Even from this distance, hundreds of feet away, the castle loomed over them in the sky. From what he could see it was composed of five large towers connected in the center by a sixth, much larger, tower. A thick stone wall surrounded the castle on all sides, with only one way in or out that he could find. It was a massive gatehouse that stood double the height of the walls which left it at just over half the height of the castle’s towers. A stone path extended from the gate and made its way down nearly the whole distance, stopping just inches before their feet. Along the sides of the path James spotted countless stone pillars about as thick as his arm, with large lanterns standing atop. They stood in its shadow, staring at it in silence for a moment before Red began walking toward the gatehouse. After taking another second to admire it himself, James followed her.

While they walked James continued to turn his head in every direction, taking in as much of their surroundings as he could. Closer to the gatehouse, trees and hedges began to line the pathway. The hedges were trimmed into a waist-high wall of leaves, and the trees were all perfectly spherical. It was eerie how well kept the grounds seemed to be, with not a single leaf on the path. When they had finally reached the massive building, he had to crane his neck to see the top of it. Now that they were within a few feet of the stone, James could see all sorts of lines carved into it. His mind shot back to the night Red had found him, and he thought of the wall of stone in the forest that was falling apart. The lines on the gatehouse were almost identical to those that he saw that night.

“Don’t speak.” Red shot him an unexpected warning as he opened his mouth to ask about the carvings. Turning to face her he found that her eyes were cold and serious, so he simply nodded his head.

“Red!” A man shouted from above them, causing Red to wave her arm in response.

“Open the gate Markus!”

There was no response. After a few minutes had passed, the gate lurched upward and gradually began to rise. It creeped slowly, groaning and resisting as much as possible, until it stopped just high enough for them to walk through. James could not imagine the amount of strength it would take to lift such a monstrosity. The five-inch-thick bars were solid iron and stretched at least ten feet which was the full width of the opening. As soon as they were on the other side it slammed down behind them causing him to flinch and jump away from it. Just as he was recovering from the shock, the man who had let them in landed on the ground next to him causing James to yet again flinch and back away.

“Red!” The man smiled as he approached her, stopping only when he noticed James standing there. “Who is he?”

“No one.” She answered quickly. “I have something I need to do. Will you be here all day?” The man, who Red had called Markus, shot an untrusting glance toward James before answering.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

“I’ll see you later then.”

Markus nodded, and eyed James once more before stepping out from under the gatehouse. After a moment he bent down and launched himself into the air, disappearing from their line of sight. A second later James heard him land atop the massive structure and he let his mouth hang open. Pointing his finger into the air above him he turned to Red who just nodded her head in response.

“Quickly.” Red waved her arm and James followed her. There were people all over the grounds behind the walls, laughing as they went about their daily routines. Children were running around screaming, crying, and chasing both dogs and cats. They all seemed to be happy, except for the cats who just wanted to bask in the sunlight peacefully. Everything around him looked so peaceful, but for some reason James felt a sickening sense of danger surrounding him. He followed Red through the grounds and into a small door on the side of one of the five outer towers. Inside they took a winding staircase that led down for what seemed like fifteen minutes before finally coming to another door. She pushed it open and they found themselves standing in another room, completely filled with doorways.

“Most doors will lead to a place like this, called a gateway, at least once.” As she spoke, they entered one of the doors and found yet another gateway. “Some will do it multiple times.”

The third door they opened however, was not a gateway. Instead James found himself in a windowless bedroom that was almost completely bare. The only furniture was a bed, a nightstand, and a large wardrobe. They were all made of a dark glossy wood, with accents of green. It resembled an old tree covered in moss that was carved into furniture and covered with a thin layer of glass. In the corner of the room was a fireplace, already burning.

“You can talk now.”

“Where are we?” The sense of danger had made him anxious, and seeing this room only served to worry him more.

“This will be your room for now.” His stomach fell as Red confirmed his suspicion. This was the place she was going to lock him up in. She walked over to the wardrobe and threw it open, revealing an assortment of clothing for him to wear.

“How long am I going to be stuck here?” She ignored him.

