by Natalie Erin
Maekrel shrugged. “Our government talks a lot and takes no action. You might be Head of Security, but I’m not anymore, and that must be what’s holding them up. They think I’m an abomination.”
Ana huffed and tried walking away, but Maekrel grabbed her hand and said, “If they don’t hurry we’ll leave and take down Wyntier ourselves. The longer they take, the bigger chance he has of escaping.”
At his touch, Ana felt a jolt of electricity lace up her arm and she drew her hand back quickly. “That’s never worked before, Maekrel. We can’t do this on our own. Just look what he did to you last time!”
Maekrel smiled sadly. “It isn’t like he can do much more, now is there?”
Ana slowly backed away. “I need some air.” She went down the hall and out the door, onto the mystical lands of her childhood. The soft tropical breeze brushed her hair, and the sun was so hot, it felt like it would fry her skin. You could imagine that the Ice Borns don’t exist at all. Everything’s alright when I’m here.
But she wasn’t so sure if everything was alright. She remembered another rule she had pounded in her head from birth; Changers and Accompanies are not allowed to have any romantic relations, on penalty of death.
No one had really paid any attention to this rule before. The thought of loving your bonded partner in a romantic way was just too weird. Besides, Accompanies were people and Changers were animals. They didn’t love each other, and never should. But Maekrel’s not an animal anymore, he’s a person. Like I am. Ana’s insides flip-flopped. What is wrong with me?
Keota sat at his tiny desk in his bedroom, gazing out the window by his right. Southwild is the most beautiful place in the world, he thought idly as he watched the palm trees sway by the sea, which seemed vast and endless. He looked down at his drawings and saw that even though his building had over three hundred rooms, it wasn’t large enough to his liking. He was getting in as much drafting as he could before he and Ionan left for the army. It might be the last time he would be able to work on his dreams of building a palace before drills and battle tactics would drive them away. It should go over the ocean...no, sit inside the ocean! he thought with excitement, scribbling down the idea. Despite the beautiful scene that was unfolding outside the window, the tension in the room was enough to distract Keota from his work, no matter how much he tried to ignore it.
Ionan sat upon the dresser as a cat, his tail twitching faster than Keota had ever seen. “Will you be out very late?” he asked slowly.
Vera stood in front of the mirror, her lithe form swaying back and forth as she looked herself over as a dog. “I’m only going out with Allyr and some of the other girls. It won’t be long.”
Keota had to struggle not to make a sarcastic noise and he felt Ionan’s impatience swelling in his chest. Vera shook herself and the small amethyst collar laced with sapphires around her neck twirled. “A very pretty neckpiece,” Ionan observed.
“A birthday present for Nagli,” Vera said. “I’m wearing it so it doesn’t get lost.”
“Giving it to Nagli, it might as well be lost already,” Ionan chuckled.
Vera walked over to Ionan to nuzzle him goodbye. “You don’t have to do this,” he whispered, and Vera froze. “You can stay with me.”
“Ionan,” she said.
“We can do anything you like. You made a promise you wouldn’t see him again,” he pleaded.
She pulled away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ionan. I’m going to a birthday party. That’s all. I’ll be back soon.”
Keota could feel Ionan’s heart drop into the floor as she walked out in silence. Ionan jumped onto the bed, curling under the covers and not making another sound.
“She’s a terrible liar,” Keota said. “You and I both know where she’s going.”
Keota was ripped out of his memories as a pair of hands clenched around his throat. He flailed wildly in the darkness, looking for a face, for Wyntier himself, but found that the moonlight only illuminated the face of his wife.
“Die,” Kia snarled, and she curled her fingers tighter around her neck. Keota gasped for air but found only terror. He tried to push her off but Kia had been choking the life out of him for so long that he could barely raise his arms. Kia’s face stared at him in a rage that he had never seen before. Her face was curled up into a snarl, her teeth bared as her bloodshot eyes stared into his. Those were the eyes that he had stared into over and over for years and were the last thing he would ever see...
“Kia!” he heard Casiff shout nearby. The fairy tried pulling her off but Kia threw him away with ease, compelled by a strength that was not her own. With one hand she kept Keota pinned down, reaching to her side to grab her dagger. She raised it high in the air, aiming for Keota’s heart just as he began to lose consciousness.
