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King Armpit and his feathered entourage might have flown the coop, but the fallout shrieks, rattles and collapses around and above me. Human Warriors scream, wolves howl, bears growl and snakes hiss, unleashing a cacophony of anguish. Tired of muddy pawprints stamping exposed hands, I crawl out from under the covering and find my feet.
The pack runs in all directions, faces and fur coated in grey ash and sweat, dampening all sense of colour, except for crimson flames. Houses burn, including the mansion, fire eating through woodwork, smoke in dirty shades of grey belching into the sky. Trees, newly adorned with the first spring leaves, wither under the onslaught of heat and flying ash. The only escapee from the flames is the southern wolves’ horrible wooden carriage, which is the definition of cruel irony.
I try to call out for Dulcis, but smoke steals her name in a gravelly cough. A towering bear appears first, arms and legs spread out as he tries to protect her ash covered wolf from every angle or danger. She gives him a long-suffering howl and pads over to me. I throw my arms around her neck and a cloud of ash wafts straight up my blackened nose. By the time I finish sneezing I’m surrounded by a mob, all sporting furious scowls. Looks like I’m for it. I spot General Ursid bumping his way through the frantic crowd and hold out my arms, but he shakes his scarred head. Even my mangy wolf mate, smouldering in all the wrong ways, unleashes a string of x rated yips and howls, designed to show me how mad he is.
Alpha’s wolf doesn’t bother shaking off the ash before he changes into his formidable human. “Stop the screaming and running,” he hollers at his unhinged mixed pack. “Get the fires out.”
I don’t think they even hear him. They do hear Ursid’s booming roar which sets off my tinnitus, as well as nearly making me wet myself. The entire pack finally screeches to a halt and turns towards him, knees knocking. Well, maybe not the snakes, but you know what I mean.
Ursid nods at Alpha with grumbling satisfaction and the wolf leader tries again. “That’s enough screaming. They’ve gone, for now. Mama Bear?”
“Here,” she calls, temporarily lifting the cloth covering her mouth.
That’s a good idea. I haul my sweaty jumper over my nose to filter out the falling ash and smoke.
“Take the hurt to Mama over there,” Alpha cries, waving his arm in her direction. “Everyone else, get these fires out.”
They all move, bumping into and tripping over each other in the rush. All the wolves turn back to human form to carry water buckets from the river. Most bears use their bulk and strength to tear down flaming panels and tree branches.
Since Mama Bear has been teaching me first aid, I’m about to head over to her when a punctured, livid and very naked Anguis rears up at me, getting right in my face. I don’t think I’ve ever seen this much of him, this close up.
“You could have been killed,” he shouts, the wind of his breath blowing ash out of my hair. “And got me killed.”
“I’m sorry,” I stutter, his anger scaring me into nervous joking. “Put clothes on, if you’re going to yell at me.”
His arm rises, a finger pointing at the burning mansion, gallons of water currently being sloshed over it. “What’s left of my clothes are in there.” Blood trickles from the cuts covering his body.
“Are you badly hurt?” I ask, fingertips touching his shoulder.
He pushes my hand away. “I told you to stay hidden. This all started once you showed yourself. Now they’ll all come back for you in full force.”
His voice reaches such a vibrating volume that Curt inserts his wolf face between us and snarls up at him.
“Don’t tell me you don’t agree with me,” the ambassador says to the still smouldering Curt.
A deluge of water drenches the wolf, finally putting him out. A changed Wings, who’s managed to recover a pair of too short trousers from somewhere, smacks the empty bucket on the ground with a clang. Curt shifts into a dripping, scowling man with red patchy burns over his back.
“Thank you, very much,” he states. “That was freezing.”
“You’re welcome,” says Wings.
A bleeding Serpen joins his ambassador, his silence delivering more condemnation than Anguis’s angry words.
“I’ll get something for the wounds and burns,” I tell them, hoping to make a cowardly escape. No chance.
“I hate to agree with Anguis,” my mate says, “but you behaved like a...”
“I know,” I agree, with an involuntary lip wobble.
“You never do anything anyone says,” he continues, “but this time...”
“I know,” I repeat. “I’m sorry you got hurt... And it’s worse than that.” They all wait for the other shoe to drop. “He’s right about the book.”
Curt shakes his head. “You burnt it. I saw you. It’s gone.”
“I know I did,” I reply, “but he’s still right. As soon as he said it, I knew; that book can’t be destroyed.”
“So where is it?” Alpha asks.
“I don’t know.”
“Of course you don’t,” says Curt, with a deep sigh.
I grab Gulid as he flaps past and dab his wounded beak with my stretched woolly, whilst tearfully offering thanks for my rescue, over and over. Eventually the eagle gives up and shifts back to a man.
“Stop. You’re making me cry,” he mutters, thrusting my hands away from his swelling face. “Go and weep over someone else.”
Fabulous, here come the Southern Wolf Contingent to add to my scalding woes.
“I’ve sent a messenger to Audira to keep the children hidden,” Big Wolf tells Alpha. “They won’t come back to town until a decision’s made.”
