I couldn't fall asleep; thoughts of missing my family were continually eating away at my mind. Of course, it didn't help that I kept dwelling on Anya's betrayal either.
With a heavy sigh, I rolled out of bed. The stone floor was cold to the touch, sending a chill through my body. I tiptoed over to the balcony, but my feet were already beginning to acclimate to the frigid surface anyway. The evening air was refreshing, and the scent of damp leaves was unmistakable. Autumn would soon be upon us.
Glancing out across the misty river, I could see that the horizon was lit up by the dazzling moonlight, causing the water to shimmer. Then I had to squint at the sight of a shadowy object sailing majestically towards the castle. Black sheets were fluttering under a strong breeze, and it didn't take long before I heard the creaking of wood and the ringing of bells. There was a ship approaching.
I called out to Asher and Violet as soon as I heard the boisterous crew preparing to weigh anchor. However, they must have been fast asleep because they didn't reply.
'Asher, Violet?'
'What?' Violet yelled back, marching through to my bedroom with a thundercloud of rage hanging over her head.
I pointed down at the river. 'Look at that.'
'That's a ship, Jake. Is it one of your making?'
She should have been able to predict my answers by now; this land was almost as foreign to me as it was to her. 'Yes, I know it's a ship, and no, it's not one of mine.'
Violet sighed. 'I have a feeling that you should get down there before Avrae decides to go hunting.'
'I'll wake Asher...'
Violet grabbed my arm, stopping me mid-stride. 'I wouldn't; he's been out drinking river water all night.'
'You told him about it?'
'How could I not, Jake. Although seeing him now, I wish I'd never said anything.'
I'd have no choice but to check on him now. As I turned to leave the room, Violet stopped me again. 'Seriously, I wouldn't; it stinks in there.'
I grimaced as I tried to imagine the putrid stench, as well as the thought of him chugging down gallons of that stuff in the first place. There could have been anything floating in there. 'Fair point, you keep an eye out; I may be back in a hurry.'
She pulled up an armchair to watch from the balcony. 'Sounds good to me.'
The walk down to the docks was pleasant, with nothing but the blissful silence of the night enveloping me. Every living thing in this land was sleeping; well, almost everything.
'Help!'
Whoever it was, they knew my name. I still couldn't see their face, though.
Eight creatures with four legs and unkempt fur were chasing after her. And as she ran right passed me, I could see her at last.
'Mom?!'
'Not now, Jake, run!'
The barking of dogs grew louder; no, they were larger than dogs. If I had to guess, I'd say they were werewolves. Suddenly, everything that Avrae was blabbering on about came flooding back to me, and I felt like I'd swallowed a rock. It was all true; Anya must have sent them after us.
'Where's Dad?' I ask. I couldn't help but wonder.
'I said, not now.'
'Follow me, mom, the castle gate's not far.'
Sprinting over the rotating drawbridge, I grinned, baring my teeth. I knew that I'd be grateful for having it one day. 'Violet, Pull the lever!'
'What lever?'
'The drawbridge! Do it quickly; they're right behind us!'
The bridge started to pivot as soon as we set foot on it; five werewolves skidded to a halt, almost toppling over each other as they tried to keep upright. Two scrambled across, picking up speed, but they still failed to make the jump and ended up ploughing straight into the sharp edge of the walkway. One made it over, though, and as I stared into its wicked eyes, I saw nothing but hatred.
'Avrae!'
My mother looked back at me as though I'd gone mad. She'd probably want to have me committed to an asylum after she met the creature. I wouldn't blame her, though; the dragon was a handful.
She let out a scream at the sight of him swooping down from his perch. The werewolf didn't even get a chance to see its mistake before Avrae picked it up, carrying it away into the night sky to feast on.
The dragon turned his long neck around to peer over his scaly back.'You always give me the best treats, Jayk!'
My mother shrieked again. 'What the hell just happened?'
I didn't know where to start, so I told her all about the exam first. After that, I discussed Professor Magnus Melia and the collision of realms, and finally, I told her about Anya.
'Oh, Jake, I'm so sorry.'
I was struggling to hold back tears. 'It's just; I thought I knew Anya. We've been going out for months now, and we were friends long before that as well.'
'People change, son.' I could see the fire burning in my mother's eyes as she'd said it, and even though I understood what she meant, I didn't want to accept that the Anya I knew was gone. Still, It was a nice feeling, being loved by someone who unconditionally loved you back.
I nodded, not taking my eyes off of the ground. I hadn't seen my mother this angry in a long time; something else must have happened out there, I could tell, and I remembered her changing the subject when I'd asked about my father.
'Where's dad?' I ask again, already fearing what the answer might be.
Mom sighed, shaking her head. 'We woke up in this world, your father and me. We knew that we were now living in a place of your creation. The fact that we woke up stark naked in the middle of a forest was a dead giveaway.'
I hissed. 'Sorry.'
She shrugged. 'Anyway, we must have been walking for the better part of a day when we came across the strangest thing that I'd ever seen in my life; a village, with caves, dug deep into the ground by hand.'
I nodded, realising where she was going with this. 'Little mole-people, right? You probably saw them travelling around through magical portals?'
'What? No, why would there be...' She chuckled. 'What kind of world have you created, son? No, what I found was a community of werewolves, thousands of them. I feared the worst when I first saw them; your father went in before me to say hello though; he'd insisted on it.'
I openly winced. After what I'd just seen of werewolf behaviour, how could I not? Pinching the skin on my hand, I prepared to hear the gory details. 'What did they do to Dad?'
Seeing the look of horror wash over me, my mother laughed. 'They invited us in for tea.'
I couldn't believe what I'd just heard. 'Tea?'
'Yes. Tea.' She repeated. 'They were lovely people, Jake; preferring not to show their human form, this didn't bother us though. They told me that they wanted to embrace their true nature, living as wolves, which was understandable. They lived a peaceful life; some might even say boring, with a passion for building things and hunting for food.'
'Amazing.'
'They even had children; one of them; Arthur was the sweetest, every morning he would bring me flowers, clenched between his small white canine teeth.'
'You said "was" mom, what happened?'
'One morning, the sky was red like it was on fire, and everywhere we looked, we saw huge yellow rifts of magic. Out of them poured more werewolves; at first, we were delighted to meet more of their kind until a shrilling voice ordered an unprovoked attack on our new friends.'
'No!'
Mom was crying now. 'Your father saved as many as he could, but most of them died.'
'And Arthur?'
She smiled slightly. 'Arthur made it.'
'Where's dad at now?'
'He went with the survivors, Jake, after helping me onto this ship. I didn't even realise that these bastards were hiding on board with me, masquerading in plain sight as the ship's crew. They played their parts well; no doubt a scouting party, just waiting for someone like me to come along.'
'We have to go and help them.'
Mom held my face in her hands and looked me squarely in the eye. 'We will, Jake, but first, I need to rest. Where are we anyway?'
'This is our home now, mom, and this castle is the seat of power for all of Brockwing Vale. It's so cool! Its surrounding waters are endlessly flowing with magic and can grant great power to anyone who drinks from it.'
Mom sighed. 'Oh son, you let your imagination get the better of you when you created this world, didn't you? This magical water of yours is what Anya wants; I'll stake my life on it. We'd better prepare to defend ourselves.'