to prepare before she had to set off for Bucharest but first the day held a duty which Mathilde could not get out of and one which she knew that Seb would be dreading.

Chapter Three

To get to Amelie’s rooms Mathilde first had to navigate the courtyard. Most settlements were long disused castles, forts or monasteries, and at the centre of each one was a courtyard which acted as the centrepiece to the community. The courtyard had a large, low burning fire which burnt at all hours of the day and night. All of the settlement food was cooked on this fire and as Mathilde navigated it she could see its many other uses in action from curing hides to drying out wood and to acting as the primary source of heat in the settlement. Mathilde walked past the stalls around the edges of the courtyard. People called out in greeting to her and offered her food or drink to welcome in the day. Mathilde smiled warmly but shook her head at everyone who spoke to her, though she knew that they were asking out of kindness. Money and trade had been abandoned when the White took hold and everything in the settlements was done for the good of the tribe. Mathilde was hungry but she never allowed herself the luxury of breakfast until she had checked on her Protectorate. They needed to be woken and briefed for the day ahead. She had decided to wait until the afternoon before she updated them on the Bucharest situation.

"Morning Julia," Mathilde called as she watched a young woman, five years her senior, waking up and stretching out. "Look-out duty on the outside today."

Julia nodded and smiled then drifted off to eat before the long day on the settlement lookout post began. Mathilde carried on her walk around the alcoves, greeting each Protector with similar words and assigning them duties. On a normal day the duties were usually to stand on the lookout post, work on the outside where the animals were tended and vegetables grown, work at the fishing hole catching snow seal and fish or to work with the blacksmiths making and repairing tools and weapons. These were the daily duties of the Protectorate along with regular fighting practice.

Mathilde finally reached the rooms which were home to Amelie - Mathilde's favourite place in the settlement. This was where Mathilde and Seb had been raised along with Carer Amelie's other charges. As Mathilde entered the alcove and stored her sleeping pad by the door she noticed a young boy. Twelve years old, small and skinny he turned to smile at her and wrinkled his freckled nose.

"Morning Mathilde," he said as he bounded over to her for a hug. Mathilde ruffled his red hair and hugged him back.

"Morning Jaya," she said to Amelie's only natural born child "Have you seen Seb this morning?"

"He went out to get bread and cheese for breakfast. Are you staying for breakfast? Stay for breakfast please."

"Of course she is Jaya. Get your sister a seat," said Amelie as she joined the conversation and shooed some of her younger charges out of the alcove "Get to your classes children" she called after them "and don't dilly dally at the rabbit pens". The three small children ran off and promised not to stop at the rabbits. Their giggles betrayed their fib.

Jaya was not the real brother of Mathilde but Carers often called their charges brothers and sisters. Unity was the most important key to the continuation and survival of the tribe and this was taught from a young age. Amelie pulled a chair up to the table and sat opposite Mathilde. Mathilde smiled at Amelie, her violet eyes crinkling as she peered up from under her blunt fringe at the nearest thing she had to a mother.

"Do you have a busy day today Mathilde?" asked Amelie.

Mathilde leant back in her chair, relaxing for the first time that morning. Though everyone in the settlement was kind and friendly they all treated Mathilde with a sense of awe and respect. She was the first teenage Protector Superior to have ever looked after a tribe. Most Protector Superiors were forty or fifty years old and of course everyone had heard the rumours of the prophecy. With Amelie, Seb and Jaya was the only place where Mathilde be treated like a normal seventeen year old. Her answer was cut short before she even began but it was a welcome interruption.

"Tilly!" a big voice boomed as a tall teenager bounded into the room, big thick arms carrying bread and cheese and a flagon of warm milk.

"Morning Seb," said Mathilde, smiling at the pet name he had used for her since she arrived at the settlement aged five to his seven years. He was the only person, apart from her sisters, to call her Tilly. He flung the breakfast goods on the table and flopped down next to Mathilde then ruffled her hair, completely ruining the tidy style which Amelie had just made.

"What are today's plans then Til?"

Mathilde smiled fondly at her best friend as she smoothed her hair down again and tucked it behind her ears, conscious, as always, of the white stripe which had appeared in her black hair the morning after the wendigo attack which had killed her mother. He couldn't look much different from Mathilde. He was broad shouldered and almost 6ft 5 with mid length, blond hair. Mathilde’s pale skin was in stark contrast to Seb’s tan and freckles, a result of his usual role of supervising the Protectors who worked outside of the settlement building which meant that he was constantly in the sunlight which bounced off the snow and ice.