A black blur flashed out of the corner of Keota’s eye as Kia was knocked off his chest. Without warning air was restored and Keota rolled over on his stomach, coughing and holding a hand to his throat.
“NOOOOOOOO!” Kia screamed a sound that Keota had never heard her make in his life. He glanced over with blurry, obstructed vision and saw Lilja on top of Kia, his teeth at her throat. Cornia kept one arm pinned as Casiff began tying Kia up with rope, binding her hands and feet until she couldn’t move.
As Keota regained his bearings, he sat up and watched as Kia screamed and screamed, so loudly that birds flew from the trees and animals began peering out from their homes.
“We can’t have the Lands knowing the queen has lost her mind! She has to shut up!” Cornia hissed.
“You’re trying to kill me!” Kia wept and she fell backward, rolling on the ground. “I’ve finally figured it out! You’ve kidnapped me and want me dead!”
“You will be dead if you don’t stop shouting,” Lilja growled, and Kia’s screams subsided, though her loud sobs kept rolling.
Keota just stared at them emptily. Lottie walked over and put a paw on his shoulder. “He doesn’t really mean it. He just wants her to be quiet so she doesn’t attract attention.”
“I can’t do this, Lottie,” he whispered. “I can’t lose my son to Wyntier, and my Changer to Vera, and my wife to her own mind all at once.”
Lottie leaned against him. “With any luck, you won’t have to.”
Kia continued to wail into the night.
Ionan was back the next morning. Everyone rushed up all at once, saying things like “Are you hurt?” and “What were you thinking? You made us worry sick!”
Ionan casually blew out a wisp of flame and everyone leapt back. “I’m sorry it took so long. I was delayed.”
The group sighed with relief, smiling at each other. Ionan looked around and saw the bruises lacing up Keota’s neck, and Kia being guarded by Cornia, her limbs tied as she slept fitfully at the wolf’s feet. “What’s going on here?” he asked his Accompany.
“Kia’s memory is nonexistent,” Lilja told him. “She thinks we kidnapped her and tried to kill Keota. We’re all safer at the moment if she stays tied up.”
“Are you alright?” Ionan asked, rushing over to Keota’s side and looking at the bruises closely. Keota narrowed his eyes and said, “I’m fine. Why did it take you so long to get back to us, Ionan? Did you find anything?”
The Changer hesitated.“I met Vera, and fought her near the Ice Borns.”
“Did you get anything out of her?” Echo asked excitingly, his tail wagging.
“She told me before she fled that we have four days left to reach the Ice Borns, otherwise they’ll close up with snow. We must hurry,” he said, extending his wings once more.
“Well let’s get moving then,” Cornia growled. After throwing Kia over Snow Drop, the group went to leave. But then Lottie noticed a white band around Ionan’s ankle. “Ionan, where did you get that mark?” she asked. “Were you hurt in the fight?”
Ionan gasped. He had forgotten to dirty the mark so it wouldn’t be noticed. But it was too late, and now everyone was staring at the band.
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br /> Including Keota, who was the only one who understood what it meant.
Keota jumped off of his back. “What is that?” he questioned, anger beginning to rise.
“Only a scratch,” Ionan said quickly, trying to hide the band, but Keota grabbed his scaled paw and wrenched it up, his face turning bright red.
“What have you done!” Keota screamed. “Ionan, how could you?”
When he didn’t answer Keota strode forward. Ionan backed up quickly, avoiding his Accompany’s rage. “What were you thinking! Have you gone INSANE? Vera is bonded to Wyntier! She helped steal Allie! Allie, Ionan! Do you realize this marriage is strictly forbidden? I call it off!”
“We already preformed the ceremony,” Ionan protested, his tail lashing.
“Then I unbind it!” Keota said, waving his hand.
“You can’t!” Ionan cried. Keota was angrier than Ionan had ever seen and frankly, it was scaring him.
“I will,” he said, and his eyes narrowed. Ionan dropped his head.
