The Elders

by Inbali Iserles

  “Jana?” I called but my voice was faint beneath the drumming earth. I stalked forward a few paces. The amber fog floated in front of me. I reached out a forepaw—

  A shot of fire spread through my chest and I tumbled, blinded by colors. Heat exploded from my skin. Every hair on my body shrieked. I was spinning in the kaleidoscope, into the bleeding center of the world.

  With a jerk of my legs I was back in the wood, lying on a patch of moss. For a moment I struggled to breathe, as though someone had thumped me in the gut. I blinked to see Simmi looming above me. Tao and Haiki came into view.

  “What happened?” hissed Simmi. “Are you all right?”

  I drew in a slow breath. The pain had gone almost instantly. I rose, shaking off my fur. “The shana.”

  We stood watching the amber light.

  I cleared my throat. “Elders, please let us pass,” I said gravely. “We want to speak with you.”

  Malinta beat against my paws. The wind rose in the branches of the ancient trees. My ears twisted forward and back.

  Isla.

  The voice seemed to drift in the air, as if the fog had spoken.

  My heart leaped. “Yes.”

  We have been waiting for you. The voice paused. There are others.

  I felt Simmi tense by my side. I swallowed down the fear in my throat and spoke into the swirling fog. “They’re with me. Simmi, Tao, and Haiki from the Wildlands. We need your help. The Mage—”

  Do not speak of him beyond the Rock.

  I clamped my jaws shut. Against the beat of the earth, there was silence. We stood some time as the fur spiked along my back. Then the fog began to melt into the darkness of the night.

  Five foxes stood in the unfurling mist, their eyes trained on us. I recognized the vixen in the center as Jana, with her slender gray limbs and short tail. I had seen her in maa-sharm, in Siffrin’s memory.

  The other four were also elderly foxes. A tall brown male squinted at me, his whiskers spiraling out of his muzzle in odd directions. Next to him was a ginger-and-white vixen who scarcely reached his shoulders. The vixen’s ears were huge, too large for her small head. They sprang out at angles. She lowered her snout and sniffed, then cocked her head curiously, as though she’d smelled something strange. By her side, an auburn vixen glared at us.

  The last Elder Fox was a male with fur the color of sand. His muzzle was gray, speckled with black. I noticed that one of his fangs was missing.

  I felt the heat of their appraising gazes. I took in the outlines of their tatty pelts. I might have passed them in the wood and never realized their power.

  But their eyes shone brilliantly, wide and bright as the moon.

  We are the Elders of the Rock.

  They spoke together with one voice. I stared at them, dumbstruck. Beyond the old foxes, wisps of amber mist still floated, distorting my view of the Rock.

  Why have you come?

  I cleared my throat. “My brother’s missing. It could have something to do with—” I paused. Do not speak of him beyond the Rock. “With him. I seek your help. I need to know the secret of wa’akkir. And—” I looked around for Simmi.

  She stepped next to me. “Our skulk was attacked. We have no home. We cannot fight pleached foxes.”

  “We need foxcraft,” said Tao. “Like Isla, we want to learn wa’akkir.”

  The auburn vixen stared down her muzzle at us. “Wa’akkir is not for every fox.”

  I fought the urge to shrink from her hard stare. “But it should be. Skulks are being attacked and they can’t fight back.”

  Jana’s ears rotated. “Siffrin told us you would come. You may enter the dominion of the Rock. We can talk more once we raise the shana.” Her eyes trailed over us searchingly. “Enemies may be close.”

  My whiskers tingled. “Siffrin’s here?”

  I saw him then through the fading mist. He trotted across the Rock, his red coat gleaming in the starlight.

  My forepaw wavered above the flat expanse of rock. My voice was tiny. “You didn’t come back.”

  Siffrin’s eyes were huge, the centers black discs against golden light. “I tried,” he said. “When I reached the pines, the Taken were waiting—it was like they were expecting me. I had no choice, I had to run. One of the Narral was with them, a fox called Koch.”

  My whiskers trembled. I didn’t know what to think.

