‘No it does not,’ Ash agreed.
The queen’s friendly demeanour melted from her face as she turned to regard the Band of Breeds, she reserved her fiercest glares for Shadowfang, unsurprising given the rivalries of old between big Cats, and Kodiak, who she commented on and set the whole
interaction alight.
‘We heard the Bear from miles away, what is such an oafish creature doing on my planet? I’m told you want to see the Red Lion? He won’t see you.’
‘Who are you calling oaf!’ demanded Kodiak, which went ignored as Ash quickly asked a question of his own.
‘Don’t you mean your king?’
‘The Red Lion is no king of mine,’ the queen paused, turning her powerful neck sideways, causing her intricate gold necklace inlaid with colourful jewels to jangle, Star couldn’t help but wonder how she tracked them without it rattling ‘or husband for that matter. He hasn’t been these past twenty odd years.’
‘Because he lost the Apex Wars,’ said the Night Badger, his gruff voice floated out across the vast spaces, adding to the building tension. Not that it’d have been a long battle. The Lionesses, in their splendid gold and crimson sleeveless tunics, were primed and ready to rip the Band of Breeds to shreds. Though Star couldn’t see a single weapon. One probably didn’t need a weapon when their paws were the size of a Wolf’s head to begin with, not including the razor-sharp, retractable claws waiting to come out and tear flesh apart.
‘That played a part Night,’ snapped the queen.
‘Surely not Yellow Claw?’ said Ash, addressing the queen by her real name.
‘You will address our Majesty by her title,’ warned a stocky Lioness to the queen’s right, though a hand movement from the queen quelled the show of aggression.
‘It is fine, Ash is my friend, but these strangers are not. All I see are warriors from an archaic time, male egos past their best,’ she moved closer to regard the trio of young Wolves, ‘and what have we here? Wolf pups? It must take a strong female to traipse around with these fools.’
Sky inclined her head but didn’t speak probably through fear.
‘Who are you calling pup?’ barked River, bounding forward, Star had to admire the courage but couldn’t help but silently curse the stupidity of his friend. Yellow Claw shared his amusement, her wide jaw smirking.
‘And you must be this Star Wolf we’ve heard so much about, how disappointing.’
‘I am Star Wolf.’
Yellow Claw turned from River to regard Star Wolf instead, and her stare turned his blood to ice, worst still when her smirk took on a sadistic, maniacal quality.
‘Hmmm,’ she moved close, a pleasant waft of lavender accompanied her, ‘better.’ the word whispered in Star’s ear. She moved back out into the open for all to hear, ‘but know this, the Red Lion will not join your Band of upstarts, no matter the quest. I must admit I’m a little confused, but mostly amused, as to why some Wolf pups and their chaperon, a Dog, a Hare, a Fox, a Badger, a Bear and a Leopard have joined up for this trip? Why are you here?’
‘You haven’t heard?’ asked Bloodhound, the Dog’s joules wobbled, salvia splashing onto the red, dusty earth.
‘Surely you’ve been paying attention!’ demanded an outraged March Hare, the Dog and Hare by far the most erratic of the group.
‘The Lion does not concern itself with the opinions of lesser species,’ said Yellow Claw, her smooth curves and elegant movements exuded arrogance, and Star couldn’t help but be captivated by another female, from another species. Yellow Claw, if he had to guess, was at least twenty years older than him but that didn’t diminish her beauty or allure.
‘Not even the Tiger,’ said Star Wolf, venturing a lot.
Yellow Claw snarled at him, lifting a claw just a fraction before calming.
‘Not even the Tiger, we are done with the Apex Wars. We ceased all of that and for what,’ she spat at his feet, ‘so that meek little creatures like you could live out your pitiful lives forever in our shadow. If we were to rise again no one would stop us, not even the Tiger.’ A hollow boast, full of anger.
‘You know that’s not true,’ Star was pushing his luck.
‘Don’t I,’ in a flash she had her paw fixed tight around Star’s neck, he didn’t flinch a muscle, they were inches apart, Yellow Claw’s warm breath tingled his uncomfortably dry nose, ‘what would a young Wolf pup know. You’re so wet behind the ears. You’re not even the ruler of your own people, and all I’ve heard of is a foolish young Wolf telling tales on some old Tiger. Grow up.’
