Rise of the Wolves

by J E Reed

  “What happened?”

  “You passed out from that blow to the head. Palindrome and Cybele finished things.”

  He brushed her hair to the side to examine her wound.

  She winced and grabbed his fingers. “Is everyone safe?”

  Reece nodded. “Once Palindrome took over, we pulled back.” His gaze seemed to search her eyes, but she couldn’t hold it. “Most of them are in a meeting.” He paused. “If you want to join.”

  “Why aren’t you there?”

  He shrugged. “Their inner workings don’t require my input.”

  The pain in her head continued, but it was beginning to dull. At least Vincent’s medicine worked.

  Reece offered his arm. “I’ll walk with you if you want to go.”

  She nodded and the two made their way back across the castle grounds.

  Inside the great hall, someone had shoved the tables and chairs aside to make room for more of their injured. Blankets and cots lined the area with bloody bandages piling up in several corners. She averted her gaze and limped up the stairs. Reece kept one hand on her back to balance her movement.

  Noise echoed from K.J.’s office and Reece helped her push the heavy doors open. Several heads spun their way. Kiuno clenched her teeth as more than a few of their gazes shifted to pity.

  Dark circles hung under most eyes and everyone slouched in their chairs.

  “It’s good to see you up and moving,” Palindrome said. She rose and pulled out a chair. “Join us.”

  Though Reece had mentioned not wanting to come, he stayed at Kiuno’s side, his hand never leaving her shoulder. She found it comforting. As if he were grounding her to the present.

  Palindrome returned to her seat. “As we were saying. I’d venture to agree most of their magic users are gone. They won’t be a threat.”

  “But they could have valuable supplies. K.J. has confirmed the use of gunpowder and if there’s more, then I think it’s worth getting,” Scorpios replied.

  “How many retreated?” Kiuno asked.

  “Less than a quarter,” K.J. answered. “They abandoned their catapults and if we have any luck, there will be more waiting at their castle.”

  Palindrome folded her hands. “We received a message from Samar this morning. He’s willing to help in our recovery. In the meantime, we can focus on getting a unit together to ensure they don’t issue another attack.”

  Samar. She didn’t recognize that name.

  “Then it’s decided. There’s work to do.” K.J. looked them over. “Silver, Scorpios. I want you two along the wall if you have energy to spare. I’ll be there shortly.”

  Palindrome stood. “Maltack and I will head back to the medical wing.”

  Those in the room rose to their feet, but Kiuno remained still, keeping her gaze on the spirals in the wooden table. Silver laid a hand on her shoulder in passing and she trembled but bit her lip to hold in the tears. Reece lingered, but when K.J. didn’t rise he relented and followed the others out.

  The two sat in silence for a long time. She wasn’t sure what she needed or why she stayed. Kiuno felt his eyes studying her. He knew her. Surely, he’d tell her how to survive from here on out.

  “Do I need to worry about you running off?” Knew her too well it seemed.

  Kiuno clenched her fists. Sharp pain lanced through her head. Her body trembled from the empty hole at her core and her throat burned from choking back tears. She was in no condition to run off.

  “I want to finish what they started.”

  “We will, but I need time to organize and I can’t focus if I have to worry about you. Give me a few days to get things sorted. Can you do that?”

  The words caught in her throat, so she just nodded. He stood and the heaviness she’d been trying to avoid clenched her heart like a vise.

  K.J. paused at her side. “I’m sorry.”

  Her shoulders shook after he left the room. She fought, but the tears slid down her face against her will.

  When she could breathe again, Kiuno stood and trudged down the spiral staircase. She pressed her forehead against the stone when someone passed in an effort to hide her grief. Thankfully they didn’t pause to ask questions.

  She walked the long familiar hall until she stood before a door. Their door. Kiuno rested her forehead against it.

  This was the first place they’d had a moment alone together. A moment to relish in the fact they were both still alive. It’d been a miracle then.

  Kiuno took a breath and pushed it open. The hinges creaked and her breath hitched. A messy bed. Clothes slung across the floor. A cold and empty fireplace.

  She took a step in and let the door close. Kiuno stood motionless for a time, then stooped to pick up a shirt. With shaking hands, she buried her face in the material and fell onto their bed.

  She cried, her tears coming in wave after wave as she mourned the only person that had ever given her purpose in this world.

  31: Broken

  Realm: 5

  Day: 299

  They knocked and once again Kiuno ignored it, huddling closer to the small pile of clothes that had become the sacred objects of her affection. She’d watched the sun rise three times and the midafternoon sun poured through her small window.

  They brought her breakfast every morning and every night they took the uneaten food away without a word. Someone lit the fire at night, but Kiuno didn’t bother with stoking it. She preferred curling into the furs that smelled of him, pretending Elite was at her side.

  The door opened and she wondered, not for the first time, if she should bar it. If not for the need to drink water, she might have.

  Whoever intruded on her now stood in the doorway, footsteps unmoving. “You should eat.”

  Maltack. Of course, he’d be the one checking on her. His feet shuffled and she tightened her hold on the shirt, cradling it to her chest.

