Kerri saw something out of the corner of her eye. Movement, but she could also sense an overpowering mix of smells and odours. She could see Sonny running out of the grass to catch them, but her mind was spinning with the overload of smells hitting her.
‘Kerri! On your right, in the grass!’ Carter yelled.
Then she saw them. Cats, lined up in the grass, waiting. There were too many to count, and too many to fight. In the middle, her sense of smell picking it out above all the others, a sickly sweet obnoxious scent, which she remembered from the town, from Sonny’s father.
‘Faster, Carter, the gateway must be close. That’s Sonny over there, he’ll help us.’
Kerri was aware the cats were charging out of the high grass in pursuit of them, but she kept her eye on Sonny; he’d show her the way to go. She saw him suddenly slow and then stop, he’d only now seen the cats emerge on his left. He was calling to her, but Kerri couldn’t hear what he was saying. She increased her stride, reaching for the ground ahead. Now her life really did depend on her speed.
She called over her shoulder, ‘This way, Carter...’ but as she turned she saw he’d pulled up.
‘Carter!’ she screamed ‘Come on!’
‘Run, Kerri, run! Get help!’
She realised now what he was doing. ‘There’s too many of them, come on!’
He stood for a moment, taking a last look at her. To remember her as they swam, as he put everything into the race, to beat them all and to show her he was there. To remember how she’d smiled at him as she’d kissed his cheek, and he’d felt his cheek tingling there all night. Remembering how she’d comforted him when she’d found Holly. And he remembered them lying in the grass, watching stars and laughing till they cried.
‘Tell them what they did to Holly, Kerri, tell them what happened.’
Then he turned and saw his real enemy. Carter’s eyes started to blaze, his fur at the back of his neck standing up and his lips curling back to reveal his fangs. Kerri could hear a deep growl, a rumbling that seemed to come from the pit of his stomach.
‘Come on, Carter! You must come!’
But he didn’t hear her or see her anymore. Carter had the scent of his prey in his mouth, he could only see the one who’d lied to him, the one who’d caused Holly to die alone in the snow to protect himself.
Carter charged, his eyes only on Duma, who stood on the edge of the grass, unmoving. The others became aware of what Carter was doing and stopped, unsure what to do. Some turned away from Kerri and Sonny and ran to stop him. Carter increased his stride, faster, he’d charge his way through them to get at the one who’d caused Holly to die, and he’d stop them getting to Kerri.
The first cats he hit like a battering ram, bowling them out of the way. The next, he managed to strike with his paw, lashing them aside. He could only think of getting to Duma, and leaped over the heads of the next cats in his way. He kept going. He nearly had Duma when he felt a blow to his side that knocked him off his feet. A cat charged him, head first into his ribs. Carter lashed out with his claws, determined to get through, and knocked the others out of his way. He could hear Duma shouting at the cats, ‘Stop him!’
Carter made a final leap and felt his claws sink into Duma’s chest, but at the same moment had the wind knocked out of him when he was hit in mid-leap. He tumbled into the high grass, gasping for air. He lay there unable to move, and looking back, he saw Duma on the ground, unmoving.
Kerri had watched it all as if in slow motion. She could only scream for Carter to stop while she watched him charge. The other cats had also stopped and stood staring in disbelief when Carter turned towards them. Most seemed to be transfixed, unable to react.
Kerri could hear her name being called, as an echo from far away, but she couldn’t bring herself to concentrate on the calls.
‘Kerri! Kerri! This way!’
She saw Carter dive towards Duma and watched as they both hit the ground, but she couldn’t see either of them getting up.
Slowly, the haze was clearing and she became aware of Sonny shouting her name.
‘The gateway’s closed, we’ve got to get out of here.’
She pulled herself back to reality and saw Sonny standing close to her.
‘We’ve got to go,’ he said again. ‘Follow me. Now!’