‘It is you who is misinformed,’ said Star, spinning and ducking in one fluid motion, drawing his sword to plant the tip at Yellow Claw’s throat. The move took them both by surprise. ‘I am the leader of the Wolf now. My father,’ he nearly choked on the words, ‘is dead. Killed at the hands of the Tigers, I have the proof. We, my Band, has proof of a lot of atrocities committed by the Winter Tiger and hi—’
‘Do not utter that name on this planet!’ she roared in his face, despite the blade at her neck. The fifty-plus Lionesses all had weapons of their own pointed in Star’s direction. So they were armed.
‘Sorry,’ said Star, lowering, his weapon, ‘the Tigers are on the move. They have destroyed six worlds already and I believe they’ll destroy more. We need your help, please.’
Yellow Claw glared at him for an age, a mixture of rage and fear circling across her face both battling for supremacy; fear won out and manifested as hatred instead.
‘Go speak to the Red Lion, perhaps my fool of an ex-husband will join your pitiful band but make no mistake the Lion will have no part in your infantile attempts to fight the Tiger, you go to your death on your own.’
And with that she turned and ran off, on four legs, into the long grass.
Ash moved beside Star, saying nothing he placed a paw on Star’s shoulder.
‘Well,’ said the March Hare, tapping his foot on the ground, ‘at least we’re not dead!’
20. The Lion & The Tiger
The more they walked the more Star became certain they were lost, which would be perilous to say the least given how low their supply of water and food had become. This would be a one-way trip if they didn’t find the Red Lion, or someone soon. Perhaps that was the point.
The Night Badger cursed at regular intervals, his source of annoyance the Lions and their refusal back at the landing bay to provide the Band of Breeds with dune buggies or some kind of transport out here.
‘If you want to see the Red Lion you earn it,’ they had told the group back at their departure of Lupenroad, which Star had a sinking feeling was being stripped down for parts, every Wolf he left behind either dead or in chains. He’d risked everything coming out to this scorching, desolate wasteland and for what, to die of thirst with a bunch of relative strangers.
Sky squeezed his hand, he took it to mean keep going, and she reciprocated his weak smile as they trekked on. Star had never seen Sky so... so free garments before, she was a beautiful Wolf and he couldn’t help but wonder why he’d never seen it before. An obvious mate was right beside him this entire time, a friend who would do anything for him, including dying, which she would right beside him.
Poetic and utterly stupid; it summed Star up perfectly.
ANOTHER HOUR PAST AND River became the first to fall, the young Wolf unable to walk anymore. Kodiak, fierce and proud, wouldn’t abide leaving River in strife and so the Bear hauled the scrawny Wolf, in comparison to the enormous Bear, up on his back and carried him tossed over his shoulder.
‘If somebody falls, we pick them up,’ was all the Great Bear said and Star had never been prouder to include such a loyal and tireless creature in his Band. We will not die out here.
Ten warriors moved in the endless expanse of burnt wastelands and wilting yellow grass. The only sliver of shade came from the shadow of Kodiak, one that Sky and Star walked in silently flanked by the other members. Star couldn’t recall when it happened but by the time they stumbled across a cha
rred, silvery-brown tree he was holding Sky’s paw.
‘We rest here,’ said Star.
Despite the shade the sun still blazed across the reddening sky, a bad omen if ever there was one. Blood had been spilt this day or was about to be. The group sat, no one speaking, the only noises crickets in the fields and the heavy panting of Bloodhound. Shadowfang had opted to climb the tree and was curled up fast asleep in the top branches, the only member of the Band not struggling with the oppressive heat. He’d be the last to die, front of the queue was River who had now descended into a permanent state of delirium, convulsing from time to time not even keeping water down.
‘Is he going to die?’ asked Sky, barely above a whisper, as she cuddled into Star’s shoulder. Something unspoken had snapped between the two and they no longer shied away from each other’s touch. Star’s joy was a giddy tingling in his stomach, though it could’ve been hunger kicking in too.
‘If we do not find food and water in the next day or two it doesn’t look good,’ he said, talking out to the night, full of stars. A perfect alignment between sky and star both in the infinitive black of space and down on the searing hot plains of Leo. More poetry that would be left to the annuals of Star’s young and yet weary mind. Things were bleak now. The legends around him had followed him on a fool’s hope. In pursuit of one more fighter from a past war to help them in the impossible task, defeating a ferocious, organised and highly skilled race. The Winter Tiger must have been planning this since the very day the Apex Wars finished.