  “Is there anything I can get you?”

  She lay still for a long time, then shook her head. When the door closed, she looked back and rolled over, her stomach growling at the smell of food.

  Kiuno stared at it, debating whether she should give her body nourishment. Or if she wanted to. She sat up, head heavy and eyes swollen.

  She looked back at the food and grabbed the plate, setting it on the bed. They wouldn’t let her sulk without food much longer. Kiuno choked down a few bites then turned over to let sleep engulf her once more.

  Maltack brought dinner, but he didn’t disturb her this time. She ate the food when he left then stared at the cold fireplace.

  Kiuno thought of everything and nothing all at once. She wondered what normal felt like and how people would act around her now.

  Kiuno stood and walked to the window with Elite’s shirt still in her grasp. The moon stared back from beneath a clear sky, but it wasn’t empty. Hundreds of stars surrounded it, just like her friends still surrounded her. They were waiting, giving her space until she was ready to share the shattered parts of herself.

  But would she ever be ready? Kiuno pulled a cloak around her shoulders and exited her room.

  No one tried to stop her as she padded down the stone stairs with bare feet. She exited the castle, crossed the field, then left the inner gatehouse, staying on the cobblestone path that would lead her outside.

  In three days, they’d settled the base of the wall back into place. Large bricks sat around the area with tools and pulley systems attached to them. During the day, they were manned, and she heard the voices of those working float through her window. But at night they stood still and silent.

  She padded toward the stones and ran her hand over their cool surface. The outer gatehouse was locked with more guards than usual stationed above and below. They eyed her, but none moved or spoke. She wondered if it was worth the effort to get through but decided she didn’t have the energy.

  Kiuno circled the outside wall, walking one step at a time over a battleground. There were still pieces of weapons and splinters of wood hidden
in the grass and her bare feet discovered more than their fair share.

  “Kiuno?”

  She tilted her head and found K.J. standing in the middle of the yard. She hadn’t seen him since the meeting. Though she hadn’t seen anyone since then. He walked toward her and she fought to keep herself from crumbling.

  “Tell me what to do,” she pleaded. “You said you’d help me when this was all over, but I don’t think I can wait that long.”

  He didn’t speak for several moments. K.J. seated himself in the grass and leaned against a broken stone. She sat across from him, wrapping the cloak around her body as if it were a shield against the outside world.

  “You’ve lost part of your identity. You’re lost because the person you planned your entire life with is gone. Grief is part of the process, but you’re grieving for more than just the loss of Elite. You’re grieving the loss of a life you planned.”

  Kiuno bristled and clenched her teeth. “What do I do?”

  “Find yourself.”

  “What if I don’t want to?”

  “You will, eventually. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not even a week from now, but you’ll start putting pieces of yourself back together.”

  She wanted to argue and scream. She wanted to reason she’d never move on, but that wasn’t the truth. The painful truth rested in the day by day. Minutes and hours would pass whether she wanted them to or not, and she’d be forced to move with the current or drown.

  “They’re leaving tomorrow,” K.J. said. “I’m not telling you revenge will help, but you’re not going to get answers by hiding in that room.”

  She didn’t want to admit it, but he was right. All she’d done for the last three days was live in the past. She replayed their life over and over again, drowning herself in every memory she could recall.

  “I’ll go,” she whispered. “Who’s leading them?”

  “Iggy and we’re not short on volunteers.”

  “What are you doing about the sixth realm?”

  K.J. furrowed his brow. “I planned to get a team together after we figured out this mess.”

  Kiuno remained silent.

  “You’re not coming back.”

  It wasn’t a question, but she shook her head anyway. How could she come back? K.J. said she needed to find herself, but how could she when everything reminded her of Elite?

  “It’s all right. I understand. You know this is your home and you can come back when you’re ready. I’m giving Reece control over their castle once we’ve taken it over.”

  “I want to go with the scouting team.”

  K.J. fell silent. “I can’t argue that your abilities would be welcome. Who do you want to take?”

  “Maltack will come and Reece too.”

  “And the castle?”

  “Nsane is more than capable of keeping it together.”

  K.J. shifted his legs. “I have Scorpios set to leave tomorrow and work on our alliance with Leena. Several of their higher ups are Chinese and with him being fluent I thought it best.”

  Kiuno adjusted her cloak. “I won’t steal him from you. I’m sure he won’t be happy with my decision anyway.”

  Silence fell between them again and the two listened to the sounds of the night. It was enough to be in another’s presence as she tried to wrap her mind around forming a new life.

  A broken life.

  A life without Elite.

  32: Traitor

  Realm: 5

  Day: 299

  She’d barred herself in her room for the last few days, but the high she’d given him was enough to satisfy his need for a while. The way she’d shattered their enemies and forced them to cower.

  His gaze traveled over the charred land as he walked among the ripped pieces of flesh. The very air seemed to vibrate with what she’d done to the terrain. As if it responded to her. Or maybe that was just him.

  He took a deep breath. Intoxicating. Invigorating. Absolutely primal.

  Elite’s death hadn’t been part of the equation, he’d meant to save that for later, but the power it’d unleashed! He spun in the field with his arms open. It was magnificent.

