It felt like too soon when the other wolves said farewells and scattered home, yet he had to admit he was exhausted. The alpha wolf waited for him, and together they loped back to a grey stone wall, and in a gate, and up to a porch that looked over a fountain.
There they curled up together, sharing warmth, and slept.
20
Her belly full for the first time in days, Aindry left Jaisan to guard the rest of the deer they’d brought down, and trotted back to collect their belongings. The ground was clear, no snow at all penetrated the thick conifers to whiten the rusty needles below.
A sharp cr-rack was the only warning she had before the tree fell; she lunged forward, and it missed her, though not by much. Instantly wary, she spun around, searching the still air for any scent of danger.
Shadows detached themselves from the rest, drew themselves together into a solid form. The upper body was grotesquely humanoid, yet with four clawed arms; at the waist, its body trailed off into that of a massive snake.
Another one. Once, attacks from the demon plane had long intervals between them, so long they’d wondered sometimes whether they’d been forgotten or dismissed as not important and maybe they could settle down somewhere. They always turned up eventually, though, even if it took a while. Presumably it wasn’t easy to get themselves called here and then choose their own prey, or to find cracks between the planes that they could slip through alone. Lately, the frequency had been increasing, not at all a good sign.
This demon advanced towards her, baring teeth that put a wolf’s to shame. She crouched, growling a warning, her ears flat against her skull; she could feel the rhythm of her heart speed up, the rush of adrenaline…
It darted forward with surprising speed, all four arms extended to snatch at her. Aindry slipped away to the right, tore at its side with her teeth, but they glanced off metallic scales. It thrashed sideways, and she barely escaped being swept off her feet.
She circled around it, tried to decide how to attack. She doubted she’d be able to get her preferred grip on the back of its neck, so something else. Even demons had to follow some rules when they took physical form. She just wished she’d had longer with her mother to learn all the tricks of killing demons.
It came at her again—how did it move so quickly with that awkward-looking tail?—and again she ducked sideways. This time she snatched for one of the arms, and closed her teeth on it with all her strength. The claws of the other hand on that side raked across her hindquarters shallowly, but she crunched down harder, chewing at it. The demon shrieked and whipped around to bring the other claws into play, and she backed off, noting in satisfaction that she’d half-severed one hand from its wrist. Still screaming, it drew its arms in close to its body, and the whole shape fluxed. A huge snake reared above her and hissed. Blood dripped from one side.
All right, how was she to get through those scales?
She grinned to herself. Easy: don’t. She turned and fled, back towards Jaisan.
It couldn’t keep up with a running wolf in that form; it had to shapeshift again to follow her, as she’d hoped. It took the form of a black wolf half again her size, and ran after her.
Aindry watched her surroundings closely for a place she’d passed a few minutes before… there! She thought, hoped, she had enough of a lead to pull this off. She crested a small hill, reached the bottom in three more strides, and slewed to a halt to hide herself in the shadow of a tree to one side.
The demon came over the hill, passed her; five feet later, it halted, finally realizing something was wrong.
Too late. Aindry flung herself at it from behind, ripping with teeth and front claws, doing as much damage as she could before it could shift back to its snake form.
Not quite enough damage, though it was now blood-streaked in a number of places. She fled again, and again it went back to wolf to pursue.
She had yet to meet a demon that would fall for the same trick twice in a row; trying had gotten her and Jaisan both hurt a few times. She’d have to think of something else.
A sudden yelp echoed off the trees from behind her; she skidded to a stop, spun around. Two black wolves were tearing at each other savagely. Not surprising that Jaisan had heard the demon’s screams. She backtracked to help, adding her own teeth and claws and fury. Some of the blood she smelled was hers and Jaisan’s, but the scent was overwhelmingly that of the demon’s; it couldn’t even seem to muster itself enough to return to snake-form.
She finally got a firm grasp on the back of its neck and crunched down until she felt bone shatter under the pressure of her jaws. With a last wail, the demon melted away, back into shadows and silence.
Both panting, the wolves stood still a moment, waiting for the demon-rage to pass. They needed to get clean, they needed somewhere they could sleep for a few hours while their bodies worked on the demon poison… Wearily, she forced herself to move, prodded Jaisan into motion. No snow to roll in, no open water to splash in, it looked like getting clean was going to have to wait a bit. Back to the clearing where the small pile of their belongings was, and no farther; they curled up heavily, a little apart, and endured. The poison had already worked its way in deeply, spreading its cold fire through every cell; gradually, Aindry felt it fade, as wolf resistance to poison came into full force.
Ravenous, she’d have liked to get back to the waiting deer, but she curled herself around her little brother to wait for him to get past it, licking his ear reassuringly.
Finally, he struggled to his feet and shook himself, then licked in disgust at the acid-tasting demon blood that matted his fur. Aindry sympathized, she wanted very badly to get it out of her own coat. She shifted to human, scraped at the caked blood with her nails, then called Jaisan over while she dug in her pack for the brush they’d stolen from a pet store. She brushed out as much dried blood as she could, checking at the same time that none of the wounds he’d taken were too serious; she decided they’d have to go slower for the next few days, but what difference did it make? It wasn’t like they were going anywhere.
