by Dan Dillard
Chapter 23
Gray roused from his slumber on the bank of the tiny stream and sat like a sphinx. The familiar noise of singing rang in his ear from one direction, then another as if it were echoing off the looming trees. He hadn't expected it. His movement woke his mate and she looked about cautiously, also seeking the source. The full moon's light leaked through the trees and sparkled on the flowing water in front of them. As it danced, something else was visible in the clearing beyond.
The hut, and a small campfire flickering, was there, sending ethereal smoke into the evening sky. The voice of the woman, singing to her baby rose over the air and filled the area as if amplified. The baby cooed as if trying to sing along with her. The noise warmed Gray's heart so he might have smiled with his human mouth. His tail gave a wag instead. She moved closer and plopped down next to her mate, laying her head across his great paws.
The higher the moon rose into the sky, the clearer the vision became, as if projected by Luna herself onto the grassy clearing. The ring of mushrooms had disappeared, and the grave markers placed by James, the blue wolf, had been replaced by the campfire. The voices of the mother singing and the baby babbling grew louder until a lone howl snuffed them out. Across the opening, the blue wolf stared at them. His head hung almost to the ground, yellow eyes shining brightly in the bright moonlight. Gray and his mate positioned their ears to hear the low growled warning the enemy was plainly stating for their benefit. Gray stood so he could be clearly seen.
Blue took a step forward, then another. His teeth bared, hackles raised, his plan fully understood. It was his intention to take the alpha on that site. Win or lose, he would fight to the death. Either result would end the centuries of torture. He appeared confused by the appearance of the hut and the sounds coming out of it. Stepping sideways, he kept his eyes focused on the pair across the stream.
Gray moved swiftly across the water, while the she-wolf moved laterally to come around the other side of the hut. The three stopped, forming a triangle around the outside of the campsite in a standoff that lasted for several minutes. Each creature waited for the other to move.
It was the moon that set the gears in motion. Once her full illumination reached above the canopy of trees, the sounds of the woods stopped. No more frogs croaking, no crickets, not even the rustle of leaves in the wind. Each wolf was haunted by the sound of its own breathing until the front flap of the hut opened and the woman stepped outside cradling her child in her arms. Perfectly formed, the specters were not solid, not real-but the presence was enough to shake Blue from his stoic stance.
He charged into the clearing. A split second behind him was Gray. They met in the center, clashing into each other in a flurry of snapping jaws that ended with them tumbling sideways and away from the ghostly setting. White watched from the side, prepared to step in if necessary.
As Gray righted himself, Blue was on top of him. His jaws found a fleshy part on the right shoulder and he bit down with great force. Hot pain surged through Gray's body and he rolled, jarring the other wolf loose. Then he batted at Blue's face with one large paw, scratching across his enemy's eye and following with a bite of his own to Blue's snout. Blood oozed from a tear in the animal's skin. Gray backed away and they paused to catch their breath.
The moon, at full power, shone into the clearing. The visage of the family's camp dissolved in the blue light, and the ring of mushrooms reappeared. White yelped at the sudden change and ducked away from the magical place.
The angry Blue pounced on Gray and the two tumbled, landing in the center of the ring. They were startled when they stood to find, they were human.
"It's the circle," James said.
Jason spat a mouthful of blood on the ground and looked across at Rocky who was still a wolf. She cowered away from the human men.
"What is it you want?" Jason asked.
"I want it to end. I want all of this to end."
"So you intend to kill me?"
"If that's what it takes," James said.
He rushed Jason, tackling him. The two fell, spinning backwards and exiting the ring, becoming wolves once again. Gray tackled Blue and sent the pair back into the circle. He landed with legs outside of the mushroom barrier, human on one side, wolf on the other. Slowly he pulled himself into the circle and stood once again to face James.
"You should've learned your lesson," Jason said.
"This is easier."
The punch was swift and unexpected. He considered jumping out of the ring to resume animal form, but stayed to face his human opponent.
"You want to be a wolf. Then, why fight as a man."
"I'm just saying goodbye," James snarled.
Then he leapt at the younger man, biting his shoulder as he went. The attack sent both rolling out of the moonlight and back into their alternate forms. The tumble caused James to lose his grip on Jason's shoulder. The blue wolf yelped from the impact.
Gray rolled upright first. He noticed his rival's slow recovery and took advantage, grabbing Blue by the throat. Biting with all his strength, he shook his head and tried to tear a mouthful loose. His grip failed and Blue rolled away, but the damage had been done. Blue stood, blood pouring from the gashes in his neck. His breathing strained, he wheezed as his chest heaved, trying to pull enough oxygen into his lungs for another round.
Weakened, he stumbled to the ground. James, the man, would have stayed to finish the battle even if it meant death. The wolf, however, turned to run-instinct over ego-Blue wanted nothing more than escape into the woods and live to fight another day. White was in his way, forbidding his escape.
She drove him back toward the ring, sidestepping this way and that as he tried to find an exit. He couldn't out run them and defeated, he backed all the way into the ring, returning to human form once more. Gray approached, demanding James' eye contact.
"I'm not sorry," James said, holding his ground.
White moved to the other side of the circle and stepped inside. "You don't have to be. You just have to know suffering," she said.
"I have suffered in this form for four hundred years," James said, choking on his own blood. His wounds were not healing. He stumbled toward the edge of the circle.
Gray leapt from the ground, grabbing James by the neck and snapping it as they rolled.
The moonlight filled the circle with brilliant light, painful to look at. Once again, lightning struck the center of that clearing. Wind howled through the trees as the moon goddess breathed her satisfaction into the world, drawing all manner of leaves and twigs into a swirling blue funnel that rose into the night sky and vanished in silence. One last time, the song of the mother and father, and the giggling sound of an infant could be heard over the rush of the tiny stream.