“The fire never dies so you will always be warm, and there will always be light.”

“How long, Red?” She sighed and turned to face him. The light of the fire turned her hair a rich orange color.

“I do not know. I have to consult them first.”

“Them?”

“You’ll find out eventually.” She turned and walked toward the door. “I will bring you food. In the meantime, the bathroom is over there.” She pointed to a small door next to the wardrobe that he hadn’t noticed yet.

“Red, you can’t just-” The door slammed behind her as she left. “…leave me here.” Frustrated he ran over to the door and yanked on the handle. Nothing happened. The door was locked so tightly that he might as well have been pulling on the wall. With a sigh he gave up on following her and turned his attention to his new room.

The first thing he decided to do was inspect the bathroom. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see that it was nothing like the room he was in. The bathroom was well lit, as if it received actual sunlight, and it seemed much cleaner. The floor was tile, and there was a small padded mat beneath the sink. Mounted above the sink was a mirror which opened to a cabinet full of soap, toilet paper, and shaving razors. He closed the cabinet and looked into the mirror. His face was more unkempt than he expected, shadowed by the deep bags under his eyes which had gone from green to a dark grey. Overall, he felt dirty and since he could not recall the last time he showered he decided to take one now. There were no settings for the water temperature other than two buttons on the wall which were labelled on and off. When he had undressed and turned the water on, he found it to be the perfect temperature. Even after showering for half an hour, the water never changed. It continuously poured down on him from a spout in the ceiling, like hot rain from a never-ending storm.

Upon finishing he found a stack of towels under the sink and grabbed one to dry off. It was large enough to use as a blanket, and just as soft. Looking into the mirror, which had not fogged up in the slightest, he ran his fingers through his hair. As he was considering its length, an image of the monster flashed over his own reflection accompanied by a burst of pain in his head. He cried out and staggered for a moment, using the sink to steady himself before he fell.

“At least leave me alone when I’m awake you bastard.” James walked out of the bathroom and began digging through the clothes in the wardrobe. When he found something that suited his taste, he pulled it on and moved over to the bed. If his head had not been throbbing, he might have found the bed to be incredibly comfortable. With his head on the pillow he looked up at the ceiling and wondered who had built this castle and when. Where was he, what was happening to him, and how long would he be locked in this room. Opening his eyes, he found a tray of food on the nightstand and realized that he had fallen asleep at some point. Although she was long gone, he still thanked Red.

The next few days came and went with the same basic routine. Red refused to answer any of his questions until she had spoken with whoever she needed to speak to. James grew more and more worried about his situation and the nightmares continued to haunt his sleep. Every night it was the same. He would watch the monster devour him just moments after his family left him alone. It became so bad that he avoided the mirror entirely. If he had looked, the only thing he would have noticed were the deepening bags under his eyes.

James watched as Red delivered yet another tray of food. Her eyes narrowed when she found that he had not touched the last one.

“You need to eat James.” She almost sounded worried. Almost.

“It’s ironic isn’t it?” James spoke to her, but he turned his head to the fire. “We used to tell my mother the same thing. Now I can barely eat as much as she did then.”

“You’ll die if you do not eat.”

“I know.” He looked at his hands, as he often did these days. “It’s the same every night now. My family leaves for good, and then he eats me. Then I eat me.” Red shifted uncomfortably, her face barely hiding her concern.

“They are only dreams.”

“I wake up to the sound of my own skull cracking open.” At this, Red’s eyes widened slightly before she turned around to leave.

“Don’t let dreams be the death of you.” As she closed the door behind her James wondered how many times he had seen her leave now. Without windows, he could not even tell how many days it had been. Was it morning, or evening?

“Just dreams huh.” He drank the water but continued to ignore the food. Even if he was hungry, he couldn’t bring himself to eat. With his eyes closed he listened to the fire pop next to his bed, trying to forget the images that danced in his mind. When his door suddenly slammed open he shot up and looked over only to see Markus standing there. Blood was dripping from his hands and face which bore a giddy smile. He laughed as he walked forward.

“Found you.”

