The Moon Worshippers Read Online Free

only partly right, his mother might have been a wolf, but his father was a dog. That’s why he stays with you, for now.”
    The boy’s heart sank. “You mean he will leave me.”
    “Could happen at any time,” the man said. “That’s why I don’t keep them. You can’t rely on them. They can turn at any time and are highly dangerous. No good to me. How long have you had him?”
    “A summer and a winter,” the boy said in a low voice.
    “If he is going to leave you, it will be this winter. If he stays after that he may stay forever, but you never know with these animals. The call of the wild can be too strong for them to resist. What do you want him for anyway?”
    The boy thought for a moment, and then spoke slowly and quietly with emotion.
    “He is the only friend that I have in the world.”
    Aguirre looked at the boy for a long time in silence. He felt for him. He looked hard at the emerald green eyes, full of tears, and saw the iron will and control that the boy was exercising over his emotions. He took in the boy’s bearing. He looked at his clothes and the way his cloak was pulled back over the strong, young shoulders. He had shown no fear of his dogs. He contemplated and made his assessment. The boy was intelligent and sensitive. His young body showed strength and determination. He spoke softly.
    “The Gods have many needs and so do men.”
    The words cut through the boy like a sharp knife. Inaki was stunned. They were the words that every Basque uses at the beginning of negotiations. He hesitated before he made the proper response.
    “Yes, but of all the Gods, the Earth and Moon Goddesses are the greatest.” He continued: “For me I ask nothing, for my wolf-dog I ask your help.”
    “So be it,” Aguirre said. “If he is to live amongst men then he must find his place and have work to do, for no man or animal can be idle or without purpose. Now tell me exactly how you came by him, and leave not the smallest detail out, for I will tell you the importance of your words when you have finished.”
    When the boy had finished his tale, having been questioned by Aguirre very expertly over every detail, he sat and waited while the big man pondered. After a while Aguirre began, sometimes pausing and choosing his words carefully.
    “As I said, this is a wild animal and he will be unpredictable, so his training will have to be given with great care. I must train you first before we start. You cannot afford to make any mistakes or all will be lost. Are you prepared to follow my instructions without complaint or contradiction?”
    “Yes.”
    “Good, because if you don’t I will tell you to go.”
    The boy thought for a moment, and said:
    “I will obey.”
    “Now we will agree a price for my tutoring. You will work for me for twelve lunar months.”
    The boy’s mouth fell open so wide that he almost dislocated his jaw. He quickly composed himself and sat up straight on his three-legged stool and replied:
    “I hope you’re worth it.”
    Aguirre chuckled to himself. The boy has spirit , he thought to himself.
    “Now,” Aguirre said, “let us talk about this wolf-dog.”
    As he said this he reached down towards one of the animal’s paws. Without a sound, the wolf-dog sprang to his feet and went straight for the man’s throat. Aguirre fell back off his stool and onto the floor.
    The boy put a hand on the animal’s great head and said softly, “Be still now.”
    The animal went down at his feet, the great head resting between his paws.
    “Touchy bastard isn’t he?” Aguirre said.
    “He will let no other touch him.” The boy spoke the words as a simple statement of fact.
    Aguirre picked himself up from the floor with all the dignity he could muster, set the stool straight a little further from the wolf-dog and tried to compose himself and began.
    “It is my opinion,” he said in a solemn voice, “that a dog fathered your animal. From what you have told me I think it happened like this.”
    He