“I hate to be the messenger of calamity,” Yelena adds, flicking ash off her collar, “but it’s clear nothing we can do will have much effect on that serpent beast. We’re lucky not to have corpses rather than burns to deal with. And it was just him and two eagles. What happens when they all come? And they will, now he’s had a nice chat with her.” She tips her head in my direction.
I say nothing, for once. What am I going to say?
Wait a moment...
“The pendant,” I splutter.
“What?” asks Yelena. “Perhaps you should...”
“The gemstone on the chain around his neck. Just before he changed, it flashed. You saw that?”
Anguis crosses naked arms. “Yes. And?”
“It changed colour too. When the light went out, he shrank to that slug thing.” I glance at Serpen. “Is that normal for a serpent?”
“No. Not in my bloodline,” he replies. “I don’t know what that thing was. But then I’ve never seen a serpent of that size, or able to spew fire.”
“I think he’s using magic,” I suggest, desperately scanning each face. “That’s why he wants the book, since it’s also magic. That gem made him change, but the magic ran out. What if he couldn’t use it? He’d be like Serpen at worst. We might have a chance.”
“Perhaps,” begins Yelena, and I cringe at that dreaded word, “you could explain how you plan on getting it away from him, or counteracting this magic, if it even exists?”
“We need help with the magic.” I gulp and continue. “We need to get to their cat.”
Ok, I know it’s ridiculous, but I also know it’s the only way. There’s no chance of convincing the others, though. After all, I doubt I’ve convinced you.
“If he is using magic and he got it from the cat, then it’s our enemy too,” Yelena argues.
“The cat’s our friend,” I state. “It hates the serpents and it’ll help us.”
“How could you possibly know that?” Yelena responds. “You’re making it up.”
Yes, of course I am. I also know I’m right.
“You need to listen...” I begin.
“No,” states Alpha with finality, staring straight into my eyes. “It’s suicidal and ridiculous. And you have no idea what you’re talking about.” His rigid gaze leaves my teary one and travels around a ruined town, filled with terrified faces. “I’ve decided,” he announces. Bustle and talking ceases, every eye on their Alpha. “We’ll fetch what’s left of our things and leave, collecting our cubs on the way. We’ll head south. Move, now. Curt and Edi stay with me.”
The pack scatters, edging away and avoiding my eyes, leaving me alone with the wolf brothers. Curt’s arm encircles my shoulders. Since I already know what’s coming, I beat Alpha to the punchline.
“You want us to run,” I state. “As in far away. To leave you all and go somewhere else.”
Alpha gazes at his brother, fixing him in memory. “Go, and don’t tell us where you’re going, so we can’t betray you, if...”
Dulcis’ wolf shifts to human, running back and flinging her arms around me. “No,” is all she whimpers.
I can’t let her cling to me. “Take her,” I tell Adamo and his mighty bear carries her away with a roar.
“Hope our backpacks aren’t burnt,” Curt says, grasping my hand and dragging me in the direction of the derelict mansion. “We’ll grab what we can.”
“You have to go with the pack,” I tell him, pulling against his superior strength. “Let me find somewhere to hide alone. I’ll be safer.”
He turns and slings me over his shoulder in one swift movement, puffing out, “I’d find you, wherever you went, so don’t make me look.”
I lift my head, catching Alpha staring at us. He turns away, yelling for all to hurry.
The entire left side of the mansion collapsed into a pile of smouldering wood, leaving little left of the threshold. The smell reminds me of our lost lodge in the mountains and grief swarms my stomach.
“Put me down,” I growl at my mate, pummelling my fists on his bare backside.
He drops me on my feet with a thud and I stagger.
“This is not my fault,” he snarls at me.
“I know.” I hiccup, a tear rolling down a cheek. “It’s mine. I don’t know where to go.”
He sighs and wraps his arms around me. “That’s not true and we’ve talked about this. We know where we’re going. We’ll set off to the west and hide in the trees for the night. We’ll see them all again. I know we will. Now, no more tears and let’s go.” He draws back, peers into my eyes and gives me a gentle shake. “And I need to get some clothes on.”
I force out a mirthless laugh and smile encouragingly, but my rebellious brain has already begun formulating a plan as we enter the mansion.
One side of the banister cracked in half as the roof fell, but the staircase stands mostly intact, so we race upstairs and into our room. Part of the ceiling lies open to the sky, smoke swirling in shards of daylight.
“Everything we love burns,” I mutter, which is a tad morbid, even for me.
“We’re together. That’s all that matters,” says Curt, raiding what’s left of his wardrobe for clothes and hauling them on.
I look for Mr G, but can’t see him anywhere. I hope he got away. What will he do when we’re gone?
A chargrilled ash heap is all that’s left of our emergency food pack, but camp bedding and clothing seem untouched by the flames. I stare at Curt as he hops on his good leg, trying to heave on his trousers. Normally, I’d help him, but I’ve already made my decision and I have to act now.
Forgive me, Curt, but you can’t come with me and I know I’m right.
“The food’s gone,” I tell him. “I’ll pack what I can find from the kitchen and see you downstairs.”
He gives up the gymnastics and sits on the filthy bed. “Be careful; it might be unstable down there. And don’t be long,” he calls after me.
I don’t reply.
