by Natalie Erin
“I’m here to help,” she said. “I can assure you that I’m not one of the Specters.”
“Yes, but you can’t prove it,” Tatl argued. “Why should I go with you?”
The she-wolf stared at him. “I know we’ve never met, but I mean you no harm. Come with me.”
Tatl watched her walk away, and then followed slowly. He stayed a few lengths behind her, his suspicion leading his actions as the sandy wolf trailed through the woods.
“Oof!” Adelaide yapped, running into a tree. “Why can’t you trees just stay out of my way! This is the fifth one I’ve hit.”
She rubbed a paw against her head and whimpered. Her trip through the forest had become quite painful after she had lost Midnightstar. The older wolf had been able to lead her along, but now Adelaide was on her own, and she had a nasty habit of looking to the side so trees often got in her way.
She sat down, giving up on her search. “They can just come find me. I’m tired of getting hurt,” she griped.
“I’ve found you, little one,” a kind voice said, relief obvious in its soft, gentle tones. A silver she-wolf gazed at Adelaide with shimmering eyes.
“Mama!” Adelaide squealed, rushing towards Lottie eagerly.
“I’ve missed you, my dear one.” Lottie didn’t move towards her daughter, but stood where she was, allowing Adelaide to come to her. Adelaide ran headfirst into the wolf, yipping and wagging her tail happily.
“Why are you here, Mama? I thought you had to stay at home.” Adelaide sat at Lottie’s feet like she used to as a pup, cocking her head to the side curiously.
“Because I was worried about my children,” Lottie answered anxiously. “I came looking for you, to take you back where you belong.”
“But what about Midnightstar?” Adelaide asked. “We want to help her, too.”
“She’ll be coming back with us,” Lottie replied. “She’s been gone for far too long. All of you have. You need to abandon this silly mission and return to your pack.”
“I’d love to go home and have a full belly again,” Adelaide said happily.
“I thought you would.” Lottie chuckled, but the sound was strange and mangled in her throat. “Come, child.”
“I’m coming!” Adelaide followed Lottie through the dense forest blindly, unaware of where she was being led.
Rabika sat on her haunches, staring at a thorn jammed into her paw. She didn’t know how she lost her group, but it didn’t matter to her.
“Stupid idiots,” she muttered. “I told them they needed to listen to me. I can do a much better job of leading them than Midnightstar.”
“Rabika!” A sudden yell forced her gaze away from her wound, drawing her attention to the murky darkness.
“Who’s there?” she shouted. “If it’s Tatl, I told you we’d get lost!”
“I’m not Tatl.” A gray wolf emerged from the trees, followed by two others, identical in color and size. The three wolves were so similar, they appeared reflections of one another.
“Who are you?” Rabika asked. She wanted to stand to face them, but the pain in her paw prevented it. She was left sitting meekly on her rump, watching the strange wolves as they stood completely still, not even the fur on their back shifting in the slight breeze trickling through the trees.
“A pack in need of help,” the wolf responded. “Our family is dying, and we need a good hunter. We’ve heard about your greatness all throughout the Lands, Rabika. We need you to be our leader.”
“A pack leader?” Rabika looked away haughtily, as if she were considering it. “Hm. This is rather strange. But I guess I could lead you, if you think you’re worthy of my skills.”
“Please, Rabika, we don’t know who else to turn to,” he begged.
The wolves behind him nodded their agreement, moving their heads in one simultaneous motion.
“Fine. I guess I can be your leader, but you have to do me a favor first,” she said.
“Anything for you, Rabika!” the wolf exclaimed devotedly.
“Pull this out for me! I don’t want to ruin my teeth.” She pushed her paw toward him, slapping him in the face, and the wolf nodded.
“Of course.” He gripped the thorn gingerly with his teeth and pulled. Rabika squealed and jumped away, but the thorn was gone.
“Thank you,” Rabika said, gasping dramatically. “Now, take me to my new pack. I want to see how weak you are that you couldn’t even hunt for yourselves.”