James managed to leap backward in time to dodge Markus who had lunged forward. Seeing the open door, he tried to run for it but Markus caught him by the throat and shoved him against the wall.

“Ahck!” He screamed in pain and wedged his feet between them in an attempt to kick Markus off. It worked and Markus was sent flying into the bed. Without giving him a moment to recover James lunged forward. Just as he reached Markus all of his energy left his body, a side effect of not eating properly. Laughing still, Markus returned the favor and kicked James into the wall he had previously been held against. The instant James hit the wall, Markus appeared before him and gripped his throat once more.

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“Markus!” It was Red. “Do you want to kill yourself you idiot?!” Confused, Markus froze and glanced back at Red.

“What do you mean?” Opening his mouth wide enough that James caught sight of his very large fangs, Markus continued. “I was just about to enjoy some of his blood. You don’t mind sharing your toys with me, right?” She sighed, clearly irritated, and closed the door behind her.

“He is not human.” Dumbstruck, Markus looked to Red, then to James, and back again. His eyes narrowed and he gripped James tighter.

“What did you do, Red?” Before she could answer he grabbed hold of James right arm and held it up. His eyes locked onto the ring immediately and James thought he saw a flash of sadness. If he had, it was only for a moment as it was quickly replaced with anger.

“I saved his life, Markus.”

“Hah! You can’t be serious Red!” Markus threw James to the ground and turned to face her. “Surely you haven’t forgotten what happened with the last one!” A pained expression broke over Red’s face as she turned away. James’ heart leapt into his throat.

“I had no choice. He was going to die.”

“Right. How lucky he must be then that you just happened to be there at the right time.” Red turned back to face him, her eyes like frozen knives.

“What are you implying?”

“I think you know.” The two of them stared at each other angrily, neither one breaking the silence. James slowly picked himself up from the ground and turned his gaze to Red.

“Red, what-” He stopped mid-sentence as she directed her glare toward him.

“He should know. If you won’t tell him, then I will.” Red’s eyes flicked back to Markus and he flinched. Her deep red hair had begun to brighten, almost as if it was glowing, and float up off her shoulders.

“This does not concern you Markus. They are allowing him to stay here so I suggest you drop it.” After taking a step back he glanced sideways at James with a worried expression. Whether Markus was worried about him, or himself, James could not tell. He assumed it was the latter, as he was going to eat him not five minutes ago.

“Fine. Do whatever you want.” As he left the room Red slammed the door behind him and turned to James.

“Are you okay?” Her voice had softened, and he felt like she genuinely cared. James thought about her question for a moment before answering and suddenly found himself very angry.

“No. No I am not okay!” His anger, along with all the tension he had built up in this windowless prison, boiled over and flowed out of his mouth.

“I can’t sleep! I can’t eat! I can’t even look at a damn mirror! Your friend just tried to eat me you know!” His eyes welled up with tears of frustration as he continued.

“My life has completely imploded in the last two weeks, all because of you!” Red turned her face away as he directed his anger at her.

“Would you at least look at me Red?!” When she did not, he continued.

“Red! Look at me! What kind of monster did you turn me into?! Am I not the first one you’ve done this to?! Answer me Red!” He had been slowly approaching her until he was within arm’s reach at which point he grabbed her shoulders with both hands.

“Damnit witch! You owe me answers!”

“Enough!” Red shouted and sent James sliding back several feet until he bumped into the bed. The air around him had grown hot all of a sudden and Red’s hair was flying wildly as if there had been a strong wind. She sucked in a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out. As she did so her hair darkened to its normal deep red and it fell back to her shoulders.

“Enough, James.” She looked over at him and he noticed a tear rolling down her cheek. He wanted to feel bad for his actions, but his anger would not let him. She owed him answers and he was going to make sure he got them out of her.

“I need answers, Red.”

“Sit.” Red pulled two chairs out of thin air and slid one in his direction before she carried her own to the fireplace. Once James had placed his chair next to hers, they both sat down.

“I was waiting to speak with the council before I told you anything.” She waved her hand toward the fire and a spark jumped out and began dancing between her fingers.

“The council?”

“They make all the decisions here.” James nodded.