  Siffrin appealed to me with his eyes. “I couldn’t risk leading them to the Elders, you must understand that. I ran east into unknown valleys and north along the Raging River. I didn’t return for a couple of nights. I had to be sure that I’d thrown them off my scent. After the coyotes …” He shook his head, his ears flat. “I knew that you might not understand. But if Koch or the Taken made it to the Rock …” A flicker of fear darkened Siffrin’s face. He seemed to remember the others, tilting his head toward Simmi and Tao. “You got here without me. Your ma and fa will be proud.”

  “They’re gone,” whined Tao. “They’ve been pleached.”

  Simmi’s voice quavered. “The rest of the skulk were murdered. Even Greatfa. Even Mox.”

  Siffrin gasped, his tail leaping straight behind him. “I had no idea.”

  My throat was dry. “Koch … is he stocky, with short legs and a greasy coat? He was with the Taken when they attacked the den.” For an instant I thought of Mox, curled like a cub, but not in sleep.

  The Elders stiffened.

  Siffrin’s eyes darted to mine. “Koch shouldn’t have found the skulk—I led those foxes away!”

  Jana’s gray ears twitched. “I don’t like what I’m hearing. Always, our enemies are one step ahead of us.”

  The ginger-and-white vixen raised her muzzle. Her nostrils pulsed. “I sense a shape-shifter,” she said ominously. “One without foxcraft.”

  The fur was rigid at the back of my neck. How could you shape-shift without wa’akkir?

  Jana glared beyond us, into the dark wood. “We need to weave the shana. Without it we’re exposed.”

  I hesitated, staring at Siffrin.

  He stared back. “Don’t you believe me?”

  I wasn’t sure. My head was muddled.

  “Step onto the Rock,” urged Jana.

  I climbed the jagged stones, careful to avoid their sharp edges, stepping over them onto the smooth Rock. The beat of malinta jolted my limbs. It was stronger now, almost unbearable. Simmi and Tao sprang next to me, casting wary looks at Siffrin.

  The male with the curling whiskers peered beyond me. “What about you?”

  Haiki was standing alone on the grass. His lips twitched but no sound emerged.

  “Come on,” I called. “They need to protect the Rock.”

  I followed his lips as they formed a word.

  “Sorry.”

  I cocked my head. “Sorry for what?”

  His eyes slid toward me. His voice scarcely rose over the beat of the earth. “He took my skulk. I had no choice. He made me track you in the Graylands and wait in the gorge until you came.”

  A chill crept through me. “What do you mean?”

  “I needed to get you to the Elders, but Siffrin saw too much … He had to be stopped. That’s why I brought the coyotes.”

  I heard Siffrin yelp in surprise. Haiki’s gaze shot over my shoulder to where the red-furred fox was standing. Then he looked beyond us, into the dark expanses of the wood.

  The tips of my paws were numb. I couldn’t feel my tail. What was he saying? It didn’t make sense. No, I thought. No, no, no … I stumbled, unsteady.

  Haiki’s eyes were full of sorrow. “It was always about the Elders. They wanted you, Isla. They’d let you pass. I couldn’t do it alone.” He lowered his muzzle, his voice a desperate whine. “I never imagined how hard it would be … how much I’d care about you, Isla. I’m sick with guilt, torn on the inside. Please understand. I’m not a bad fox. I’m just like you—I’d do anything to get my family back. He said he’d free my skulk if I led them here.”

  A shape-shifter
. One without foxcraft.

  Suddenly it was hard to breathe. “Led who?”

  Behind me, Jana yowled in alarm. “The shana!”

  That moment I saw them surge out of the darkness. The red-eyed foxes burst past Haiki to race across the grass. Siffrin sprang in front of me but two large foxes crashed against him, flinging him onto the glittering stones. In an instant, the Taken surrounded us.

  Still they kept coming, racing between the trees in an endless torrent. Their backs were arched, their hackles up, their pointed teeth exposed.

  The shana was broken.

  The Elders surrounded.

  The Taken were on the Rock.

  The auburn-furred vixen started chanting.

  “Come together, rays of light; comfort me in deadly night …”

  One of the Taken pounced on her and sank his teeth into her flank. The Elder spluttered, unable to chant. The Rock exploded into chaos. A tawny fox leaped at Tao, bringing him down. The tall brown Elder slimmered, disappearing from view. He reappeared an instant later with his jaws pressed at the fox’s throat.

  The auburn vixen rose to her paws. The tip of her tail started glowing as she murmured beneath her breath.

