Chapter Five: The Beast of the Medero

... Calmando battles the beast of the Medero

Bagwis knew he would catch up with Lemuel and Mariquita within the hour.  He had picked up their trail quite easily and the tracks he was following were fresh, no more than an hour or two old.  He lifted the torch he was carrying to scan the horizon ahead of him, there was nothing there…just shadows cast by the cliffs of the desert.  Suddenly, he heard a woman cry out and a wolf howl.  Bagwis, the assassin, quickened his steps.

                                                        

 

 

“So tell me, Laoakan, after all this time, which temptation did you finally give in to?” Falcon Eye asked, as he and the assistant made their way down to the cellars.

Laoakan was behind the old man, his knife inches away from the teacher’s back.

“Don’t you know, master?  I thought you could read people’s minds,” he sneered.  “Money, master, it’s always that, is it not?...but in this case, the lack of it.”

Falcon Eye sighed.  He did not want to believe what he had just heard; Laoakan had been with him and his brother, Magdalo, when they had first started the school and when the brothers had a falling out and Magdalo left, it was Laoakan who had stepped in to fill his brother’s shoes.

“What do you intend to do, Laoakan?” the master asked.

“I want only what is due me, Falcon Eye.”

“And what is that, Laoakan?”

“Everything.”

 

 

 

There was no escape!  Lemuel thought that they could outrun the wolf, all he and Mariquita had to do was to reach the cliffs and climb up the lowest ledge, but even that had been too steep for them to reach.  Now they were trapped " the beast blocked the way they had come through " and all around them were the high cliffs of the Medero!

“Stay behind me, Mariquita…whatever happens, stay behind me,” the governor’s nephew said.

 

From their vantage point, all that Calmando and Magdalo could see were two figures, a man and a woman, hemmed in by a large wolf.  The beast kept weaving round the pair, snarling and baring his teeth.  The man was shielding the woman from the animal, but it was clear that he was unarmed, except for a short walking stick.  Magdalo was about to say how careless it was for the couple to venture into the Medero at night, but when he turned to Calmando, the farmer’s son was already running down the path and towards the helpless pair.

The hermit shook his head and headed back to the camp.

 

 

 

Bagwis could clearly hear a wolf snarling and snapping its jaws.  When he turned the clearing, he saw Lemuel and Mariquita trapped by the beast.  He pushed the end of his torch down into the ground, then reached for the spear that was strapped to his back.  He had but the one spear…and only one chance to kill the wolf.  He could not afford to miss.  Bagwis took aim and hurled the lance.

It flew through the air, the supple tail making a swishing sound that cut the silence of the night, but Bagwis had miscalculated.  The spear struck the cliff wall and fell harmlessly between the wolf and its prey.  Started, the beast turned away from the two figures cowering under the ledge and turned to Bagwis.  It started to run towards him.  Bagwis tried to pull out the torch he had pushed into the ground, but it was buried too deeply.  He could hear the wolf panting as it closed in on him.  He remembered the small dagger he kept in his cloak, reached for it, but it was too late.  The last things the assassin saw were the beast’s red eyes and jagged teeth.

 

 

 

Calmando heard horrible cries of pain as he ran towards the clearing.  The moment he realized that the two figures trapped by the wolf were his friends, Calmando had started running down the cliff.  Now he could only hope that it was not Lemuel he could hear screaming.  As he neared the bend, the screams suddenly stopped.

 

 

 

“Is all this just greed, then Laoakan?” Falcon Eye asked, as he and the assistant finally reached the cellars.

“Oh no, master, there is vengeance involved too, you know, and perhaps even a bit of self preservation and…envy, yes definitely envy.  I thought that I would eventually run the school, but recent events have led me to think otherwise.”

“Do you mean the death of the governor’s son?”

“Oh no, master, I meant the coming of Calmando, the farmer’s son.  It was clear from the start that you looked at him differently, Falcon Eye, he could never do anything wrong in your eyes.  He was always right and…dare I say it, your favorite.” Laoakan could not mask the bitterness and jealousy in his voice.

Falcon Eye turned and looked at his assistant with sadness.

“Then I have been guilty of that sin twice, my son.  There was a time when I looked upon you the same way.  I even took your word against my brother’s.”

Laoakan laughed, “You know, Falcon Eye, your half brother was always better at reading people than you.  But I am grateful for your belief in me, master; it has, shall we say, paid great dividends.”

“I shall ask again, Laoakan, what do you intend to do?”

“This,” the assistant said, as he thrust his dagger deep into the old teacher’s stomach.

Falcon eye doubled over, then fell forward.  Laoakan knelt beside the fallen man, then calmly wiped the bloodied knife on the old teacher’s coat.  Then he rummaged through the pockets until he found Falcon Eye’s seal.  He stood up and started climbing the steps.

 

 

 

Calmando reached Bagwis just as the wolf let go of the assassin’s throat.  The beast then turned and ran back to Lemuel and Mariquita.  The farmer’s son knew there was nothing he could for Bagwis, he ran past the lifeless body.

“It’s Calmando!” Mariquita whispered.

Lemuel looked past the wolf snarling in front of them.  He saw the farmer’s son running towards them, sword in hand.  He had to keep the beast’s attention away from the fast approaching figure.  Lemuel started flailing his arms and shouting at the wolf.  Mariquita followed suit.  The animal looked confused for a moment, then started to snap his jaws at the two of them; suddenly it lunged and caught hold of Lemuel’s sleeve.  The governor’s nephew felt the sharp teeth bite into his arm.  The wolf started to pull him away from Mariquita and the ledge.  He began to hit its snout with his free hand; from the corner of his eye, he saw Mariquita run to the satchel he had dropped.  She grabbed the bag and flung it at the wolf’s head.  The beast let go of Lemuel’s bloody arm and turned to the mayoress’ daughter.  Mariquita was about to run when

“Do not move, Mariquita,” Calmando said softly behind her.  Holding his sword low with both hands, he stepped in front of her.

“As soon as it attacks, run out of this gorge, Mariquita, and up the path where I came out of.  Do not argue, I have a friend waiting there.”  The farmer’s son could only hope that the hermit had not run away and was till at the camp.

Suddenly, the beast gave a howl that echoed round the surrounding cliffs, and lunged.

“Go!” Calmando ordered, raising his sword.  Mariquita turned and ran.