“Right this way.” The wolf bowed lowly before leading her to the center of the woods, his companions closing in on either side.
“How much farther, Mama?” Adelaide whined. “I think we’re going the wrong way. It didn’t take this long to get here.”
“Adelaide, do you trust your mother?” Lottie asked, turning slightly to look at her.
“Yeah, but this just doesn’t look right.” Adelaide hung her head in shame. “I’m sorry I doubted you, Mama.”
“It’s alright, my child,” Lottie assured her. “Just keep moving. We’ll be home soon.”
“How soon?” Adelaide questioned, but a snap somewhere in the trees drew both Adelaide’s and Lottie’s attention away. A dusty colored wolf stood just off the path they walked, glaring at Lottie as if giving her some sort of warning. The silver wolf whimpered, then vanished in a puff of smoke.
“Mama!” Adelaide shrieked, pouncing on the spot where Lottie just was. “Mama, where did you go!”
She turned towards the other wolf, bearing her tiny teeth. “What did you do to Mama?”
“That wasn’t Mama, Adelaide.” Tatl came up from behind the she-wolf, shaking his head. “That was a Specter. It was trying to trick you.”
“But it looked just like her,” Adelaide whined.
“Yeah, and mine looked just like Uncle Lilja, but that doesn’t mean it was him,” Tatl said, “Come on, this wolf is safe. She can help us.”
“Are you sure?” Adelaide looked the other wolf up and down cautiously, still in shock from the random disappearance of Lottie.
“I wouldn’t have scared the Specter away if I was one of them. I can take you out of here,” the wolf said, her pale eyes soft and kind. “I promise you’ll make it out alive.”
“She’s okay, Adelaide. Would I be following her if she wasn’t?” Tatl assured his sister.
“Alright...” Adelaide caved, playing with her paws. “Where are the others?”
“We’re going to find them now,” Tatl said. “Aren’t we?”
“In time Tatl, in time,” the strange wolf responded.
“So, what’s your name?” Adelaide asked, always full of questions.
“That doesn’t matter now,” the creature told her, shaking her head. “All that matters is finding the rest of your friends before the Specters do.”
Midnightstar searched the brush around her, desperately wanting to find someone, anyone she knew. The rustle of leaves to one side made her turn, spinning to the side and leaping away from the noise. She found the source of the noise was only a dragon...her dragon.
“Xiuh!” she exclaimed, rushing toward him. “Thank goodness you’re alright!”
The dragon turned a cold shoulder and her heart sunk as he turned a steely glare upon her.
“Why did you do it?” he demanded. “Why did you get inside my head?”
“I can’t control when it happens,” Midnightstar said. “It’s not my fault.”
“You could’ve at least told me about it, instead of hiding it like you did,” Xiuh snapped.
“Would you have believed me?” Midnightstar questioned. “Or would you call me crazy, and push me away?”
“It doesn’t matter what I’d think! You still needed to tell me!” Xiuh snarled at her.
“It matters to me!” Midnightstar barked. “I don’t want anyone to think I’m insane, because I’m not!”
“You betrayed me, Midnightstar,” Xiuh said, looking away from her. “How do you think I feel? If you had told me, at least I could’ve been warne
d that you were going to creep around inside my mind.”
A deep struggle raged inside Midnightstar. Should she snap at him again, or let it go, and accept the blame? “I don’t want to fight with you, Xiuh,” she muttered.
“Too bad. You started this fight!” he hissed.
“I didn’t want to hurt you,” she replied. “And I was afraid that if I told you the truth, you would leave. We need you here.”
“No, you don’t,” Xiuh replied. “If I left right now, none of you would even care. How can a wolf care for a dragon?”
“I care about you,” she told him weakly. “I don’t want you to go.”
“You should’ve thought about that earlier.” Xiuh turned away from her, and Midnightstar’s heart sunk farther into darkness.
Rabika followed her new pack eagerly, holding her head high as she pranced through the forest with all the arrogance of a queen who’d just been crowned.