Sonny was running towards the grass, away from the border and away from her home, but she knew she had to follow. When they reached the grass, Sonny turned left and right, with Kerri always one step behind him, weaving through the grasses, desperate to lose their pursuers. They ran without stopping to check behind, constantly changing course, deeper into the high grass.
It was a long time before Sonny slowed and finally stopped, listening for any sound of them being followed. But everything seemed quiet over the soft rustle of the grasses in the breeze.
‘I think we may have done it,’ Sonny said when he’d caught his breath. ‘What happened back there?’
‘That was Carter; he went for your father.’
‘Against the whole Pride? Was he mad?’
‘Mad? No!’ trying hard to hold her temper. ‘He’s the bravest and stupidest boy I know.’
‘Why did he do that?’
‘Because of Holly, and because he wanted me to get home.’
‘What happened to Holly?’
‘She... she’s still there, in the pass.’
‘What do you mean still there?’
‘Do you want me to draw a picture for you?’ Now Kerri was very angry. Angry with Duma, angry at Sonny, angry at everyone in this land. And angry at Carter for leaving her.
‘Kerri, I’m so sorry.’
They lay quietly for a moment, recovering their breath. Kerri finally felt calm enough to speak.
‘What happened to the gateway? Did Sam and Lulu get home?’
‘Yes, they went through this afternoon. Just before it collapsed. We have to get away from here, we have to find another stone to get you home.’
‘No. We have to stay close to the border.’
‘It’s too dangerous. They’ll be looking for us here.’
‘We have to stay close. Casey will come. I know once Sam and Lu are back, he won’t leave me here. He will come and we need to be close.’
Kerri moved her head from side to side, sniffing the air, Sonny could see something was wrong. ‘What is it?’
‘Smoke, something’s burning.’
‘I can’t smell anything.’ said Sonny.
‘You will. Come on, this way,’ she said, and led him away from the fire.
‘You let them get away. Children! They’re only children and you let them escape!’ Duma raged at Dray, leader of the Border Pride.
‘You know they’re no longer children,’ he said insolently.
‘If you hadn’t hesitated when the young one charged us, you would have stopped the one called Lulu.’
‘It wasn’t her. The markings were different.’
‘Not her? Can’t you do anything right? So where is she?’
‘Your son helped her escape, she’s back in her own land, and the gateway’s closed now.’
‘He wouldn’t dare!’ shouted Duma in his face.
‘He did dare, because you stupidly gave him the job you should have given to us.’
Duma clenched his fists, shaking with rage. ‘You call me stupid and then look at me with that hatred in your eyes. If you weren’t family I would... ‘
‘You would what? Destroy me? As you’re destroying this land, and every family living here?’
‘You seem to forget, this was your plan that has caused all this. It was you who told me about the box.’
‘And you’re forgetting I saw you take it. My plan was only to lift the lid, not to steal their greatest treasure. I only wanted to look inside. You never should’ve stolen it.’
‘But it wasn’t you who lifted the lid, you didn’t feel the power that was inside. What is the point of seeing such power if you can’t use it, or to see the future if
you can’t change it?’ shouted Duma.
‘I knew they’d come looking for you, just as I knew they’d find you. I didn’t need to see the future to know that.’
‘You’ve no idea of the possibilities once you look inside.’
‘And did you see the girl escape? Did you see your son betray you?’
‘I... I can’t control it at the moment... it’s as if something else is manipulating it.’
‘Give it back to the bears. Give it back now, before it’s too late.’
‘I can’t... Why won’t you see? We’ve come this far. To give it back now will mean we’ll always be the thieves in the mountains that no one’s heard of. We can change the future. We know what’s out there. We can go where we want, when we want. We can change our future.’
‘And how can you change it if you can no longer control it?’
Duma heard the sense in his words, but couldn’t accept the truth in them. He fought to hold down the fear that he was losing control.
‘What shall we do about the hounds?’ Dray eventually asked. ‘They’re in the high grass. It could take days to find them in there.’
