Chapter 39
The first shift
I turn the corner and stop so quickly Cadel runs into my back.
“What is it?” he asks.
“Wow!” I whisper.
I can’t move; I’m transfixed by the majesty of the beast in front of me. The creature in front of me is pure white. A stag with a massive rack of antlers that stretches out like a crown around his head.
Stags are one of the few creatures that have remained relatively unchanged from the depictions throughout history.
I was never sure why, though, but maybe it's to remind us of our connection to the past and to remember that, as foul as this world is, there is still beauty in it; there’s still something worth saving.
At least, that’s what I’d like to believe.
The stag watches us, chewing softly, and then it springs away, disappearing over a half-fallen wall.
Cadel puts a hand on my lower back, urging me forward.
We move quickly, darting from shadow to shadow. The tension of moving so quickly through unfamiliar streets is raising all of our stress levels, but we need to put space between those sniffers and us. They have been on our trail for two days, and we haven’t been able to shake them.
Jarek pauses, rocking back on his heels, staring at something that I can’t see. A tremor runs up his back. Seconds tick past, but he shakes his head.
“Must have been my imagination,” he murmurs.
I wait, my jaw working as I scan our surroundings. It’s dark, and the city is even quieter than it normally is.
“This way,” he says and takes off at a jog.
I let out a grunt of frustration but follow him into a courtyard. The pavers are still shiny in places. Like the weather hasn’t touched it yet. Jarek slides to a stop, looking up. He turns back to me, smiling.
“You see that?”
He points to the spire.
“Yeah?”
“My mum said that the way out is within walking distance of the building that pierces the sky.”
I go still, thinking rapidly. Could that be the answer? “Let’s go find it, then!”
Mordecai and Cadel spread out, keeping an eye on our surroundings as we make our way towards it.
“I don’t remember seeing this on the maps,” I whisper.
“It wasn’t. This is a section of the city that we hadn’t gotten to yet,” Mordecai whispers back. “It’s particularly dangerous, and lots of streets turn into dead ends.”
The buildings are packed almost on top of each other. The roads are wide, and massive poles with the skeletal remains of traffic lights hang precariously.
I turn up the street and can see the spire in front of us, just a few blocks away.
It’s a massive building that’s circular and smooth. The top has a pole that leads to a point. The glass on the top floor is gone. I would hate to be up there, but seeing it feels like hope.
The stag bursts out of nowhere, landing on a car, slips, and falls to the ground, letting out a bleating call that has my scalp crawling. I think I’ve spent so long being hunted that I recognise the cry of another creature.
I stagger to the side, whirling to watch its mad panic. It’s bleeding from a massive wound on its leg. There’s no way it can survive.
I reach out, but there’s nothing I can do.
A crawling wrongness in the world alerts me to the unwelcome intruder. I turn my head and find him slinking out of the shadows, his head lowered, drool hanging from his deformed mouth. Those serrated teeth drip ruby droplets to the ground.
The stag lets out another terrified call and drags itself another couple of feet, screaming.
The Ravage Wolf hasn’t seen us yet.
I look between them, and I just can’t. I explode into the street.
“Kaida!” Mordecai shouts.
I don’t move, staring at the Ravage Wolf, refusing to look away.
“Coward,” I hiss.
He turns a glare on me and changes his direction. His fur looks matted and dirty, but his scales are shiny, and I wonder if the scales and fur alternate or if, when you rip his skin, the scales are underneath.
He curls a lip and growls.
“Stay back!” I shout.
There’s a rattle behind him, and I jerk my head in that direction, my eyes widening when I see more creatures like him. They are much smaller, but they have the same rotted evil oozing off them as the Ravage Wolf.
Mordecai grabs my arm and whirls me away. I’m caught by Jarek, who lets out a deep snarl that seems impossibly loud. I rip my gaze off the creatures and look up at him.
“Jarek?” I say uncertainly.
“Cadel!” Jarek shouts. “Any time now would be good.”
Mordecai lashes out at the Ravage Wolf, slicing at him, and then falls back, narrowly avoiding getting his arm shredded.
