The cave was the entrance to a tunnel which clipped the corner of a hill and emptied into a pine needle valley. The smell was all around them. Judd pinched his nose.

“I think I’m allergic.” He whispered.

“Don’t start sneezing.” Giordi hissed. “Which way?”

The tracks they had followed disappeared so they half slid, half clambered down the slope to the valley floor. Light was waning fast as the sunset was blocked by the outer wall of the quarry. There were hardly any shadows now and soon, it would be almost impossible to see.

Giordi tapped Judd’s arm and pointed. Judd turned and saw a precarious path down the backside of the mountain that formed the edge of the city of Quarre.

“Must be how Clariet gets down here…” He breathed.

Judd nodded and they continued to creep past the trees to where, at the back of the valley, thick bracken and dead or broken trees began to cluster. Judd was reminded of Aalis’ witch tunnel that she had designed to scare off knights and those who wanted to become knights. However, unlike her tunnel which was only the semblance of horror and gruesomeness, the dead valley was far more real. There were human skulls skewered onto large thorns and wind chimes of bones that clattered with hollow timbre.

Judd clutched the handle of his sword, suddenly seeing a dash of colour and pushed Giordi back. They paused, their ears straining to hear.

“…never happened before.”

“…warned them.”

“I swear…I…”

“We’re too far.” Giordi whispered.

Judd nodded then waved his hand. They crept up a small slope that turned into a low ridge, obscured by bracken which shielded them as they made their way closer.

“…smelt silver. You protected him!”

“Why would I do that? I lured him here for this very purpose!”

“And then you felt compassion and guilt.” The voice was as hard as stone and as cold as ice.

“Why would I feel that towards a man from Maul?”

Judd glanced at Giordi and frowned. “Clariet?” He mouthed.

Giordi shook his head. “LeMewn.” He said silently.

“It…it really is a testimony to how our partnership is working,” LeMewn said in a slightly hysterical voice, “there are almost no crimes in Quarre anymore. I have no criminals to offer you. You…you must understand that.”

“I understand that you are making excuses…and I warned you that failure to produce sacrifices for judgement would result in…consequences.”

“There’s no need for that!” LeMewn very nearly squeaked. “I swear…in fact tonight there are two sacrifices! The man from Maul and a witch.”

“Another innocent dragged from some unknown hole?”

“Clariet said she was a witch.”

“She is no daughter of Maul…but if she is tainted…” The voice was almost melodic with a deepening purr. Judd frowned at Giordi who was concentrating. He wondered if he was thinking the same thing. “I grow tired of your shackles, LeMewn…and of cleaning up your incompetence.”

“I didn’t tell you to chase down that poor cleric! I didn’t know he’d heard Clariet’s ravings and run back to Astaril.”

“Yet he met my teeth in the end…”

Judd closed his eyes, hot and sick.

“But it was Clariet who started all this! He was the one who said we could be partners…cohabitation…”

The voice which could only belong to the werewolf began to laugh, an almost pleasant sound that ended in a sharpened snap. LeMewn yelped in horror. Judd went to rise. Giordi grasped his wrist and shook his head.

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“Would you like to cohabit with me, LeMewn? Shall we conspire for your wife to meet an unfortunate end? Then you and I..."

Giordi’s eyes widened and he turned to Judd. “Woman.” He mouthed. Judd shook his head but Giordi nodded.

“Stay away from my wife…”

“Just a little push into the quarry…a broken neck…a drowning…or shall we chain her to the well as a witch?”

“You’re a monster!”

Judd felt a shiver in the air and peered upwards. The sun was gone and the moon was rising. The werewolf was reaching its peak of strength. He had to act now.

“I was once very beautiful. Men lusted after me…and I have seen it in your eyes too…that burning desire…”

“All you see is loathing! I should never have let Clariet talk me into making this covenant with you!”

Judd eased his sword out of its sheath, trying to avoid the bracken whose rattle would give away their position.

“Regret is a human hinderance…you cannot escape this covenant without consequence.”

“You failed to keep your end! If you cannot kill the man and the witch tonight, you are the one who will face the consequence!”

More laughter. Judd tried to stand up but the bracken was trying to scratch his armour and something had him hooked. Giordi leaned backwards and saw a thorn caught on Judd’s belt.

