You are foolish, wolf. Very soon, there will be nothing for you to govern—no forests, streams or mountains to roam. No deer or rabbit to hunt. No spring cubs to teach. It will all be gone. Insepth’s voice was sharp and arrogant, but he spoke the truth. If only Quintus had seen what Youmi had shown me—the collapse of civilization wouldn’t just affect the cities. The entire world would suffer as it burned.
What would you have us do? He shook his head. Those Watchers down there are sick in the mind. I saw them strike down a dozen of my wolves for stepping within the new territory they carved out of these mountains for their own. My brothers’ bodies, blood dripping, were hung upside down from trees to send us a message. He bared his teeth. I will never aid their kind. I will eat their hearts first.
Insepth hopped forward, but Ivan stepped in front of him. I remembered when I’d stuck up for Ivan in the hallway of the Tennessee school when the boys were picking on him. He had been shy back then. Not now. Maybe it was because he was with his own kind, but I found his new confidence refreshing.
These two Watchers are different. They are at war with the ones who killed your brothers—their enemies are the same as yours, Ivan said.
Quintus rose and Tamira followed suit. The nearest wolves were suddenly alert, taking up positions behind their leader. Then we will eat their hearts together.
He dropped his head back and howled. His clear, strong voice was joined by his daughter, then the rest of the pack. Ivan opened his mouth to sing their song. Insepth whispered and I nodded. When their voices quieted and only the breeze was in the air, I cleared my throat, with a bark.
Quintus looked at me.
First, you must help us get our bodies back, I said.
Chapter 12
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
The giant bear shook his head and roared in response to Quintus’ plea. Drool sprayed everyone within range. Lutz grunted, looking between the bear and wolf. Ivan and I exchanged glances, but said nothing. Even Insepth remained quiet, having already admitted he was out of his league in this group.
Early morning haze was gradually brightening as the sun peeked out from the fluffy clouds. Birds chirped and leaves rustled. If it wasn’t for the fact that dozens of bears were gathered on the hillside to the left of the clearing, and hundreds of wolves spilled out from the forest to the right, I could enjoy the crisp, autumn morning. And then there were the cats: mountain lions, lynx and even a pair of leopards, who had traveled a longer distance than us to be here. The felines were a small crowd compared to the wolves and bears, but they’d chosen to set up their base camp right next to us.
Flashes of Cray, the mountain lion Growler, who Ivan and I had fought in the Smoky Mountains, were still fresh in my mind. I’d managed to kill Cray, but occasionally, I still had nightmares about giant cats prowling the woods at night. These lions here were the same jaw-dropping size and they weren’t much for conversation. They’d completely ignored Insepth’s attempt to chat. Only a pointy-eared lynx had bothered to reply. His name was Spix and he crouched next to the hawk, listening intently as Insepth talked about the Watchers of Light.
They will drive you all from your homes on this mountain. They will not tolerate Growlers in their midst. They believe that you’re abominations. Spix purred and began licking his paw, unfazed by the growls and grunts firing back and forth between the bear and wolf only a few yards away.
They are right—we are freaks. He glanced up, his yellow eyes shining bright. I pick human form over this one any day, but you see… His ear twitched. I ran into some trouble with the law in Bucharest some time back. I’m in hiding.
Listening to him, a thought occurred to me. I can understand you—even though you’re not speaking English.
Spix’s gaze shifted my way for the first time. Of course you understand. In our minds, we all speak the same language. His tail flicked when several more bears burst through the trees and joined their leader at a lumbering gallop. Although I must admit, talking to birds gives me a headache. They chatter too quickly for my taste. The nearest lion nodded agreement.
What! Are you sure of this? The bear leader’s voice shouted above the rest. All heads turned his way as he rose up on his hind legs and roared to the sky.
Lutz looked over, his lip curling up in a snarl. The Watchers have killed Broran’s scout, who was also his male cub. He was still alive when he was set ablaze.