“Just wait until Tatl hears about this!” she said. “He’ll see. They’ll all see. I am good enough. I’m the greatest hunter there is!”
“Of course you’re good enough. You’re better than everyone else,” one of the gray wolves said with a happy bark. “The most amazing wolf the Lands has ever seen!”
“At least someone appreciates my abilities,” Rabika said loudly, her pride getting the best of her. “My family doesn’t understand how great I am.”
“To us you are perfect, Rabika,” the gray wolf’s twin replied. “You are the best of the best!”
“Rabika, get out of there!” Tatl’s voice called through the trees, and Rabika barely glanced over her shoulder as her brother came rampaging out from behind a stray bush. “They aren’t what they say they are!”
“You’re just jealous of what I have, Tatl,” Rabika bragged. “Now I’m a pack leader, and you’re not.”
“No, they’re just Specters,” Adelaide said, tumbling through the bush. “They’re going to eat you.”
“Specters? Yeah, right. These wolves appreciate me, and you’re just upset that you never appreciated me,” Rabika snapped.
“Rabika, come on,” Adelaide pleaded. “We want to save you.”
“Stop living in a fantasy, Rabika,” Tatl growled.
“This isn’t a fantasy!” Rabika said harshly. “Now leave me and my new pack alone!”
“This is not right.” The dusty colored wolf appeared from behind Tatl and locked eyes with one of the gray wolves beside Rabika. The three wolves whimpered and began to back away, terrified at the sight of the she-wolf.
“Be gone, all of you,” she commanded.
The three wolves vanished into smoke, and Rabika looked around in confusion, hopping from foot to foot.
“What...what happened to them?” she questioned. “My...pack.”
“They were an illusion, meant to trick you,” Tatl told her. “Any further and you would’ve been eaten. Now we have to find Midnightstar and Xiuh, so we can get out of here.”
“I found you, so don’t worry about that.” Midnightstar appeared a short ways away, leaves and branches stuck in her fur. It looked like she hardly cared about her appearance at the moment.
“You’re okay!” Adelaide rushed toward the black wolf, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she gambled towards her friend.
“I’m fine, Adelaide.” Midnightstar said simply. “Let’s get out of here. I’m sure Xiuh can find his own way out.”
“Why would you say that?” Tatl asked. “Xiuh has helped us several times. The least we can do is to help him out of the forest.”
“He’ll be fine,” Midnightstar replied. “Dragons can take care of themselves.”
“But Mids...” Adelaide looked at her with sad, confused eyes. “Xiuh is our friend.”
“Not mine,” Midnightstar said bluntly.
“The loss of a friend is tragic,” the sandy wolf said quietly. “It is a painful, devastating thing.”
“Who are you?” Midnightstar questioned, perking her ears up at the newcomer.
“No one in particular,” the wolf answered. “We must find the dragon.”
“What does it matter to you? You don’t even know us,” Midnightstar argued.
“You must all be safe in order for your task to be completed,” she countered. “Follow me. I already know of his location.”
The dusty wolf began walking and the three younger wolves followed, curious to where she was going. Midnightstar watched, dumbfounded, before reluctantly going with them.
Xiuh was sitting a few feet away from where he’d been when Midnightstar had taken his mind, appearing rather lonesome. Adelaide was the first to spot him, and she rushed over eagerly, bouncing up and down before him. “Xiuh! We found you!”
“Hello, Adelaide.” Xiuh greeted her without cheer of any kind.
“Looks like he’s all in one piece,” Tatl commented with a chuckle.
“Well, duh. The Specters would be stupid to attack a dragon,” Rabika countered, her ego still bruised from being tricked by the spirits.
“And now we must leave this cursed ground,” the mysterious wolf told them. “I can lead you to open land.”
Xiuh looked at them blankly. “Who is this?”
“Don’t bother asking who she is. She doesn’t answer,” Rabika griped.
“Then I won’t ask.” Xiuh looked around the group and his eyes fell on Midnightstar. She dropped her head to stare at her paws when his gaze met hers.