"I have something important to talk to you about this afternoon but it can wait. For now we have a date this morning.”

Seb looked surprised and turned bright red. “What? Erm… we have?”

“Have you forgotten Seb? I thought you would have been looking forward to today," Mathilde teased knowing that Seb did not want to do what they were about to go through despite having done it every year for the past four years.

"Oh no! Already? Boy that came around quickly. Damn!" said Seb as he banged his fist on the table, making one of the mugs of milk wobble until Amelie stilled it.

Amelie and Mathilde shared a look and a smirk. It was the same routine every year. Sometimes Mathilde was sure that Seb was kidding when he pretended to have forgotten but even so he always looked truly exasperated about the one day a year which he dreaded - Career Day. This was the day that Mathilde, Seb and Amelie attended the graduating class of the settlement school to talk to the twelve year olds about the work of Carers and Protectors so as to help the class decide whether to train in the same trade as their families or whether to take the three year training course and apprenticeship to become a Carer or Protector.

"Ha! I loved Career Day. You were rubbish though Seb. Do you still blush and stutter when you do your speech?" asked Jaya collapsing in laughter. Jaya had not been accepted onto the Protector training course as he had not passed the physical tests and so had to train as a Carer - his family trade. He still desperately hoped to become a Protector one day and idolised Seb.

"Yeah hilarious," said Seb rolling his eyes and slumping further down in his seat.

"Time we got going," said Amelie as she kissed Jaya goodbye. "Make sure that you have prepared something for the children to eat when they return"

"Sure" said Jaya and Mathilde could have sworn that she heard him muttering under his breath, "Would much rather come and watch Seb fluff it again though." Mathilde hid a chuckle.

Mathilde,Seb and Amelie took the long route to the school which was in the west wing of the settlement. They chatted to people on the way as they passed the stalls and work tables and stopped to feed the gyrfalcons. For a long time the settlements had used snow owls as messengers but they lost the birds regularly as they preferred to travel at night and rest often, making them the perfect prey for wendigo. Gyrfalcons had proved to have more stamina, to be able to travel day or night and to be much more vicious in a fight.

Eventually Mathilde, Seb and Amelie arrived at the school where the class was waiting for them.

"Ah and here are our speakers," they heard the teacher, Master Jonas, say as they entered the room.

"Class I’m sure you have all heard of Mathilde Fidell our Protector Superior and this is her Second-in-Command, Seb. They are here today to tell you a little about the work of Protectors. Then we will hear from Carer Amelie who will tell you a little about the work of the Carers. Over to you Seb"

Seb made a good start as his huge form strode to the front of the room. He looked very impressive until he stumbled half way and had to quickly right himself before he hit the floor. By the time he reached the front of the room Mathilde could see the blush already starting to crawl up his neck. She gave him a quick thumbs up in encouragement and he began.

"Well as you know each settlement has a small group of Protectors who all work together under a Protector Superior. Does anyone know what we do?"

A dozen hands shot up. Seb smiled at a boy in the front row and nodded at him to speak.

"You fight the wendigo" said the boy, leaning eagerly forwards in his seat.

Mathilde made a note of his face. She guessed that they would be seeing him at the Protector trials next month.

"Yes we do sometimes fight wendigo," said Seb, "but that is really only a bit of what we do. Protectors are trained to fight the wendigo if they were ever to breach the settlement walls. It has happened a few times in history, as Master Jonas has probably told you, but thankfully doesn't happen that often. We don’t hunt them or go out of our way to find a fight.”

The boy looked slightly disappointed.

“The job of a Protector is much more than just that,” Seb continued. “We keep a constant lookout from the top of the settlement walls in case of an attack or in case a messenger or visitor braves the journey to reach us. The Protectorate also help to tend to the animals in the grounds of the settlement and spend time at the fishing hole or allotments. Almost everything you eat arrives at your table because of the work of the Protectorate"

There were a few "oh" s and raised eyebrows in the class. It was the same every year. Most children of the tribe had heard the fireside tales of wendigo battles and built an imaginary picture of the Protectorate around them. They never usually stopped to think about what the Protectorate did when they weren't fighting the wendigo.