Lottie walked up to Keota. “Keota, that’s not fair. Ionan loves Vera, and he always has. Your marriage was forbidden, and Ionan didn’t approve of it at first. But he accepted it because you loved Kia. Why can’t you do the same for him? Besides, her being his mate might give us an advantage.”
“You don’t understand! She’s Wyntier’s slave, she doesn’t work like that!” Keota snapped.
“She told me she would change,” Ionan protested.
“She told you what you wanted to hear, like she always has! And when we need her, she’ll turn her back on us like she always does!” Keota yelled.
“Keota, give her a chance, like you gave Lilja and me!” Lottie begged.
Keota rounded on her now, his fury unbound. “Why should you care about who marries who? You can’t have a family anyway! You’re barren!”
Keota’s anger was quickly replaced by regret as he saw Lottie’s face crumble. Casiff jumped off Snow Drop and rushed towards Keota, his fists raised. “I’ll absolutely murder you for breaking her heart!” he cried, and his fist went flying towards Keota’s face. The Accompany ducked easily and Snow Drop grabbed the fairy, dragging him back by his shirt.
Lottie slowly sat down, staring blankly ahead of her. The only one who seemed more surprised was Echo, who looked at her with sudden disdain. “You’re barren?” he asked blankly. Not knowing whether to believe it, Lottie looked at Ionan.
“It’s true. I’ve known it for a long time,” he confessed softly.
Echo stared at Lottie for a minute longer before turning around, starting up a cliff and back the way they came.
“Where...where are you going, Echo?” Lottie called.
Echo paused, and then slowly turned around.
“I appreciate you allowing me to come on this journey,” he said slowly. “But I think it’s in everyone’s best interest if I leave.”
“What?” Lilja snarled. “But why?”
“Echo, don’t leave!” Lottie spoke. “Don’t you love me?”
Echo said nothing, and Cornia slowly growled, “Echo. Now I know where I’ve heard that name before. He never told you why he got kicked out of his pack, did he? Well, I’ll tell you. He mated two she-wolves, and both had pups. He has children out there of his own. But he refused to take care of them.”
“I wasn’t ready!” Echo cried. “What happened in the past wasn’t my fault!”
“And now, when you had romanced my sister, you thought you were?” Lilja growled.
“You have broken a wolf’s most sacred pact,” Cornia snapped. “The promise to be mates for life. That is unforgivable.”
“I’ve changed my mind! I wanted a pack, and I thought that by helping rescue your pups I could do that.” Echo shook his head. “I can’t go back to either one of my old mates, because they won’t accept me. I thought I could start fresh with you, Lottie.”
Lottie, sweet Lottie, suddenly turned cold. “With me? Only me, the most famous she-wolf in the Lands? It wasn’t a coincidence you rescued me from that river, was it?” She laughed emotionlessly.
“I thought you would be different,” Echo said. “I thought you would be ruthless, and fearless like the tales said you were. Not a whimpering, shy little she-wolf whose heart is so big it becomes her biggest weakness, and who blushes everytime someone calls her cute.”
“Don’t say anything about her! Lottie is an angel!” Casiff cried.
“And I thought you weren’t a coward,” Lottie snapped. “But I was clearly wrong about you.”
“We both were. Besides,” he said cooly, staring down directly into Lottie’s eyes, “How could anyone ever love a barren she-wolf?”
He regretted saying that, for at that moment Lilja pounced. With bared, snarling fangs and wild eyes, he attacked Echo, and the two wolves fell rolling off the cliff and onto the ground. Lilja bit hard and drew blood, and although Echo was an excellent fighter, he couldn’t contain Lilja’s rage.
“You’re going to kill him! Lilja, stop!” Cornia cried.
“Lilja, don’t become a murderer!” Ionan roared, and at these words the alpha slowed. Lilja stopped over Echo’s body, his teeth at his throat. “You dared to break my sister’s heart. Now you don’t dare to come near her again.”
Echo gulped. He was shaking so much, the very ground seemed to tremble. “You had better hope that we never meet again, Echo Coward-Tail. There may be no one around to contain my rage.” He lunged for Echo’s throat and the smaller wolf scampered away, tail tucked between his legs.