Once she finished, they traded forms and places and Jaisan returned the favour. More than once Aindry growled at him when he got rough; he’d been oddly distracted for the last few days, though generally in a more bright and high-spirited mood than she’d seen in much too long. Each time she complained, he apologized and was gentler for the next few strokes, then drifted off mentally again.
At least it got rid of the worst of the mess. She twitched away, and shifted back to human long enough to return the brush to her pack.
“Come on, let’s go see if anything stole the rest of that deer. I’m starving.”
Jaisan nodded, shifted to wolf and seized the straps of his backpack between his teeth. He tossed it so it rested across his shoulders, waited for her, then together they made their way back to their kill.
A few ravens were feeding happily; they paused long enough to give the wolves wary looks, but when neither wolf attempted to chase them off they went back to their meal, all eating contentedly. Aindry wished the ravens would stay; she remembered a family of ravens that had lived near their house, remembered playing with them. But any creature that came with them was likely to die, and she cared too much for these feathered friends to want to see that happen.
Once full, they curled up to nap a bit and let that digest. Aindry thought they could get another meal from it before they moved on, even sharing with the ravens and anything else brave enough to approach.
The ravens squabbled over the meat, then perched in the trees around them. Aindry couldn’t help but think they were offering to stand guard over the sleeping wolves in return for the meal…
21
Light spilled out the window above them; he heard someone moving inside, heard the door open, heard a voice say Bane’s name questioningly.
The alpha wolf raised his head, whined an answer, and the screen door opened as well. The scent was familiar, though stronger and richer now, but he couldn’t imme
diately place either it or the voice that laughed softly. “Wolf-cub’s home, hm?”
The alpha wolf untangled himself, stretched lazily, and shifted. “After an adventure or twenty, I’d say,” he said, amused.
“Looks it. He doesn’t even look black, there’s so much mud.”
“Go back to sleep, Jess. I have to go to class.”
He shrugged to himself, rearranged himself more comfortably. Whatever; sleep was what he wanted to do anyway.
He heard the van pull out, but registered it as a harmless sound and paid no attention.
When he next woke, everything was quiet, and the sun was far enough to the west to be creeping under the porch roof.
He got to his feet, shook himself heavily. It made sense to change to human and go inside, but somehow that felt so final, like he was making the choice of houses over woods. He had a drink from the fountain, went out of the yard to relieve himself, and prowled restlessly around. What should he do?
The other wolves had been so happy when he’d called to them, when he’d joined them… wasn’t this where he belonged?
He looked longingly towards the north gate that led out to freedom and wildness, but sighed and shifted to human, and opened the unlocked door. That made him smile: it was certainly safe to leave the door open: who was stupid enough to venture it with a big black wolf lying there?
The kitchen was warm, welcoming; he got a glass of juice, noted impersonally that his hands were a mess, his nails cracked and dirty, small cuts decorating them. Come to think of it, the rest of him was a mess, too. Not at all good for his vanity. He finished the juice, set the glass in the sink, and made his way through the house to his and Kevin’s bathroom.
His reflection in the mirror made him wince. He’d definitely gone wild, although at least Liam’s trick for stopping hair growth meant it wasn’t as alarming as it could have been. He could think about things after he was clean.
The hot shower felt wonderful, washing away the mud and grime; his hair was more of a problem. It took considerable amounts of shampoo to get it clean, then even more conditioner and a lot of muttered curses to comb the tangles and the burrs out.
Still naked but feeling much better, he went to his room, crossed the floor to the mirror. A decided improvement, although his left ear was torn, the silver moon earring Flynn had given him missing. Probably lost beyond all finding out in the forest somewhere. Yet the silver ring Gisela had given him remained on his right hand, and the chain around his neck; where had they been while he was a wolf? Lost in the depths of his fur? His skin was mottled all over with bruises and scratches and small cuts, none of them more than superficial, but they made him look like…
Like I’ve been living in the forest for… how long, anyway?
Back in civilization, the balance was shifting, away from his wolf instincts and the inclination to live entirely in the present.
I can change into a wolf. I just spent god-knows how long mostly as a wolf. I really did.
Whatever I am, Bane is too, and they knew, they never told me…
Whoa, cool it, Jess. How exactly did you expect them to tell you? “Hey, Jess, by the way, you’re a werewolf”?
Jesus. I’m a werewolf. I’m a fucking werewolf.
Funny, the movies never mention how much fun it is. I guess they weren’t made by anyone who would know.
Well, I don’t feel any different, really, other than sort of stunned, which I guess makes sense. How are you supposed to feel when you find out you’re a werewolf? I know I don’t feel particularly evil, and I didn’t get any overpowering urges to kill anybody, so werewolves are probably about as evil as witches and gays.
Wonderful. All in one house, a witch and an elf and a dryad and two werewolves.
