A Tale of Red Riding: Rise of the Alpha Huntress (The Alpha Huntress Series Book 1) (5 page)

Chapter 6

“Wake up, Red Riding.”

Red’s eyes opened to see a million stars twinkling in the night sky. It was a majestic sight she could never enjoy under the blaring lights of the concrete city. The air was shivering cold, and yet she was burning with sweat, as if she’d been running for hours. “Where am I?”

A masculine voice with an Irish accent spoke. “The
where
isn’t as important as the
why
.”

“So
why
am I here?”

“
That
is the big question. I suspect you’re not going to much like the answer,” the Irishman said.

“Try me.”

The Irishman took a deep breath. “If I had to give it my best guess, I would say a dark force did something sinister to get you here.”

“How did I know you were going to say something like that?” A rather harsh odor hit Red’s senses and made her already queasy stomach churn a bit. “Look, whoever you are, I’m thinking you’re in serious need of a bath.”

“I hate to break it to you, Red, but that odor is coming from you.”

“Yeah right.” The idea of this was so absurd that Red shrugged it off. Just to be certain, she held her arm close to her nose. “Oh, rank. I smell like a wet dog.”

“Don’t worry. The stench will be gone before you know it.”

“Fabulous.”

This didn’t give Red a bit of reassurance as she pushed up to a sitting position. Her vision was somewhat blurred, making the details of her surroundings unclear. From what she could tell, she was outside a temple, constructed of grey stone and towering well above the tree line. There were stained glass windows that depicted celestial images of the moon in its eight phases. “What’s the story with this place?”

“When you regain your senses, I’ll do my best to explain,” the Irishman said.

“I can hardly wait.” Red could just make out the outline of a burly man standing over her, though her vision was still too blurry to see if he was human. After all that had happened since her arrival, she thought it best not to assume anything. “Listen, whoever you are, if you’re going to try to eat me, you should know that I just slayed a goblin.”

The Irishman belted out a laugh. “Well, one day you will have to recount the tale for me. Not that such a triumph is unusual for a woman of the Riding Clan.”

“How do you know my name?”

“Everybody in Wayward knows who you are.” The Irishman extended a hand.

Red cracked a smile, feeling quite safe in the company of this stranger. She took his hand, which was three times the size of her own and rough with calluses. His raw strength felt quite astonishing as he pulled her up to her feet.

“Easy there, muscle man. You trying to pull my arm off?”

“I’m so sorry. I was under the impression that you were a rough and tough girl that could slay a goblin.”

“Okay, okay, leave the sarcastic wisecracks to me.” Red took a few quick stretches to loosen her sore muscles. “I know people around here don’t always like to give their names. If you could tell me yours, I’d appreciate it.”

“You can call me Ethan. I hope in time you will come to also call me friend.”

“Ethan is a good name. I could use a friend right about now.”

“Then you have one in me, Red of the Riding Clan.”

“What is this
Riding Clan
business you’re talking about?”

“Your family has a long heritage of great heroism and honor in Wayward. You should take great pride in knowing that their blood flows through your heart.”

“Maybe if I knew more about my family, I would understand what that means. Would you tell me about them?”

Ethan stood up straight like a soldier saluting a general. “It would be my greatest honor to aid the Alpha Huntress.”

“Alpha what?”

Red’s vision had cleared up enough to be able to make out Ethan’s features. He was well over seven feet in height and more than twice her age. His face was rugged and handsome, accented with a thick red beard. Leather armor covered his massive muscular chest and a huge axe hung over his back.

“Now I know I must be dreaming again,” Red muttered.

“I can assure you that this is no dream. Though I suspect you’ve had some rather confusing ones since your recent arrival.”

Red took a half-step back. “How do you know that
exactly
?”

“I knew your mother. Since you are her spitting image in both looks and wit, I would guess I know you just as well as I knew her.”

“Knew her? Does that mean she’s … you know … not alive anymore?”

Ethan took a long breath. “Grenda didn’t tell you of her fate.”

“Granny hasn’t told me much of anything yet.”