Nighttime was a blessing and a curse.
The cooler air prolonged the inevitable.
Shadowfang’s attempts to hunt had proved unsuccessful, as was normally the case for big Cats out in the wilderness. The Leopard was a creature used to prolonged periods of starvation. Shadowfang was an eloquent creature, touched by the Universal Beacon, and yet he had lost none of his primal instincts, including the ability to survive. In their defence the same could be said for all the other creatures present but many of them hadn’t lingered on a planet so hot before. Even during the Apex Wars the Lion’s had managed to keep Leo off-limits, for a time taking the fight to Tigris a harsh planet no doubt but more hospitable to foreign animals than Leo.
The dark night still had a tinge of red.
A brief and vivid star flashed a fluorescent red, vanishing as soon as it appeared. It was way down toward the horizon, in between thick grass. That’s no star!
Star bolted upright and sprinted, on all fours.
The commotion startled the group, but they were already in his wake, hundreds of yards back. Star exerted the last ounce of energy through his aching limbs, every step becoming closer to his last, but it didn’t matter he was spurred on.
‘Hey!’ he called out, abandoning any reason or notion of stealth. He was no longer a Wolf hunting; he was a Wolf desperate to live and he’d seen a creature out in the depths of the never-ending grasslands. ‘Come out! We need help! Please, I’m not going to hu—’
Star collapsed to the dirt.
His bulged eyes filled with water, awaiting the imminent strike.
Red, nightmarish beacons blazed way above his cowering head.
‘You can’t hurt me,’ proclaimed the darkness surrounding the wild red globes, each word sounded as if it had been grated across a blade, sharp and deep, beyond terrifying. Star shut his eyes, tears streaming down his furry cheeks. ‘So you’re the Wolf come to see me, are you? Stand up and face me.’
Star’s eyes adjusted to form a face around the red, eyes glaring back at him. The biggest Lion Star had ever seen towered above him. The Lions extensive, bared chest was covered in razor-thin, white scar lines. A flowing golden-brown mane wafted side to side as the Lion revealed two rows of thick white teeth, a mouth so big Star could’ve put his whole head inside, which might happen.
‘Up!’ said the Lion, and Star obeyed void of conscious thought, ‘answer me,’ continued the Lion, his gravelly voice full of anger ‘or I’ll kill you where you stand.’
‘Not today you won’t!’ said the Night Badger, surprisingly the fastest to Star’s side, already hefting one of his glorious emerald axes at the Lion’s head. The Lion ducked, and Star thought he heard a distinctive laugh echo from the Lion who was already rolling. He didn’t even bother removing his enormous sword, the pommel a giant ruby craved into the shape of a Lion’s head, from its hilt.
Next to arrive was the Scarlett Fox, releasing a dagger from way back that flew inches past Star’s left ear. A grunt of displeasure left the Lion, the dagger wedged into an armoured forearm, though not for long as he yanked the weapon, no more than a toothpick in his colossal paw, tossing it aside again with a chuckle.
It was the March Hare’s and Bloodhound’s turn to launch an assault on the Lion, the March Hare flourishing his barbed whip, only for the weapon to get wrapped around the Lions right arm, again covered in shimmering reddish armour. The Lion flung his arm back, catapulting the March Hare way up into the night sky to vanish in a heap way off into the thick grass. A bone-crunching crash echoed when he hit the dirt. As he flew through the air Bloodhound was whimpering away having been chuffed with a firm backhand, the Lion was battling them with ease.
Only then did the Lion draw his blade.
The Night Badger, Scarlett Fox and Bloodhound – already bloodied – formed up in front of Star Wolf, all the while the Lion’s fearsome laughter increased.
‘Enough!’
Laughter stopped.
Every pair of eyes turned to Ash.
‘Red, it’s me, please stop. They are with me,’ said Ash.
‘Well why didn’t you say so,’ said the Red Lion, dropping his sword to the ground, ‘it’s a pleasure to meet you all.’ He winced a little, ‘you in the dirt? Bunny Rabbit, are you OK?’