He will surely agree to help us now, I said.
Perhaps. The bears think we will lose. Lutz lowered his voice. Broran believes in the prophecy that when the end comes, their kind will be greeted by a mighty white bear, who will lead them to a green land full of salmon and berries. Ma told me the story when I was a cub. She hoped it to be true.
That kind of myth complicates matters, Insepth interjected.
You know nothing of our lore, Watcher. Best you flap your wings and be gone from here. I stared at Lutz. Since the bears had shown up, he’d become even more surly than usual. He was feeling emboldened in the company of his own kind.
Before Insepth could make a stinging comeback, I interrupted. You haven’t told us your plan yet. Why should any of these Growlers trust that they aren’t charging to their deaths to help us?
The girl speaks true. Broran’s mind voice bellowed as he stepped up with Quintus at his side.
Insepth, with his usual flare, flapped his wings, taking flight to land on a nearby branch. When he was high enough to look down on Broran and the rest of the Growlers, he answered, You must fight to save yourselves, your friends, and your offspring. These Watchers, who killed your cub, will not stop until they have eradicated your kind completely. Far into history, when Watchers rose up to defeat the evil one who created the Growlers, there was a faction who believed you should all be exterminated. You weren’t God’s creation, and therefore, had no place in this world. My mother was one of those who opposed them. She told me your kind called her “Golden One” for the color of her hair and eyes. Is she not also a part of your lore?
The murmuring of hundreds of thoughts passed through the gathering, then an amazing thing happened: all the growlers, bears, wolves and cats stood, looking up at Insepth. Howls, roars and growls rent the air and I pushed against Ivan.
What’s going on? I asked him.
His mother is a hero to our kind. She led the rebellion among the Watchers that set us free and gifted us with the magic of painless transformation. His voice was in awe. If I had known Insepth was her offspring, I would have paid him much more respect.
I wasn’t able to roll my eyes properly in my current canine form, but the sentiment I felt was the same. Insepth was already full of himself.
Your dam saved us. Broran looked around and was met with the nodding heads of bear and wolf alike. In payment of this debt and retribution for my cub and the other Growlers already killed on this mountain, we will fight with you.
There wasn’t applause, hooting or hollering in the minds of the Growlers, more a steady wave of agreement echoed through the crowd. Broran and Quintus touched noses in what I could only guess was a gesture of acceptance that their fates were now linked.
We’re all going to die, Spix hissed and moved off with the rest of the cats.
Will they not join us? I asked.
They will, but cats don’t take orders from anyone. They’ll support us in their own way and manner. Lutz shook his head and moved closer to Broran.
We are a few hundred Growlers and two Watchers against an army of Watchers. I do hope you have a few tricks in mind or else the cat spoke true and we’re already dead, Broran said gruffly, st
retching his neck. Even standing on all fours, his great height brought his head close to Insepth perched on the branch.
Insepth’s snort vibrated in my mind. Only one trick will be our enemies’ undoing.
As I listened to Insepth giving orders, I felt a faint tug in my mind, and I closed my eyes to listen harder. It was Sawyer. He was trying to find me, but the distance was too great for communication. I concentrated harder, opening my eyes to the scene on the hill, trying to give the impression of the gathering of Growlers. A tremor of amusement tickled my mind. Sawyer had understood.
You’re thinking of Sawyer, Ivan commented, dropping his voice.
I glanced over, meeting his golden gaze. How did you know that?
You have that same look when Sawyer’s around, so I assumed he must be on your mind. Can you reach him from here?
Not exactly, but he knows we’re safe at the moment. We don’t talk directly like I do with you or Insepth. It’s more of an impression in my mind of his thoughts.
Are you healed enough for what’s to come?
I hope so, I answered truthfully. My Gaia surged through my veins, restoring balance after the Watchers’ attack, and my smoldering fire was ready to be unleashed. I felt water’s presence as it worked to keep me calm and unemotional. I still didn’t know what the touch of air felt like.