“Then the hard truth falls to me.” Ethan wiped a tear from his eye.

“Ethan, if this is too hard for you, we can talk about it another time. I’m sure my granny will tell me soon enough.”

“The strength of your mother is alive inside you, Red Riding.”

Red frowned. “From the way you said that, I get the feeling I’m not going to get a chance to meet her.”

“I’m afraid you are right, Red. But let us not dwell on such sad thoughts. There is much to rejoice upon today. The Alpha Huntress has returned to Wayward.”

“What’s this Alpha Huntress business you keep going on about?”

“It’s not exactly my place to explain that,” said Ethan.

Red snarled in frustration. “Well then whose is it
exactly
?”

Ethan shrugged. “I can’t exactly say. Just not me.”

“It sounds really important. So why don’t you cut the word games and just spill it already.”

Ethan belted out a laugh. “If I didn’t know better, I would think I was talking to Jenna herself.”

“Jenna?”

“That was your mother’s name: Jenna Riding.”

“Jenna Riding.” The name echoed a hundred times over in Red’s mind. It was the first time she had ever heard the name of her mother. It was like music to her ears. “So she was just like me?”

“In every way I can see. Though there are hints of your father in you as well.”

“You knew my father?”

“That I did. I vowed to him that I would stand by your side and give my life if necessary to assure your safety.”

Red looked Ethan in the eyes and had no doubt he was telling the truth. “Please tell me about him.”

“I will. But right now there are more important matters to discuss.” Ethan pushed open the massive double doors of the temple and gestured for Red to go inside.

“What’s in there?” Red couldn’t imagine that anything in that old temple was more important than learning about her father.

“You have to trust me, Red. What waits inside is vital to your future.”

“This had better be good.”

A gust of warm air shot by Red as she took a few cautious steps through the temple doors. A sea of a hundred flickering candles mounted on the walls illuminated the massive stone chamber. On the ceiling high above was a carved image of the Earth encircled by images of the moon in its eight primary phases.

On the wall there was a large wooden clock, counting down from—

5 YEARS / 0 MONTHS / 4 DAYS

2 HOURS / 3 MINUTES / 22 SECONDS

“What is the story with this place?” Red looked back to where Ethan was standing in the open doorway with his feet an inch short of the threshold. His expression made it clear he wasn’t taking one more step into the chamber unless he had to. “Hey, Irishman. It’s freaking me out that you told me to come in here, but you won’t come inside, too.”

“Trust me, Red. Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”

The honest look in Ethan’s eyes told Red that he was telling the truth; not that it made her feel any better about the situation. It took a few calming breaths before she was able to coach herself into venturing further inside.

She soon found herself standing in the center of five marble pedestals, each with a stone sitting upon it. Some were jagged and sharp, while others were rounded and smooth. The colors varied from bright and shiny to scorched and burned. Despite their many differences, the one thing they all had in common was an intense aura of power radiating around them.

Red then noticed that each pedestal had a unique marking carved into the base:

I Alpha

II Skoll & Hati

III Diona

IV Madonna Oriente

V Ragnarok

A strange humming tone rung out nearby. Red whirled, startled, toward a stone altar at the far end of the chamber. Upon it rested a large archway made of some kind of transparent metal. The sight of it consumed her heart with dreadful fear. Still, she felt compelled to walk across the chamber and up the four steps of the altar.

Red stood gazing at her own reflection in the archway. With a trembling hand, she reached out and touched its oddly hot surface. In a flash, an image of the moon blazing in the midnight sky filled her head. Standing before it was a silhouetted figure of a man in a black hooded cloak, extending a bony hand toward Red. She could feel his icy cold breath as he whispered something into her ear. His words were unclear, but their intensions were of pure evil.

“Get away from me.” Red leaped backward into the air, startled. She soared ten feet and hit the floor in a battle-ready crouch.

“Red, do not fear,” Ethan said. “There is nothing in here that can hurt you.”

“What’s going on here, Irishman?” Red asked.