“What did they say?”

“They are going to let you stay, but they are not happy with me.” She faced James, with his serious eyes, and studied his jagged face. Around his neck he bore a hand-shaped bruise. Turning back to the fire she continued.

“The night that I found you in the forest, you would have definitely died.” James swallowed and nodded his head. “Instead it was the wolves that paid the ultimate price. In order to save you I dematerialized them all and fused them with your own body.” To this James shifted uncomfortably in his chair. For some reason his body began to itch all over. Unable to contain himself he blurted out the one question he wanted answered the most.

“What am I?” Red waved her hand once more and sent the spark back into the fire. Without stopping she continued to wave her hand this way and that. James watched with increasing curiosity as the flames grew together and slowly took shape. When she had finished, he found himself staring at a small flaming version of the monster he had become. The very one that haunted his sleep every night.

“You are a werewolf James.” His heart lurched as his fears were confirmed. Just to be sure though, he asked again.

“I’m a what?”

“A werewolf.” She sighed. “Or at least you would be if not for the ring I gave you.” James grimaced and stared into its ruby eyes as he held it up.

“Gave me, huh? More like forced onto me forever.”

“Without the ring, you would have never been able to change back. The first full moon would have left you a wolfman for the rest of your life.” James lowered his hand and looked back to the monster in the fire.

“That thing… forever.” He frowned. “No thank you.”

“I suppose instead of being a werewolf, it would be more accurate to say that you possess werewolf transformation magic.”

“Magic?” Red nodded.

“If you learn to control it better, then eventually you should be able to fully control not just your transformation but how much of you is transformed in the process.”

“As in, I could change an arm or a leg by itself?” Again, Red nodded.

“Or a finger or even your sense of smell alone.” She paused for a moment, considering the possibilities. “I can’t honestly say since you are the first one to make it this far.” James flinched as he remembered Markus’ words.

“What number am I?”

“What?” Red turned her head, a confused look on her face.

“How many others have you done this to?”

“Ah.” She turned back to the fire, but not before James noticed the pain his question had caused her.

“How many Red?”

“You are the third.”

“Third?! What happened to the other two?!” His frustration and worry began to escalate once more. If they had both died, then how long did he have left?

“The first one died immediately.” James flinched again but then relaxed a little. He had made it farther than the first one at least.

“And the second?”

“The pain of her first transformation nearly broke her. When I tried to change her back, she…”

“What happened?”

“She’s gone.” James’ frown deepened. He had made it farther than both of his predecessors, but that wasn’t saying much under the circumstances.

“So, what you are saying is that I could die at any moment. Is that correct?”

“I won’t let that happen!” She turned to face him again, her blue eyes darker than ever.

“Why did you even do this to me?”

“What do you mean?” She asked, confused. “I did it to save you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“You were going to die, James. I had no choice!”

“You did have a choice!” James stood, his anger rising as well. “You could have just killed the wolves! You could have taken me to a hospital!”

“I thought-”

“What?! What did you think?! That I was going to die anyway so you could do whatever you wanted? Am I just some toy for you to play with like Markus said?!” He stood there breathing heavily for several minutes before angrily returning to his chair. When he had calmed down a little, Red continued.

“I thought I was helping you. I saw what they did to you, and how they acted after they thought you had died.” She shook her head lightly. “No one enjoys being powerless.”

“So you turned me into a monster? Then what, was I supposed to kill those kids? I bet you were all too happy the night my family died then. It gave you the perfect motivator to push me over the edge into my first kill didn’t it?!” James ran his fingers through his hair and rested them at the base of his skull.

“It did.” Her words stunned him. James met her gaze with his own wild eyes.

“What did you say?”

“I said it did. It was the perfect chance.” James opened his mouth to continue unleashing his anger, but she stopped him. “That doesn’t mean I was happy about it. About any of it.”

“Then tell me the truth Red! Why did you do it?!”