The March Hare gingerly stepped out, grinning to reveal a mouth full of blood that he spat into the dirt, ‘oh yes, never better in fact. I needed a good scrap to get me going again. You fancy round two?’
Thunderous laughter emanated from the Red Lion, ‘I like this one Ash! Is he a pet of yours?’
‘The March Hare is no one’s pet,’ proudly announced the Hare, squaring up to the Red Lion’s kneecap, which Star realised housed an exquisite golden Lion armour plate. A truly beautiful piece of armour, now as he stood reviewing the Lion he noted the armoured forearms, shins and knees and pelvis, everything else was exposed. He supposed due to the heat.
‘Ah, I do apologise. I remember you, everyone knows of the March Hare. I especially enjoy the tales of your escapades on Canis Latrans, never been a fan of Coyotes myself, are they true?’
The March Hare nodded.
‘Excellent,’ said the Red Lion, slamming a paw in an over-friendly manner down onto the March Hare’s back, who took the blow without fuss.
‘Ash, what madness has brought out here, and with such a ragtag bunch? Why is a young Wolf begging an audience with me? You know I do not take visitors anymore, you shouldn’t have come, I will hear what you have to say and then you must be gone by sunrise. Do you understand?’ said the Red Lion. By the end of his speech all good nature and humour had departed his voice and the full group of ten had joined Star. River was half awake but carried by Kodiak who placed him on the ground, stepping over him to bellow something.
‘Who are you to make demands of us, what’s to stop us ripping you apart here and now. You’d make a great meal before we leave this vile planet once and for all. You’ve aged Red, think you can still best me?’ said Kodiak, some battle between the two was left unspoken, ‘you think you can take ten of us?’
‘He doesn’t need to,’ said a Lion, who’d flanked around them. He was even bigger than the Red Lion, broader and a lot younger. He exuded power, his exposed chest void of scars, ripped and ready to pounce.
‘Blackfang, is that really you?’ Ash beamed, ‘Why you were no more than a cub when I saw you last?’ the Wolf wandered over to regard the hulking Lion, ‘Bigger than your father I see!’
‘Well that’s not difficult, he shrinks by the day!’ taunted Blackfang.
‘Careful son, I’m still too much for you,’ said the Red Lion, his tone full of warmth and tenderness for his son; it sent a pang of sadness through Star’s gut. He’d never heard
his father speak of him in such a way, and never would.
‘Do you want me to gut them?’ asked a slender Lioness, who appeared from the darkness and shadow behind Blackfang. Her armour was an array of brilliant golden arrow shapes, turned to the ground, layered over each other, thousands of them from neck to elbow and down to her knees. They were layered over a thin crimson fabric, crimson and gold the colours of the House of Lions. Star wondered why she wasn’t with Yellow Claw and the other Lionesses.
‘No that’ll be alright,’ said the Red Lion, raising his eyebrows to the group, ‘thank you Goldtooth. Ever so serious that one, but I think the point is made now. So,’ the Red Lion stepped forward and slammed a paw into Kodiak’s upper arm, the Bear only a fraction taller but nowhere near as muscular, ‘fancy that battle now do you?’
Kodiak grimaced, just a fraction, before remaining silent, stepping backward.
‘Excellent, now that’s done with, please get on with why you’re here and be gone; we have hunting to do,’ a wicked grin spread over Red Lion’s face, ‘and who knows what’s on the menu tonight?’
‘This is Star Wolf,’ said Ash bringing Star forward by the elbow, who was secretly glad of the assistance as he could barely stand anymore, ‘leader of the House of Wolves and all of Lupus.’
‘Where is Sun Wolf?’ demanded the Red Lion.
‘Dead,’ said Star Wolf.
‘I’m sorry to hear that, a peaceful passing to the House of Lupus I hope?’
‘No, he was murdered by Blackfire.’ Star didn’t bother explaining who that was, the Red Lion would know for sure.
‘That filthy Tiger, I should’ve killed him decades ago when I had the chance. So he’s gone rogue, you want me to hunt down a Tiger for you? You’ve got more than enough talent here. Why not get Shadowfang to do it? I see you back there Leopard.’
Star Wolf: A Space Opera Fantasy (Songs of Star & Winter Book 1) Page 18