Ivan, you and Tamira will gather the swiftest of our kind and go to the place Insepth speaks of. Go now. Quintus was all business as he told Ivan what to do. As if Ivan was a full-fledged member of the pack, he turned to leave, pausing only long enough to say, I’ll see you on the other side.
I watched him meet Tamira and the two of them sped off together, disappearing through the foliage.
Insepth landed on the ground beside me.
I hope you know what you’re doing, I muttered.
The doubt in his voice made my legs weak. It will be a bloody miracle if we succeed.
We stayed with Lutz until we reached the rocky ravine separating the Watchers’ encampment and the Growlers’ territory. He dipped his head and said, Dying a warrior’s death alongside my people isn’t such a bad way to go. If there is one afterlife, I hope to see you there. Lutz’s gaze held mine for a long second before I stepped up to him and pressed my head into the warm, course fur of his chest. He bent down, nudged me and grunted. In an amazing show of gracefulness for a fourteen hundred pound bear, he disappeared into the brush.
I wanted to call out to Lutz, beg him to return, but my barking would alert the Watchers and we’d all be goners. Elemental power rolled off the cliff, causing my stomach to churn. There were hundreds of Watchers organized under a common goal and some of them had amazing powers—and they were linked.
I looked at Insepth. My blood ran cold. We can’t defeat all of them. It’s impossible.
Faith, my dear student. You must believe we can succeed in order for it to happen.
But there’s so many…
Believe it or not, so many Watchers linking is to our benefit. Don’t forget the end goal. In times like these, I wonder at the coincidence of it all. Perhaps there is a higher authority aiding us on this insane journey. He flapped his wings. Are you ready?
Yes.
I felt a punch of laughter in my mind as Insepth took flight in a flurry of pumping wings. Glancing over my shoulder, I couldn’t see anyone, but I knew they were there, hidden in the drying autumn foliage. Hundreds of Growlers poised to attack, but it didn’t make me feel any better. This was a suicide mission.
I ducked under the nearest shrubbery and darted out the other side, bounding over boulders as fast as my canine legs would carry me. Cool wind whipped my face as the first few drops of rain came splattering down.
My heart clenched as I approached the power ward. Timing had to be perfect or we would all be struck down. Just as my wet nose brushed the invisible line, the bears made their move. The crashing sounds of brush and saplings snapping filled my ears. They charged through the alarm system, and just as we’d anticipated, all of the Watchers’ energy was targeted at the bears. I sensed the small gap opening in front of me and slipped through it. Insepth swooped down in the same place, taking the lead. I followed him, using the back side of a line of brown canvas tents as camouflage.
Watchers scurried through the encampment, rushing to the place where more and more bears flooded through. I caught a glimpse of a huge brown bear ripping the head from a Watcher’s body with his jaws and another Watcher retaliating with a fire blast that set the bear aflame.
I blinked away the gory image. This was war and Insepth was right. The Watchers of Light would kill all the Growlers, and those who survived that fate would be gobbled up by the forces unleashed from Hell in the coming days. No one was safe and no one could ignore what was happening. It would affect everyone soon enough.
Insepth dove into the largest tent in the center of the camp. I worked my legs faster, dashing under cover without a second thought. I didn’t like him being in charge of my destiny, but this wasn’t a time for too much thinking. The element of surprise was all we had. One thing I was certain about was that Insepth didn’t want to die. I would have to trust his judgment on this one—and he was right about our bodies. They were lying in a coma-like state, side by side, on the ground. Six Watchers were linked in a circle around them.
Seeing my body there, wearing blue jeans, a corduroy jacket and hiking boots made my heart sing. I would forever be grateful that Angus shared his body with me, but I was ready to walk on two legs again.
