Beyond Blood - 2

CHAPTER 2: SUSPICIOUS STRANGERS

For the next two days, no further questions were asked about Terence’s family tree, though Terence knew his friends’ curiosity must have been truly piqued. While the white-haired youth never spoke of it himself, the mention of his brother got him thinking a great deal. Now he couldn’t stop wondering where Tristan was, what he was doing, if he was all right, if he even noticed (or cared about) Terence’s absence, what he would think if he could see Terence now.

People meant it when they said Terence was never very good at hiding his emotions. His mates usually knew in a heartbeat when something was troubling him. They also knew better than to pry too much, although Tumnus did ask at one point, “Are you all right, Terence?”

“I’m fine,” the youth replied with a tone and expression that insisted otherwise.

On the third day, General Oreius and a small band of centaurs, fauns, and dwarves came to report to High King Peter while he sat on his throne. Queen Susan was there, too. Terence, Lucy, and Tumnus just so happened to be in the same room when Oreius said to Peter, “Sire, we have just received word of some of the White Witch’s old minions stirring up chaos throughout random parts of Narnia.”

“How many of these minions?” Peter inquired.

One of the fauns answered, “So far, we have heard of two trolls, three minotaurs, four rogue dwarves, and six wolves, and at least one of the latter is assumed to be a man-wolf.”

Terence felt a chill run along his spine at that last part, while the color drained from Tumnus and Lucy’s faces like liquid from a faulty spigot. Common wolves who served the White Witch were bad enough, but the men-wolves—otherwise termed “werewolves”—were what you had to watch out for the most. Folks for miles around frequently claimed that a dozen wolves were so much more preferable to a single man-wolf, and after Terence and Tumnus’s not-so-long-ago skirmish with the infamous Ardat, neither the young man nor the faun could agree more.

“Have you been able to verify the activity of these creatures?” asked Susan, her voice low and steady.

Oreius shook his head. “Not yet, Your Ladyship. As of now, this is purely hearsay.”

“All the same,” said Peter, rising a little taller in his seat, “best to keep our eyes and ears open. The White Witch herself may be gone but we must still remain on the alert for her goons.”

“Now that’s got to be the most unnecessary thing he’ll ever say,” Lucy whispered to Tumnus and Terence, who both nodded.

“Have you anything else to report?” Peter went on.

Now one of the dwarves piped up. “There is one, Your Highness. Don’t know how necessary this is to tell you, but for the last week or so, we could not help but take notice of a strange unicorn roaming these parts.”

At the word “unicorn,” Terence stood stock-still and listened with the utmost intent, his bright sapphire eyes at least twice their usual size.

“What do you mean by ‘strange’?” asked Peter.

“Strange in that we suspect he may not be a Narnian citizen,” said the centaur on Oreius’s left flank.

“He?” repeated Susan.

“At least, we assume it’s a male,” said another faun, his freckled cheeks taking on the slightest shade of pink. “There was a beard, anyway, from what I could gather.”

Now Tumnus and Lucy became statue-like as well.

Peter asked, “Can you give a more elaborate description of this creature?”

Oreius said, “Well, sir, none of us were able to see the creature up close and personal, as you might say. Even so, I could gather he was a big beast, no less than twenty hands high. His body was a deep bronze color, and his mane and tail were like the purest honey. While I couldn’t get too good a look at his horn, I estimated it must have been at least four feet in length.”

Terence gave out a short, sharp gasp. When Tumnus and Lucy looked at him, they saw that his face had gone as white as his hair and goatee, if not whiter.

“Terence?” said Lucy tentatively, reaching out a hand to him.

“Mate?” whispered Tumnus.

Terence stayed where he was for about three seconds more before turning and bolting as if the place were on fire.

~

Though Tumnus and Lucy spent well over an hour searching for Terence, they didn’t see him again until lunch. He just came to the table without a word, and he spent more time poking his food than eating it. Given his reputation as a certified bottomless pit, everyone knew something was up when the boy declined to eat. Lucy and Tumnus wisely decided to forego any questions, and Edmund and Beaver also figured it’d be best to say nothing for the time being.

After lunch, Peter announced that he, Susan, and Edmund were going out with Oreius and the others to “further investigate.”

“Wait for me!” Lucy called as the group was heading out. “I’m coming, too!”

From the way most of them stared at Lucy, you would have thought the girl had sprouted a second head. “What?” Peter exclaimed.

“I should say not,” said Susan indignantly. “This is no business for children.”

Lucy looked and sounded like she had just been insulted in the worst way. “Oh, for the Lion’s sake, Susan, I’m as good as grown-up! Besides, I’m only four years younger than you.”

Susan scowled.

“What harm can there be in letting Lu tag along?” Edmund asked his elder siblings, offering a small smile.

But Peter shook his head and told Lucy in his firmest tone, “No. You’re staying here.”

“Peter—”

“My answer is no.”

Lucy kept quiet after that, though she made somewhat of a nasty face at Peter and Susan when they had their backs turned. Edmund merely shrugged his shoulders with a can’t-say-that-I-didn’t-try expression before hurrying to catch up with the others.

When the group had left, Tumnus gently suggested, “Hey, Lucy, what do you say we go for a little ride through the woods? That’ll cheer you up.”

Lucy wasn’t too inclined, but understanding Tumnus’s efforts, she managed to smile a bit when she said, “All right. That might be nice.”

“Care to join us, Terence?” Tumnus asked. “You could also benefit from the fresh air.”

Terence didn’t want to say yes, but he couldn’t think of a good enough reason for saying no. So he spread his empty hands and answered passively, “Okay, Tumnus, you talked me into it.”