He turned to Lottie, who was lying on the ground while Casiff stroked her fur. “Barren,” she said softly. “I’m barren.”
“Hush,” Ionan whispered to her, putting his wing around her.
Cornia walked over to Lottie. “Lottie, it’s alright dear,” she said softly.
“Be quiet! You don’t understand!” Lottie cried, jumping to her feet and pushing Ionan’s wing away.“I wanted pups more than anything in my entire life. Now who will want me? I’m alone. I’m aloooooooooooone!” she cried, the last word rising into a howl that sent chills down everyone’s spines.
Her cries fell silent and she hung her head, a small tear trickling down her cheek. Cornia walked over to her side. “Lottie, I know it hurts. You out of all wolves deserve to have a mate and children. But life is never what anyone expects. It’s up to us to grow what the Creator plants in our lives. It’s not fair. Perhaps it’s this way for a reason.”
“How could this possibly be for a good reason?” Lottie whispered. “That doesn’t make me feel better at all.”
“Nothing will make you feel better about it,” Cornia said. “But you can have a full life even without pups. You have a full life here and now, with us. We all need you and love you, Lottie. Now more than ever.”
Lottie looked up and into her brother’s eyes. “I have been selfish,” she whispered.
“No Lottie.” Lilja shook his head. “I have never known you to be selfish, not even now.”
Lottie shook her head. “I can’t grieve this now,” she said. “We don’t have any time. We have to rescue the children that are here, not the children that may never come to be.”
Lilja pushed up against her. “You didn’t deserve this, Lottie,” he said.
Her eyes shone with suffering. “I know. But like Cornia said, this is what the Creator has planted in my life. I must grow it. It’s not like I have a choice,” she said bitterly.
Nothing was said for hours between the companions.The wolves were all in mourning, Kia was constantly issuing threats and crying, and Casiff was doing his best not to yell at Keota. Keota didn’t bother with any of them, simply glared at Ionan with a disgusted look on his face. Ionan changed into a rabbit, the smallest form he could muster, and tried to avoid his gaze.
None of them were looking where they were going. They all began walking too close to the edge of the cliff, which was a big mistake. Without a warning the side of it gave way, pitching them down into a rushing river bel
ow
The screams of the group could be heard for miles as they were thrown into the rippling rapids. Kia’s ropes snapped off of her as she hit a rock and she struggled to keep her head above water, while trying to escape at the same time. Keota reached out and grabbed her arm, and she struggled to get away. Ahead of them, the river split.
“Everyone stay together!” Keota yelled, but it was no use. They were at the mercy of the river, and Keota screamed as the company was ripped apart. Keota, Kia, Lottie, Lilja and Snow Drop careening to the left, while Casiff, Ionan, and Cornia went to the right. It wasn’t long before neither of them could hear the other.
“Help!” Ionan cried. “Help! I can’t swim!”
“Change into something that can!” Casiff yelled, getting water into his mouth.
Ionan frantically paddled the water. “I…can’t!” he cried. “Someone save me!”
Cornia swam over to Ionan using the current and lifted the rabbit onto her back. The group swam helplessly along the river, until the rushing waves slowed and they were able to pull themselves up onto a river bank. They lay exhausted on the muddy shore, wondering where the others were and if they would be able to find them in time.
The children had managed to make it out of the Ice Borns the safest and quickest way possible. “It looks like you have a knack at navigation, Allie!” Snapfoot said happily, rolling in the grass.
“Yeah, unlike some of us,” Jade grumbled, and her brother glared at her.
As the wolves began to chatter endlessly, Allie and Kennu started singing. Even the young wolf pups squealed joyfully in their bag, although they didn’t know why everyone was so excited. When they were a good distance away from the mountains, they all decided to play. Kennu sat the bag down in the shade, opening it a little so the pups could get a breeze. Then Midnightstar cheered, “Man the fort!” and there was a good deal of squealing and yipping as the wolf pups played their favorite game.
Kennu picked up a stick and pointed it playfully at Allie, laughing evilly. “I am Malaki Shaman! Your forest and the whole world will be mine!”
Allie bared her beak playfully, flapping her wings. “Stop right there, Malaki! I’ll rip you to pieces!”
