Free Ethan Wright and the Curse of Silence by Kimbro West Page A

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    “He may not look it, but I suppose Odin has been known to handle himself quite well in a given situation,” he said in his deep voice as he smiled at Odin.
    “I barely made it out with my skin attached,” laughed Odin. “Like the time you got stuck to the Lake Hunter’s tongue — or when you found the magic healing herbs!” Odin and Ghislain laughed loudly.
    “Oh, I almost forgot about those! I got so sick — bet I turned three shades of green!” Ghislain was laughing so hard that his eyes were tearing up a bit.
    Ethan was starting to realize that these two had quite a history together. They were like two old chums that had been parted for a while. Auren, bored, was now slumped over with his chin resting on his hand. Ethan thought the old stories were fascinating, as he had never heard of this side of his old caretaker.
    “Well then,” said Odin. “Down to business, how would you two like to run an errand for Ghislain and me?”
    Auren’s head perked up and he sat at attention.
    “What sort of errand?” asked Ethan, curious.
    Odin reached into his pack, pulled out a large metal shackle and placed it on the table with a clank. It had two spikes that protruded from the inside of the ring and a locking mechanism on the outside. It was made of iron and showed signs of rust, or possibly blood that had dried and crusted along the inner edge.
    “What is it?” asked Auren.
    “It is a means of control for an uncontrollable beast,” said Ghislain.
    “You mean the werewolf?” asked Ethan.
    “Actually, Wegnel said it’s a Stonewolf,” replied Auren smugly.
    “Correct… “ answered Odin, “…on both accounts. The creature is known as the Stonewolf for obvious alterations made to its skin. And this device, which was until recently attached, is called a pinch-shackle. They have been around for years and years — very old alchemy associated with devices such as these.”
    Ethan sat forward in his chair. “What do you mean?”
    “What I mean to say is someone, or some thing , was attempting to control this creature. What I don’t know is who, or what.” Odin grabbed a small pair of glasses from his pack and held them out in front of his face to further examine the device. “I have never seen one quite this size before — notice the markings where the shackle pinches shut — some type of pattern there.”
    Ghislain leaned in. “Looks like a large chain connects to it … yet — there doesn’t appear to be any real damage to the contraption.”
    “Exactly,” murmured Odin. “Which can only mean one thing.”
    “Yep,” chuckled Ghislain.
    “Well … what?” exclaimed Auren.
    “The creature didn’t escape … it was set loose,” answered Ethan, looking both disturbed and excited he had come to the proper conclusion.
    “Correct,” said Odin.
    The boys looked at each other and then back at Odin, who was still examining the device through his glasses.
    “How exactly did you say you got this off the Stonewolf?” asked Ghislain.
    “I didn’t say,” quipped Odin, lifting his chin to remind Ghislain of the giant gashes the Stonewolf had left on his face. “Let’s just say it was at my own personal expense….”
    Ghislain nodded.
    “When you said alchemy was a part of this, what exactly did you mean?” asked Ethan.
    “What I mean is, certain metal objects can have alchemical properties associated with them. This particular object, made of iron, has elements of manipulation outside the standard forging process,” explained Odin.
    “You sounded like Wegnel for a second there,” chuckled Auren.
    “Indeed,” replied Odin as he put the glasses back in his pack, pulling out a piece of scrap parchment. “Although I am hesitant to say, it may be more alarming that the creature itself was still alive, having been altered through alchemical manipulation. No doubt the last werewolf that Ghislain saw, several years ago, is the very same Stonewolf that was seen here in Strahlung,” he