“It’s difficult to explain. You won’t believe me if I do.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t want you to try. You can start with that metal arch thing there.”

Ethan clenched his fist tight enough to cause his knuckles to crack. “Some call it a celestial portal. It connects this world to one hidden deep beneath the lunar surface."

“Are you telling me that thing goes to the moon?”

“It’s more like it comes from the moon. I suppose you could use it to go there if you needed to.”

“What would be there if I decided to go?”

“I will not utter such terrible things to young ears. All I will say is that it’s a place I hope you never have to go.”

Red paced around in a whirlwind of frustration. “Is that the best answer you can give me?”

“It is the only answer I will give you about
that
place.”

Red stomped toward Ethan. “Listen up, buddy. I’m not some dumb little kid that can’t deal with the truth. I want to know what that thing is doing here. And who made it? And what’s with all these rocks? And what about that clock counting down? And what about the moon carvings on the ceiling? And so help me, if you say you can’t tell me, I am going to kick your butt.” Her threat came right as she approached Ethan with an arm extended and a finger pointing at his face.

“Spoken like a true Riding.” Ethan nudged Red’s hand aside and took a few nervous steps further into the chamber. “This temple was built by the followers of a vile sorcerer called Ragnarok. He was born a man, but through dark spellcraft, he became as powerful as the lunar deities.”

“Well that doesn’t sound weird.”

Ethan took a long breath to clear his thoughts. “It all started two hundred years ago when Ragnarok got the idea that if he could bring part of the moon to Wayward, his followers, mostly made up of werewolves at the time, could have the power to transform at any time, day or night, and not just during the full moon.”

“Werewolves that can run around during the day? Well, that’s different.”

“Red, do you want to hear this or just make a bunch of sarcastic comments?”

“Sorry.”

“Using a powerful spellcraft, Ragnarok created a mighty explosion on the moon. It caused thousands of moon rocks to rain down on Wayward and set the forest ablaze.”

“So that’s what happened,” Red muttered.

“You’ve heard this before?”

Red turned away, not interested in talking about her recent dream. “Just go on with your little story.”

“It’s not a story, Red. This happened. For three days, all of Wayward was engulfed in smoke and dust from the shattered moon rocks. Fifteen years later, the offspring of those who survived began to develop strange abilities. The most powerful were able to transform into creatures that stood on two legs and looked part human and part wolf. They came to be known as the Children of the Moon.”

“You mean werewolves?” Red asked with a nervous crack in her voice.

“Some called them that. A time of great darkness fell upon Wayward. Many children were seduced by Ragnarok to join his clan. They searched the forest far and wide, seeking to find every bit of rock that had fallen from the moon.”

“Let me guess, the rocks make werewolves’ powers even stronger.”

“You’re a smart girl, Red. And while that was enough reason to seek them out, what Ragnarok wanted was the means to use the powers beyond the borders of Wayward. It would allow them to go out into the world and conquer the human race.”

“But somebody stopped them, right?”

“They did, but not easily. There was a moonstone that was more powerful than all of the others combined. It was known as the Omega Gem. Ragnarok wanted it more than anything. Not to use it. To destroy it. The power it held was the only thing he feared. He knew that in the right hands, it could be used to defeat him.”

Red gasped in excitement. “So what happened? I have to know.”

“A young woman, the same age as you are now, stood up and fought tirelessly to stop Ragnarok’s forces from overrunning the town.”

Red took a nervous breath. “Who was this young woman?”

Ethan placed a hand on the stone marked Alpha. “The lunar deities gifted the girl with great power that made her into an unstoppable werewolf. She became far stronger than all the others. Any who dared to face her in battle met their demise. She became known as the Alpha Huntress, the high protector of Wayward. Her quest lasted for five years. In the end, she battled Ragnarok in this room, and forced him back through that gate, into a lunar prison.”

“You mean she trapped him inside the moon?” Red looked up at the archway on the altar. The humming emitting from it grew ever louder.

“She did just that. And he has remained there for almost two hundred years, quietly waiting for a chance to return.”