Case had decided his fate long before the opportunity arose to act on his wish. For the meantime, he rode the giant wolf, suddenly feeling light-spirited and free.
For Case, it was a matter of: how. A drink would be nice beforehand, one final toast to those good memories, Eric’s friendship being one of the latest. Shelly too, how she’d visited him almost every weekend of his sentence with those little surprise gifts. His brother Charles, before they’d parted lives with poisonous words. His old father he’d forgiven, he supposed, but never felt at peace with — no harm in a toast to the man’s name. Hell, his first pet dog was worth tipping a cup for. So was the day he was released from gaol, and went to the beach as he’d dreamed of doing, even though it was winter, and just lay in the sand fully clothed, not moving for hours and hours and hours, listening to the waves murmur freedom. That was a good day.
His knee sizzled with pain as the wolf bounded along, panting and stinking. Case felt a moment’s sympathy for the mage, and for everything else sentenced to physical existence. Out of the trees they came at last, and good riddance to each one of them. And soon the ground sloped upwards, mountains came into view, and the answer was obvious. Just as soon as they were high enough. Right about … now.
‘Say, feller. Far Gaze, isn’t it? They call me Sore Arse. Can we stop a bit? Could use a minute on my feet.’
The wolf was exhausted enough itself from loping uphill. It pulled off the path and found a spot in the shade, lying with its front paws crossed over one another. Far Gaze didn’t wish to change back to human form, it seemed. It watched Case with big brown eyes.
Case smiled to put it at ease and sat near the cliff’s edge, just thinking for a moment or two. So light of spirit he felt, so free. His body had taken much punishment with all this walking and travel — how nice to ease all that. He stood, stretched, and looked back at the wolf, which raised its head and watched him. Case thought it looked sad. He raised a hand to it in farewell. ‘I think you know, don’t you? Tell Eric to keep being one of the good guys. Tell him … shit, I dunno. Tell him I said cheers, and thanks for the scotch.’ Case limped towards the edge, performed a cross on his chest, spread his arms, whooped loudly and jumped.
The wolf sighed.