They followed the strange new wolf until they saw light breaking through the trunks of trees. Tatl and Adelaide ran forward, cheering as they charged out of the woods.
“We made it through the forest!” Adelaide cried.
“Yeah, but we’re at the wrong side,” Rabika snorted. “This is where we started!”
“This is not wrong,” the strange wolf told them.
“Yes, it is,” Midnightstar said in a crude voice. “We need to go to the Assembly of the Lands, which is on the other side of the forest.”
“No. The Assembly is in the Cave of Glass,” the wolf retorted.
“Where in the Lands is that?” Tatl questioned.
“In the Blue Sky Peaks.” The wolf began to lick her paw absentmindedly, seemingly out of boredom.
“We passed those days ago!” Rabika yelped. “This is ridiculous!”
“We have to go back?” Adelaide whined.
“Yes, Adelaide, we have to turn around, and all this progress we’ve made over the past few days is useless,” Rabika snapped. “Turns out somebody was leading us in the wrong direction.” She glared at Midnightstar, raising her hackles.
Midnightstar felt her stomach twist. She’d been leading her friends in the wrong direction all this time. If she’d known where she was going in the first place, they could’ve avoided this, but she was going off rumors and stories. Her misguidance could’ve gotten them killed in the Specter forest, and the only reason it hadn’t was because of this new wolf beside her. Despite this, Midnightstar said in a small voice, “It’s not my fault.”
“It is your fault!” Rabika growled. “You led us way past where we needed to be!”
“It’s no one’s fault.” Xiuh commented. “There is no point in laying blame.”
Rabika snarled again, and then slunk away to sit by Tatl. Midnightstar was surprised Xiuh had stuck up for her once again after their fight in the forest. The dragon still wouldn’t look at her, but maybe he wasn’t as mad as she’d supposed before.
“I will travel with you,” the strange wolf told them. “You will need a guide. I’ve been to the Assembly before, and so I can get you there in much quicker time.”
“Why do you want to come with us? We have nothing to offer you,” Midnightstar said suspiciously.
The wolf didn’t answer, only stared back with strange, crystalline eyes. Midnightstar sighed and said, “You can’t travel with us if we don’t know who you are.”
The wolf hesitated before giving her an answer. “My name is Dust. And of me, that is all you need t
o know.”
Chapter Five
Leader of a Starving Pack
“Snapfoot! Snapfoot, I’m hungry!”
“Snapfoot, there are too many wolves in my sleeping corner, make them all move out!”
“Snapfoot. Why aren’t you listening? I’ve told you for the fifth time that we’ve run out of prey!”
“And just what do you want me to do about it?!” Snapfoot cried, sending his voice booming out over the dozens of voices erupting from below. He was standing on top of a rock, looking down at the High Plains Pack and trying to get every wolf to calm down. He knew that none of his companions had eaten in days, and his own stomach was gnawing at the sides of his skin with hunger, but he had no answer to give them. He’d become pack leader at the worst possible time, when there was nothing to eat, after the Verinian had been burnt to the ground and Ortusans were running rampant. He still had his father to guide him, but even Lilja seemed at a loss for what to do at the coming of the Second Despondent.
“Make all the other packs leave,” one elder protested. “Back in my day, we wouldn’t have had such spindly spines.”
“Do you see that out there?” Snapfoot pointed with his nose over the raped plains, his back to the burnt, blackened Verinian behind him. A collection of gray dots moved back and forth along the dead trees, barking and growling as they moved along the edge of the decimated forest.
“There’s about fifty other wolves out there,” Snapfoot said. “At least four other packs. And they all have to eat. We can’t fight them all off by ourselves.”
“Why can’t they stay on their own territory?” one female snapped. “We should’ve been on their heels the second they crossed over our lines.”
“The Ortusans have chased them out of their homes. There’s nowhere else for them to go.”
“But this place doesn’t have anything to feed them,” a younger wolf said. The pack murmured in agreement.
“When I was young, Ortusans never bothered us. We bit them and they were done for,” the elder complained.