  Now they were planning to attack Lillian’s castle and judging from Kiuno’s anger he was willing to bet it’d be the show of a lifetime.

  Let her soul corrode and twist. Let the tendrils of anger and hatred dig their roots so deep no one would be able to dig them out. Let her become the dark queen none of them knew she could be.

  33: Vengeance

  Realm: 5

  Day: 300

  The following morning Samar’s people filed into the castle. She’d finally learned him to be the unnamed alliance leader from the last meeting. They brought supplies and food and part of her felt better knowing someone would be there to guard against another attack.

  Kiuno wrapped her hand around the satchel at her side. Elite’s shirt rested at the bottom, the only possession she could carry on a journey this long. It hurt to leave their room behind, but Palindrome promised no one would disturb it until her return.

  The horse rocked her in a steady back and forth motion as they marched with the army. Reece rode on one side and Maltack rode on the other. K.J.’s general, Iggy, led the troupe with Palindrome’s best at his side.

  At least half of the enemy’s forces had been depleted. K.J. seemed confident it was their stronger half. She was sure he had plans in place if they ran into any trouble.

  Kiuno doubted they would need her abilities. She was there for herself anyway. To satisfy something. Or try. Maybe the journey would allow her to figure out what she wanted in life.

  Her future was empty. Veiled. She struggled with every eye contact that passed her way. Should she smile? Would they find her heartless if she did?

  Day after day passed slowly, as though time mocked her efforts. Kiuno let the sway of the horse carry her thoughts off to happier times and often found herself dreaming of the past. They were pleasant memories. A safe place to hide.

  She ate, slept, responded, and rode. A methodical existence.

  Days later, Nikita followed Milo through the air to greet the other felinians and their soldiers camped on the outskirts so as not to upset the creatures. It seemed Cybele wouldn’t be joining their battle either.

  Not battle. Massacre. And for once, she didn’t care.

  Kiuno turned her horse away from the men and set off on her own. She didn’t get far before hearing another at her side.

  Reece. He rode but didn’t speak. He knew where she was headed.

  Dusk settled over the land as Kiuno dismounted and peered over the cliff’s edge. It was the same as before, with twisted mist blocking her view from the bottom.

  She clenched her teeth as a sob racked her form. Before leaving, K.J. had offered to have his people search for Elite’s body. She gave her consent but wasn’t hopeful.

  Later, when they were free of this place, she’d come back and make all the burial sites of her friends and family beautiful. Maybe she’d move their remains to a central location.

  Kiuno recalled their moments in the cavern. They were fond final memories, but then the blast echoed through her mind and her fists curled. She prayed the explosion had killed him. She prayed he hadn’t suffered whether from fear or pain.

  Kiuno took a step back as grass and bushes sprouted from the ground. Green leaves unfurled and colorful flowers budded then bloomed before her eyes. She turned to find Reece with an arm pointed in her direction.

  A young tree broke through the earth and stretched its branches toward the sky. Leaves broke through the bark and small pink flowers budded along the stem. A sweet fragrance washed over her and Kiuno tried to wipe away her tears, but they wouldn’t stop.

  Reece didn’t speak, there weren’t any comforting words that would give reassurance, but his actions did more than he knew. It showed her that maybe K.J. was right. Maybe something new could grow from the ashes. Maybe she could find herself in the swirling chaos of her emotions.

  Ki
uno slept beneath the tree that night listening to the wind howl through the canyon below. Reece stayed at her side without complaint, wide awake as she dozed on and off.

  With morning, the troops caught up and she joined the formation at Maltack’s side.

  The entire army moved with revenge in mind, if their whispers were anything to go by. She knew it wouldn’t solve anything. It wouldn’t heal her broken heart. It wouldn’t bring back the dead, but at the very least they could ensure no one else suffered at the hands of such a vile leader.

  Horns blared as the castle came into view and Kiuno’s blood rushed through her veins. The enemy’s numbers had been depleted, but what other devices did these people have at their disposal?

  Kiuno glanced at the faces of her comrades. Anger. Rage. She felt the same, but it wasn’t the people she wanted. It was their king.

  Kiuno jumped from her horse and Reece followed.

  Silence stretched across the field. Armor clanged and swords scraped against their sheaths.

  Arrows flew from the castle wall, but the tips sunk into the earth several yards short of their front line. Kiuno wondered if the enemy were trying to scare them or measure the distance.

  At the front, men with heavy shields blocked her view of the land.

  “They’re searching the ground for traps,” Reece said.

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I’m doing it too. The arrows were a taunt. There are spike-filled holes scattered throughout and I’m sure they have other tricks up their sleeves.”

  “You can feel the holes?”

  “I can manipulate the plants so when there’s a gap in the ground I feel it. I’m sure they’ll be marked before we charge in.”

  As Reece spoke, plants grew in the open field, sprouting along what she could only assume to be a trap. Iggy drew his blade and let out a war cry and the men surrounding her did the same.

  They charged, but she stayed put, the shoulders of several men running into her as they barreled toward the battlefield.