Duma could feel a pressure in his head, as if someone was squeezing it tightly. Only one thought came to his mind.
‘Burn it.’ Duma said in a haunted voice sounding far away, as if not his own.
‘What about your son?’
‘Burn it!’
‘The wind may change direction soon, look at the clouds. It may spread to...’
‘Burn it all!’ he screamed.
Their eyes shone with a cold red glow in the darkness. They’d followed the unknown hounds down from the hills as they raced across the valley floor. Where had these unknown creatures come from?
They’d never been seen near their forest before. A new intruder they’d have to deal with. The time was coming when they’d all have to pay for the wrongs done to them. They would pay dearly.
With their future returned to them, no longer locked in the darkness of the forest, but free to rampage over the lands again. To take back what had once been theirs, and to take whatever they wanted.
They’d been locked out of the world with all its rewards for too long. Locked inside this prison of trees, only able to watch life going on outside their border. The anger always burning inside of them. But the power was shifting, they could feel the change, the power that held them here was not as strong as it was. The world outside their prison was changing.
These once-masters amongst men would soon return to rule over these lesser men, and to punish those who had imprisoned them here in the perpetual gloom of the forest. After so many years, so many they’d stopped counting. Locked in this forest for eternity. But now they could smell their freedom. It smelt of burning grass lands and smouldering pines.
‘They’re bringing fire,’ screamed one.
‘Fire! They’re starting fire.’ The news ran through them as the mutters turned to shouts of excitement.
‘Burn, burn it all,’ they shouted.
‘They’re setting it on fire.’ The shock of the situation was now clear in Kerri’s voice. ‘We need to get to higher ground, away from this tall grass.’
‘This way, towards the foothills,’ said Sonny.
‘Once a fire takes hold, it’ll spread faster than we can run. I’ve seen it happen. We have to get upwind. It’s the only way, or the smoke will kill us,’ Kerri said.
They ran for their lives, the smell of smoke thick in their throat and starting to sting their eyes.
They ran westward, unaware of anything except the rise of the valley floor into the foothills, and eventual safety.
‘I wasn’t sure we were going to get out of that for a moment,’ Sonny gasped.
‘I knew we would, how else could I help Carter?’
‘You think he’s still alive in all that?’ he said, pointing to the inferno below.
‘I have to believe he is.’
They stood on high ground, watching the fire fill the night sky as it raced across the valley floor.
‘Why would your father do something like that to you? I don’t understand.’ said Kerri.
‘I don’t understand either. I think he may be going mad. The things he says, the decisions he makes, they just don’t make sense to me anymore.’
They watched the burning grasslands below them, and saw that the wind was changing direction, fanning the fire to the east, which erupted in another inferno spreading towards the forest.
‘We’ll have to let it run its course, then double back and look for Carter,’ said Sonny. ‘You rest for a bit, I’ll keep watch on that,’ Sonny said, unable to take his eyes off the destruction going on around them.
Kerri lay down, watching the spreading fire below. Her eyes became heavier. Very quickly she gave way to exhaustion and fell into a dreamless sleep.
Carter lay for a moment, unable to take a breath, but saw everyone was standing still, as if in a daze. No one seemed sure of what had happened and everything had stopped. Long enough, he hoped, for Kerri to get away. He knew he had to move if he was going to escape, and he had to get up now. The other cats were picking themselves up, looking for him in the tall grass.
Move, NOW!, get up and run, he told himself.
With an effort he never knew he was capable of, he got to his feet and started to move deeper into the grass, back the way he’d come with Kerri. He managed a slow run, and with each effort, found his mind getting stronger to push away the pain, running harder and faster, putting more distance between him and the cats.
While he ran, he became aware of a bitter smell on the air. Smoke! There was fire behind him, which was blowing his way. He knew he was definitely in the wrong place.