“Fortunately, I speak the language of wolf…and they are not so hindered by the smell of silver…or of curfews…”

A loud howl filled the air. Judd and Giordi clapped their hands over their ears, wincing at the way it pierced their minds. A few seconds later, numerous howls returned the call.

“They come, my brethren…and with me to open every door…”

“But…they’ll kill everyone, not just the condemned!”

LeMewn’s voice ended in a strangled squeak.

“You wanted to be rid of this covenant…so be it. We shall return to the slaughter of old…and welcome you into our dark embrace.”

Judd didn’t hesitate. He barrelled his way through the bracken and leapt into the clearing. His sword didn’t reach the werewolf as she threw herself backwards, LeMewn tossed from her claws like a dog’s chew toy. The werewolf drew herself up, two feet taller than Judd, braced upon her shaggy hindlegs and her tail. Her bust was barely covered with a tattered tunic, a leather pouch hanging from a strap around her neck. Hair covered the lower half of her body leaving her arms free though she bore long claws. Her hair was the same hue as her fur, a mane of shaggy silver grey and her eyes were amber without a flicker of the spark of a soul behind them. Her lips curled up in a snarl, pointed canines appearing.

“My dear Lord LeMewn…we appear to have company.” She kept her distance from Judd as they felt the edge of the clearing with their feet. “Where are my manners?” She lunged across the clearing, her claws scraping Judd’s breastplate and he threw himself out of her reach, slicing his sword horizontally. The werewolf screeched, the tip clipping her calf. She stumbled backwards, limping from the wound, her eyes filled with rage as she wiped at her leg then licked her green blooded claws. “First blood is yours…”

Judd kept his eyes on her, knowing that to even blink would mean his death. She snapped at him, her hands clawed and the hair on her back, bristling. Judd half stumbled, the rush of the moment gone and the extraordinary danger he was in like a terrifying slap in the face.

“Who do you think you are?” She sneered. “You’re no knight! I smell your fear!”

“You’re always more aware of your own stench than others.” Judd taunted, recalling the horror of smelling fish on his fingertips.

She howled and swiped at him, his sword only just deflecting her blows. Her claws struck the branch of a tree, deep gouges appearing in the trunk and for a moment, she was caught. She had to brace to pull her claws out and she turned to lunge at Judd across the clearing…but he was standing right behind her.

Her body sank deep onto his blade, her face so close he could see the dilation of her pupils, as though the pain was a terrible pleasure. She staggered in retreat, green blood pouring from the wound but rather than clutch at it in a vain attempt to stop the ebb of life, she grasped the pouch around her neck.

“You think…you have ended me?” She panted, her pointed teeth in an eerie smile. “I…will rise again…with Ekidna…over and over…”

Judd swung his sword, cutting her head from her body and both parts fell to the clearing floor. He closed his eyes and shuddered.

“Well done,” Giordi pried himself loose from the bracken and clambered down, “she thought you would run but you were right there.”

“When did it become a ‘she’?” Judd spat bile to the side, his stomach churning. He used his sword to keep himself from falling to his knees, trying not to look at the body of the werewolf as he fumbled about in the fallen needles for the pouch. His glove clutched around it, his fingers scraping it towards himself.

“What is that?”

Judd shook his head, standing. “I don’t know,” he turned and glared at LeMewn, “but we have more immediate concerns.” They walked up to the Lord who was slumped on the ground, his bloodied hand over his face, his robes in disarray. “You,” Judd pointed at him with his sword, “I can’t even begin to list all the crimes you have committed.”

“You…you don’t understand!” LeMewn wept. “Quarre was out of control! Sir Jesa was petitioning the king, my half brother, to have a knight take away my place!”

“And for your pride you allowed Clariet to convince you that getting in bed with a werewolf was not only permissible, but right?” Giordi exclaimed.

“He said it would be the way to change everything! We would no longer be at war with Maul!”

“You can’t make peace with evil and think the war is over!” Judd roared. “You make peace with evil and you invite the enemy into your homes! Into the lives of those you love!”

LeMewn sobbed. “I…I had no choice.”

“Oh I hate that cliché.” Giordi rolled his eyes. “It smacks of lazy creativity.”

“We’ll deal with you later,” Judd threatened, “now get up. We’ve got to stop those wolves!”