Six heads jerked up and six pairs of eyes locked on the hawk flapping just outside of the circle. They hadn’t even noticed me. A flood of earth power surged into me from Insepth and I opened up to it, allowing it to join with all four of my elements. Chaos exploded inside of me with the dueling powers for an instant, and then steadied when my Gaia took charge. I channeled the power at the blonde Watcher who stood closest to me. The blast rent her body into a dozen pieces, and blood and guts splattered the tent walls. The link was broken and the other Watchers drew on their own individual powers, but the flood of power I’d unleased wasn’t idle; it snapped at each of the Watchers, knocking them back. Insepth and I took advantage of the Watchers being on the ground and rocketed out of our animal hosts. I slammed into my body with a gulp and a fit of nausea like I’d never felt before.
Angus took over his limbs in an instant, jumping at one of the Watchers attempting to rise. He bit the Watcher’s face, and I could have sworn I tasted warm, metallic blood in my mouth as I struggled to rise alongside Insepth.
He grasped my arm, jerking me to my feet. His hawk went for the eyes of one of the Watchers and he pointed at the ground beneath two more. The dirt broke apart, opening into a fissure that swallowed them. The sixth Watcher, a woman with short dark hair, threw a fire ball at us. Insepth stepped behind me and my Gaia diminished to allow fire to take its place. When the ball slammed into me, it was pure joy. My essence gobbled up the flames hungrily as a tickling pleasure raced over my skin. The Watcher’s eyes widened and she attempted to swivel away, but it was too late. With a flick of my finger, I sent a stream of flame that lifted her into the air. Insepth opened the ground below her and I dropped her in. I didn’t even look back as dirt rained onto the Watcher, burying her alive, still screaming.
Insepth grabbed my hand and pulled me through the tent flap. We didn’t bother with stealth anymore. Angus’ wet nose touched my fingers and I spread my hand over his forehead. Stay close, boy.
It was good to be back in my body again. I stretched my legs and raced into the fight. Dozens of bears were down, not moving, and covered with blood. A black sow’s belly was sliced open and her intestines spilled out. The earth was fissured where earth Watchers had captured bears and a river now ran through the middle of it all, smashing into Growlers and knocking them off their feet.
Fire burst from my hands and pummeled the nearest Watchers,
stopping their attack on the bears. Broran took advantage and reared up to his full height, coming down on the head of one of his assailants, crushing the man. But it was Lutz who held my attention. An uprooted tree had him pinned to the ground and he roared in anger.
“I’ll take care of him,” Insepth assured me. “Keep the fire going—the elders are coming.”
Katherine, Sharoz, Merl and Griffon marched through the madness with a fresh group of Watchers, who didn’t look like they’d been involved in any fighting yet. I released my fire at the group at the same time my Gaia penetrated the forest floor at their feet. The fire created an impregnable wall for most beings, but some of the Watchers under Katherine’s command owned the element themselves. As they drew in some of the flames to open passages for the Watchers to cross through, the earth rocked beneath them and trees fell around them.
Insepth had asked me earlier to create a diversion of high proportions and that’s exactly what I did. I only hoped whatever he had planned happened soon. My powers were dwindling as my body recuperated from a couple of days in stasis. I was weak, nauseous and unsteady on my feet.
Angus bit the hand of a water Watcher, who was diverting the river. Water sprayed my face and I opened to it. The water that the other Watcher had commanded was mine. As my dog jumped away, the river surged, swallowing the Watcher.
Insepth had the tree off Lutz, but several of the Watchers who’d slipped through my wall were now fighting him. I was about to go to his aid when Katherine’s voice rang out. I felt the linking of her power with too many to count when she shouted, “Enough of this nonsense. I ask you once more, Insepth. Why did you come here?”
A large lone tree toppled and the crashing noise echoed through the forest. Fire burned in patches and dust rose around the clearing. Insepth strode forward with Lutz limping beside him. I didn’t dare move. More Watchers stepped out from behind the trees and my heart plummeted into my stomach.
Tempest Page 9