I need to get out of this grass, he thought. Turning east, he ran from where he thought the fire might be.
He remembered the destruction a fire had caused at the end of a previous summer after a lightning strike on the Northern Plains. The grass was tinder dry after weeks without rain. When the summer storm had first arrived, he’d been so happy at the thought of rain coming. But there was no rain. Only the heavy oppression of the thunderstorm, with lightning arcing across the sky, until one finally hit the ground with an ear-shattering CRACK that seemed to rip the air apart.
The fire spread so quickly, drawing more air in to feed itself, causing the winds to rush in, helping to push it faster than they could run. They’d gone out to the island that night. Some had gone by boat, some had swam. They’d sat awake all night, watching the fire destroy everything in its path. Carter knew what this fire was going to do.
After some time, he found himself approaching the forest. He could no longer smell the cats, only the overpowering smell of smoke.
Don’t go near the forest, he told himself. If the wind changes, it will catch alight as well.
Chapter 9
Naz and Vin had passed the day moaning about their lot in life, and trying to sort out in their own minds what the past events would mean to them.
‘With those hounds gone, they’ll bring everyone through. We’ll have the town surrounded in no time. Once they see how mean and angry we are, they’re bound to give it back.’
‘You’re right there,’ said Vin. ‘So, what d’you reckon on my acting mean earlier, Naz?’
‘Well, I think it needs a bit of work, Vin.’
‘Why, what was wrong with it?’
‘Well, it was your eyes. They were, like, big and round. Next time, try scrunching them up, like this, see...’
‘Okay, I’ll try that, thanks, Naz.’ He sat for some time practising his mean expression. ‘So when d’you reckon the replacements will be here?’
‘Soon, I hope. We really need to get this news back to the boss. Maybe then we can sort this mess out. They should have left the box with us, for all our safety.’
‘Yeah, no one wants those things in the forest running around again. Remember what they did last time?’
‘Remember! My kids still have nig
htmares about ‘um.’
‘Maybe we should ...’
‘Shhh, Vin... someone’s coming.’
Their boss, Jojo, arrived with two bears in tow, ready and eager to replace Naz and Vin guarding the pass to the plateau.
‘All quiet here, Naz?’ asked the boss.
‘Quiet? You should’ve been here boss.’
‘Why, what happened, and how d’you get that big lump on your head, Vin?’
‘They were here, boss, all of ‘um. Cats, Dogs, Southerners!’
‘What! So where are they?’
‘We let ‘um go,’ said Vin.
Jojo’s head was spinning with confusion, but he managed to ask, ‘What was you thinking?’
‘Better let me explain, Vin,’ said Naz.
‘It was like this, boss. Me an’ Vin was sitting here, minding our own business, when along comes a Southerner with a cat and a little girl and…’
‘She was dead mean, boss,’ added Vin.
‘What, the little girl was mean?’
‘Yeah, she didn’t like us at all.’
‘Why, what d’you say to her?’ said Jojo.
‘Well, I was only...’
‘Yeah, so anyway,’ interrupted Naz, ‘it seems that their kids had been kidnapped by that evil Duma, and they was coming here to get them back. An’ you won’t believe who their kids are?’
‘Who?’
‘Go on, boss, have a guess,’ encouraged Vin.
‘Carol singers?’ offered the boss, now totally confused.
‘What?’ said Vin.
‘Them who go around knocking on doors and singing songs.’
‘Nope, go on, have another guess,’ prompted Vin.
‘Stop messin’ about, you two, and tell me what’s been happening here.’
‘Well, their kids are the hounds up in the passes. Honest, they weren’t mercenaries after all, they were kidnapped kids.’
‘No!’ said Jojo.
‘But that’s not the best of it. The Southerner came back through here this morning, he managed to rescue his daughter, the one who had been guarding the pass. You see what this means, boss?’
‘The pass is open!’ said Jojo.
Shifters Alliance Page 14