Full moons obviously aren’t necessary. Silver isn’t bothering me any. Hm, if Bane and Bryan are both werewolves, and I know very well they both are although I don’t know how I recognized Bryan, does that mean it’s hereditary? One of my unknown parents was a werewolf? And it isn’t the usual half-man, half-wolf thing, it’s all the way into a wolf. The same as a normal wolf? What do I know about wolves?
Please, please, somebody come home so I can get some answers!
He glanced at the clock: over an hour before they’d finish classes.
Okay, I guess I’m going to have to see what I can figure out by myself, now that I’m thinking. That was really weird, I was still me, but I was thinking such a different way. If that’s always going to happen, I’m not sure I like that. I’d rather be able to think the same always.
Only one way to find out.
He sat down in front of the mirror, took a deep breath.
Come on, Jess, you’ve done this a hundred times in the last few days. You can always change back. Do it!
He closed his eyes, concentrated on the feeling of four feet and fur.
This time, he was more conscious of the sensation, of pain and pleasure twining together into a single feeling, neither one as powerful as the first time. He’d felt something like that, sometime before venturing out of the house in the moonlight; when?
He chickened out of looking, kept his eyes closed until he was completely wolf.
Cool, I’m a black wolf.
It really does feel neat, kinda strange but neat. Having a tail is really weird. I’m not going to think rude jokes right now.
Hey, I’m not thinking different this time.
He contemplated his own reflection. Very shaggy fur, and it looked heavier yet around his neck and shoulders, something like a lion’s mane. That would make it awfully hard for anything to hurt him there. Not absolute black, though, there were lighter markings, mainly on his face. His eyes looked strangely gold, was that just because his colour sight worked differently? It faded, slowly, even as he watched. Maybe not.
He stretched, watching himself, and decided he made a very attractive wolf, midnight fur shining in the sunlight now that it was clean. Right now, though, he had some thinking to do. He shifted back to human, got up—he’d have to puzzle out position equivalents later—and went to the closet. His jeans and a T-shirt made him feel a little more normal. He curled up in one corner of the loveseat, trying very hard to track down the elusive memories of that sensation. So strong he’d thought he’d be torn apart… a glimpse of a woman with red hair and a mocking smile… it had to be during his missing days, the time immediately before waking up with Kevin there, because he didn’t think it came from his missing early years.
He was still worrying at that when he heard the van pull in—not that he’d ever been able to hear it before, but then, his senses were still almost as keen as they were when he was a wolf.
Not long after, Bane knocked on the open door. “Can I come talk?”
“Please.”
The alpha wolf perched on the window-seat nearer to Jess.
“I’m guessing the first thing you want to know is if anyone knew and if so why no one told you.”
“I think I figured out part of the story, but that piece I’m missing. I have a hunch it has something to do with the redhead with the attitude, and that it’s connected somehow with the fact that someone broke an addiction for me that I couldn’t make myself shake alone, and to something Gisela said once about sometimes healing someone like she did me leaves side-effects. I don’t think she meant fixing my hand. I think there’s something in my missing couple of days that you’ve all known all along and not told me.”
Bane smiled, and Jesse picked up a scent that the back of his mind translated as approval and affection, though he was too on-edge to really respond to it. “You do a good job, for a puzzle with missing pieces. And you’re right.”
“Why?”
“Slow down, let me explain. We were truly trying to do what was best for you, Jess. I’m not sure we didn’t make a mistake, but we had good intentions.”
“The road to hell…”
“I’m aware of that. Well. Being a wolf has nothing to do with being bitten, in a lite
ral sense.”
“I think if you’re being bitten by a wolf you’ve got worse things to worry about.”
Bane chuckled at that. “True. Wolves are another race, like elves and dryads. However, wolf blood can be passed on latent, asleep, indefinitely. What wakes it is power-sharing with a fully active wolf.”
“And this thing the redhead wanted me to do, sitting in a circle with her and some other people, that was like the circles you do every week. Power-sharing. And someone there was a wolf.”
“I suppose technically it’s much the same,” Bane said distastefully. “Although it might be better to say it’s the difference between rape and love. The redhead is Rebecca, she’s a wolf, and the elvenmage and the witch from her coven were there too. Rebecca has a long-standing grudge against Sundark, the reason isn’t currently relevant but she seriously hates us. When a latent wolf’s wolf side is awakened, it creates incredible amounts of power for a short time. Rebecca used that to attack Kev and Dia and I while we were alone.”
“I don’t think I like her. What happened?”
“Flynn warned Kev in time for him to shield us. Kev lost his temper, which he fortunately rarely does these days, and hit back with everything he had. Rebecca threw you in the middle, which protected her and her coven but damned near killed you.”
“I would imagine so, I’ve seen what he can do when he’s just messing around. This is where Gisela comes in.”
“Yes. We weren’t about to leave you to die. We tracked you down, and Kev gated Gisela and Flynn there fast. Gisela lost you briefly, I figured that was it, but that fool mage jumped in, in the middle of the night after already mostly draining himself, and somehow the two of them managed to drag you back. That is what left you linked, all three of you. Not the way a coven is linked, it’s pretty faint and pretty deep, but I rather doubt it’s going to break.”
Black Wolf Page 19