“I needed you.” She pointed to the ring. “I needed someone that could survive. Someone that could harness this power and kill someone for me.” Her eyes were distant and had turned clear as ice. Her hair resembled blood more than ever as it dripped down her shoulders in dark maroon waves. The fireplace erupted gently, the monster vanishing, and cast an orange glow on her face. James could not help but stare until she returned to her previous state. When she had, he shook his head and brought his attention back to the conversation.

“Why don’t you kill this person yourself? As strong as you are, you shouldn’t need help.” James looked away, wishing there was a window he could stare out instead of the fire which had begun to hurt his eyes. He wanted no part in this.

“As strong as I am?” Red laughed. “You haven’t seen anything other than parlor tricks.” She summoned her broom and dismissed it immediately. “This person is stronger than anyone I’ve ever met, with two exceptions. The first being the leader of the council, and the second being… The second was your predecessor. During her first transformation she was more powerful than you could imagine. Until then, I had only hoped of creating a distraction. With her I realized how wrong I was. With you…” She paused. “I was hoping you would be even stronger.”

“I’m not.” James grunted. Red nodded.

“Not yet.”

“Why don’t you just ask the other person for help?”

“I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t.” They were silent for a time after that. James mulled over what he had learned, the bitter truth of his savior using him as a weapon did not sit well in his stomach. With a sigh broke the silence.

“Great,” he said sarcastically. “I’ve been kidnapped, enchanted, and forced into a fight with fairytale creatures I know nothing about and have nothing to do with. How exciting, I can’t wait.” Red laughed. “Not funny.”

“Sorry. Try not to think about it for now. We have a long way to go before we fight her.” James raised his eyebrows at the mention of this person being female.

“Who is this person?”

“No one.” Red shook her head. “When you need to know, you will.”

“What if I refuse to help?”

“Then I’ll kill you myself.” She replied without the slightest hesitation, a grin spreading across her face. James shivered and turned his head away. Red laughed again.

“Your sense of humor is terrible you know.”

“Is it?” He nodded. Rubbing his neck which still ached from earlier he changed the subject.

“What is he?”

“Who? Markus?”

“Yeah.” James nodded.

“He is a vampire.” He could feel her studying him, waiting for his reaction. James only continued to rub his neck.

“And the blood on his face?”

“His feeding room is in the same gateway as this room. When I left, he probably smelled you and came rushing over mid-frenzy.”

“Ah.” James pulled his hand down and propped his leg on his knee. “What did you mean, when you asked if he was trying to kill himself?”

“If he were to drink your blood, even though you aren’t a normal werewolf, it would kill him.” She waved her hands and began playing with the fire once more. “I should have moved you before he fed but I was careless.”

“Am I moving now?”

“Tomorrow.” James nodded once.

“When you say mid-frenzy, do you mean the way I was when I…attacked…the man in the police station?”

“No.” She paused to recreate Markus within the fire. “It’s different for vampires. When it happens to you, you lose all control of yourself and feed on anything you find moving alone or really anything at all if it is bad enough. However, with vampires, they tend to develop a frenzied personality which is completely different than their normal one. Usually they become more aggressive and feral but still able to control themselves. They are more likely to act on impulse, sure, but they won’t knowingly endanger themselves and can back away if need be. Unlike you. In some rare occasions though, vampires become calmer and more calculated. Those are the truly dangerous ones.”

“How do you mean?”

“For example, you would expect an aggressive vampire to attack you and unless you present a show of force, they will. They are easy to deal with though because they are sloppy. On the other hand, a calm vampire can hide their frenzied state and outmaneuver you. One second everything is fine, the next second you have fangs in the side of your throat.” James reached for his throat and Red shook her head. “They aren’t always that strong though. The frenzy is where they draw their strength from, especially if they have eaten.”

“Then I would assume Markus is an aggressive one?” James looked at his hands and found a small amount of blood, likely from the blood on Markus’ hands. “He is insanely strong.” Red laughed at him.

“He is nothing special. If you think Markus is strong then you have a long way to go.”

“Awesome.” James sighed. “Just what I wanted to hear. The vampire that shoved me halfway through a stone wall, is weak.” Red laughed harder as she mocked him with a flaming Markus holding a flaming James against the back of the fireplace.

“You still aren’t funny.”