ANSIR® Profile: Evokateur / Healer / Evokateur
Boss: Healer

'Twas a Dark and Stormy Night

The wind howled outside the stone walls and the man by the fire shivered, pulling the blanket closer about his shoulders. A pair of dogs lounged a little away from him; a small smile played about his lips as he saw that the older one had her head on the younger one's back as she always did. The man reached for his cup and the scrape of metal against stone woke the large canines. The female lifted her head, saw her master was in no harm, and went to lay her head down again, but the younger wolfhound, the male, stood and walked over to his master.

"Not a good day, eh, Phantom? Aye, 'twas quite a horrible one. Couldna go hunting." The gray dog leaned into the caresses his master gave him, looking adoringly into the human's blue eyes. The black female abruptly stood and glided over to sit on the man's other side, whining for his attention.

"Jealous, eh, Wraith?" the man asked the dog as she rubbed her head against his chest. "There's a good lass, calm down, I have two hands, one for each of you."

"Jack, ye talk to those dogs as if they understand ye!" A voice mocked from behind them. The man turned to find his friend there and felt his two

"How do ye ken they dinna, Danny?"

"They are but stupid beasts. They couldna possibly understand ye. Come, it's late and we must leave on the morrow."

"Aye, that we do. Go on, Danny. I'll be there in a bit."

"Just dinna wake me. I need my rest."

"Close the door and ye willna have to worry about me waking ye." Jack turned his attention back to his loyal companions. The younger dog stared back at Danny, lip curled. "It's all right, lad. Calm down." The dog's tail thumped once in acquiescence, then it lay down facing the open door behind his master. Jack heard footsteps on the stones and knew Danny was walking down the hall.

Jack and his dogs sat in companionable silence for a minute, listening to the rain on the windowpanes. The man was preparing to stand and head for his bed when Wraith suddenly bolted to her feet and stood, hackles raised; she growled softly as if to warn something away and moved to stand in front of her master, her nearly three feet of height protecting him from who knows what. At a sharp, soft bark from the black dog, the gray took up a similar position behind Jack. Phantom nuzzled his master's neck, then stood at alert. Both animals seemed to be as taut as bowstrings drawn back but not yet loosed, and the man seated between them wondered fearfully what had gotten the wolfhounds into such a state. He jumped when he felt something brush against his leg, then sighed in relief. Just the cat.

The tabby hopped into his lap and then leaped onto his shoulder, her tail lashing back and forth and her eyes fixed on the ceiling. Jack shuddered. Something was definitely amiss. The eerie tone of the wailing wind shattered his already-strained confidence and he felt his heart begin to race. Lord, he hated storms. And this was no normal downpour--of that he was certain. Though the mountains often had torrential rainstorms, there was something that just sent chills down his spine about this one.

"Specter! Dinna claw me so!" He scolded the cat, but she ignored him, still watching the air above them. Jack didn't even want to think about what the cat believed was overhead.

An unnerving shriek from within the house. Phantom lowered his head and bared his teeth, growling deep in his throat, threatening. Wraith trembled, but stood firm where she was. The gray dog's black eyes glittered in the firelight reflected from the mirror across the room. Jack imagined that there was something other than just the dog in front of him: some inky-dark figure that vanished as he tried to get a closer look.

The shriek sounded again, and Phantom barked twice, visibly restraining himself from running toward the sound. Jack marveled at the dog's actions; that is, when he wasn't contemplating what was out there trying to get at him. He heard a scream from Danny's room that cut off as soon as it had begun, and his eyes grew wider. Danny must be dead.

Ominous silence fell, and that scared him all the more. Terrified of the quiet, Jack started talking softly to fill the room with calming sound.

"Did I ever tell ye how much I love the sunshine? That warm, brilliant light of the day...it didna seem that anything can go amiss. Everything is visible..." Specter dug her claws into his shoulder, and he stopped talking, allowing the animals to listen carefully.

The gray dog was still tense and menacing, ears pricked for the slightest sound from the dark hallway beyond the doorway. Jack suddenly wished that Danny had closed the door. Somehow it would just make him feel safer, to not have to watch his back like that. But Phantom was there, and the loyal wolfhound would protect him. Sensing his uneasiness, Wraith nuzzled her master's neck briefly and laid her head on his a moment before returning her attention to the fire and the windows in front of them.

Specter hissed and spat at the ceiling, balancing precariously on Jack's shoulder. A sharp sound punctuated the dark, and the unearthly noise raised the hairs on the back of the man's neck. The cat climbed onto his head and sat there, challenging the dark thing above them to just TRY to get past her. The small creature had more guts than Jack had ever given her credit for, and he felt grateful that such a proud creature--

He yelped as a banshee-like shriek sounded from just inside the window. Lightning flashed, and he knew that he hadn't imagined that shadow on the sill; Wraith lowered her head and faced the window, growling at the thing they had both seen. Her fur stood on end, making her look even larger than she was. Lightning flashed, thunder clashed, and Wraith barked sharply: once, twice, thrice. The shadow disappeared from the window.

Again the silence, two dogs on edge, one cat threatening the air, one man scared for his life. And something out there that wanted them all dead. Jack's entire being screamed at him to flee--to run into the night, to get to his horse and ride far, far away. But his fear rooted him to the spot.

Wraith and Phantom abruptly turned to face one another, then as one began nudging their master toward a corner. Relying on their senses and praying they would save him, Jack moved to sit in the corner, the cat hanging onto him and the dogs watching, nervous, until he was still. Wraith took up a position as a guard as Phantom moved toward the center of the room. The wolfhound sat and raised his muzzle to the sky, letting loose a howl of challenge; his gray fur reflected the brightness of the fire, making him glow with pale light.

Something moved across the stone floor, then a dark shadow stood before the dog, absorbing the firelight like a deep chasm. Phantom stood, hackles raised, and lifted his proud head, then jumped forward in a flash of light. The dog yelped in pain, and growled in anger, but the black thing made not a sound. Jack watched in horror, unable to tell exactly what was happening.

The tabby leaped over the black dog and scrambled toward the other wolfhound, her silver fur shining in the near-darkness. Wraith growled softly, and Jack simply cowered in the corner, petrified with fear. The dog turned to watch her companions fight the evil thing.

Specter squalled, Phantom yelped, and a sudden shriek rent the air as the shadowy creature detached itself from them both and leaped toward Wraith; the cat and dog hauled themselves to their feet and dove after their nemesis.

The black dog stepped forward once and growled deep in her chest, all her power and hatred put forth in one sound. An unearthly howl answered her, and the dog sprang forward, meeting the dark thing head-on. Neither combatant noticed Phantom and Specter move to protect their human; the man himself could neither speak nor move, so great was his terror. Blood spattered the floor, making the stones slick and dark. The fight seemed endless. Equally-matched, unwilling to let others intervene, doomed to play out the battle, only time could tell which would tire first.

With a quiet whimper, Wraith hit the floor in a bloody heap; the dark thing jumped on her to finish her off, but the wolfhound had one more trick. Just as the dark thing landed on her, she latched onto its throat and held on, even as the thing tore at her, even as she lay dying. The loyal animal refused to give up.

In a flash of light, they died together, good and evil locked in one final embrace. Thunder boomed, and Jack knew that it was over.

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