“CADEL!” Jarek screams when the other creature and his new friend crouch, getting ready to jump towards us.
A massive wolf jumps over my head, and I turn, watching, knowing it was impossible to get there.
My brain makes the connection, but I still can’t accept it.
Jarek tugs me away as Mordecai turns to face the others. They lunge, and he stabs, shoving his blade deep into a shoulder, but the creature just jerks back, and his weapon is gone.
“Mordecai!” I shriek.
He ducks and rolls away, and when he comes up, he’s disappeared, and there’s a black wolf with ice-blue eyes standing there.
“What the…” I whisper. My knees get weak, and I slide down Jarek to sit on the ground, watching as the massive wolves fight.
“Come on, we need to go.” Jarek yanks me back up to my feet.
“Mordecai and Cadel,” I say, stuttering over their names. “Wolves.”
“I know. It’s freaky, and it doesn’t make sense, but I promise that it will, just not now. We need to go.”
I shake my head and try to get to my feet, but I’m shaking hard. Jarek lifts me and grabs my jaw, squeezing it enough to hurt.
“Get it together, Keres. You’ve seen shit in this world that you can’t explain before; this is another one. Now move.”
He rushes into the battle, slicing the back tendons of one of the wolves attacking Mordecai. There are five on three now, and I don’t like our odds.
They move so gracefully. Cadel dances around the Ravage wolf, but every time they collide, it’s like thunder. They could destroy this city with the way they are fighting. I take a step backwards and hear an almost silent growl.
My skin crawls, and a quick glance reveals another four of these beasts. They appear to me the same size as large dogs, but a pack this big could destroy us in minutes.
I have no chance of surviving this.
I feel sorry for not having been more and not having a chance to be more. The wolf creature with two glowing golden eyes spots the stag. He turns towards it, his lips curling back.
“No! Leave it alone!” I shout.
He snarls at me; they all do, almost as if they are one.
He lunges. I pick up a brick and throw it at him, hitting him hard in the side of the face.
He lets out a yowl and turns, snarling at me, crouching.
I back up, not daring to take my eyes off them as they approach. And just as suddenly as they come for me, they turn, and all four of them attack the stag.
I scream.
They ignore me. It takes a few seconds, and then all that’s left of the amazing creature is a bloodstained corpse on the ground and its antlers.
My blood turns hot and then cold. My fury spreads through me. That thing inside me that broke is moving and shrugging off the chains that kept me hobbled. The same fire I felt while I was being carried in the beta’s arms. It’s familiar and yet foreign.
I burn. My body tingles, but I slam into it, chasing the rage, and then I’m taller and stronger, and when I snarl, it echoes around the city like thunder.
I shake, and my fur goes flying. When I take a step, I flex claws and leave grooves in concrete.
They come at me in one group, but I’m ready. I duck and then leap over them, twisting in midair, raking my claws down one unfortunate creature's back, opening it up to the bone. I snap my jaws on a hind leg and bite down until I can taste blood.
The creature screams its pain for the whole world to hear. I toss him away, and his body slams into the side of a wall hard enough that his neck snaps.
I turn back to the other three, who are rapidly backing up, trying to get away from me.
I stalk stiffly towards them, furious and enraged.
They run. I lift my head and howl.
It’s echoed by Cadel, Mordecai, and Jarek. I look at them as I sing, three wolves. Two black and one red like fire.
The Ravage Wolf is gone, but I don’t care. I can’t take my eyes off these alphas. I watch Cadel as he changes back into the shape of a man.
He waits while I stalk towards him, then wraps his arms around my neck and holds me tight, his fingers lock in my fur, and he tugs me towards him.
“You are the most beautiful wolf I have ever seen.”
I flick my ears as he strokes me, but Jarek bumps in between us, letting out a whine, and shoves me towards the street.
My easy movements take me towards the spire. They trot at my side.
We won tonight, but the Beta’s Path have always got tricks to destroy us.
We need to get out of here, or everyone is going to be slaughtered just like that stag.
I glance at Cadel. At my Anarchy Wolf.
What has he done to us?