  “Don’t let her chant!” snarled one of the Taken, his eyes pulsing red.

  The Mage is speaking through him.

  The pleached foxes turned on the auburn vixen. They snapped at her tail and pulled her down. She was lost in a scrum of claws and teeth.

  All around me, foxes were fighting, hissing and spitting, slamming into one another. The small ginger-and-white vixen threw an attacker off the Rock and grabbed another by his throat. I could hardly believe she had the strength in her short, skinny legs.

  Tao karakked like a raven, scaring one of the foxes away.

  But the Taken kept coming, a swell of red-eyed foxes bursting out from the trees.

  The earth beat louder.

  Ka-thump! Ka-thump!

  Jana bounded past the Taken and leaped into the air, her lips fluttering rapidly. For an instant she froze, a blur of ginger and jags of gold. A terrifying howl tore over the Rock. She landed in the shape of a great coyote, muzzle wrinkled with rage. Several foxes recoiled in terror, beginning to flee.

  “It’s a trick!” cried the fox with the pulsing red eyes. “Don’t you dare run away!”

  Jana flashed her coyote fangs. She spun in the air, a whirl of blues and grays, shifting into a savage dog. Red-eyed foxes tumbled off the flat mount, thumping onto the sharp stones. Still more kept coming, scurrying over the stones and slipping over the Rock.

  The Elders were wildly outnumbered. Four or five foxes set upon Jana, crunching down on her legs.

  The Elder Rock shuddered.

  “Isla, look out!” Siffrin was fighting his way back onto the Rock, shoving a pleached fox aside. Two others lunged at me, their white fangs bared.

  With a murmur I slimmered, twisting out of their reach. Simmi was tussling with a tan fox by my side. They smacked into my flank, breaking my slimmer, and I backed away, exposed.

  A mottled-furred fox wheeled around to face me. His yellow eyes flashed in the starlight. I could smell the acid pall of his coat as he launched toward me. He threw open his jaws. His breath was cinders.

  My blood pulsed fire through my limbs. My lips peeled back but no sound escaped my throat. My gaze shot to Siffrin but he was surrounded, blocked by four or five Taken.

  The night was pierced by a flash of lightning. White heat struck the Rock, and malinta thundered. The wind rose wildly through the trees and the foxes stumbled, as though the ground had grown uneven. My attackers tumbled away from me, unable to keep their balance. I clung to the slippery stone as best I could. What was happening? Was it malinta? Was it a sudden storm?

  The screeching wind dropped abruptly. Through the scramble of foxes, I spotted one Elder standing boldly at the center of the Rock—the sandy-furred male was panting but his gaze was steady.

  Jana threw back her head. “Elders, regroup!”

  Another Elder, the tall brown male, tried to fight his way to her. The auburn vixen was shaking off one of the Taken, blood running down her white chest. Whenever an Elder began to slimmer, or to utter the chant for wa’akkir, foxes converged on them, shattering the spell. I spun around, breathless. Haiki had vanished and the Taken were still rushing from the wood. There was nowhere left to run.

  Jana pressed closer to Siffrin. Between flashes of battling foxes, I saw her whisper in his ear.

  “Foxling!” snarled one of the Taken, a vixen with a long brown muzzle. “The time of the Elders is over! You cannot succeed against the Mage.” She rolled on her haunches, preparing to pounce.

  “Stop!” I yowled. “The Mage stole your will. He’s making you do this.”

  The fox scowled, her red eyes gleaming. Saliva bubbled at her jaws. “I serve the Master.”

  “He doesn’t own you!” My ears flicked forward in appeal. “You were more than this once. You were a free fox. You had a family, a skulk. Don’t you remember?”

  Doubt crossed her eyes. Her foreleg twitched, the mark of the broken rose bruise-black in the low light. Then her gaze became vague and her body grew rigid. “I have no family.” She sprang and I scrabbled away from her, stumbling against another pleached fox. He spat and I karakked, mimicking the furious bark of a dog. The fox flinched and I darted across the Rock, dodging the others in my path.

  A thump across my back brought me down.

  Foul breath drifted close to my ear. “I have you, foxling. You won’t escape.”

  I caught a glimpse of the fox’s jaws, the spit that bubbled at the corner of his mouth. I bucked against him but he pinned me down harder.

  “Leave her alone!” shrieked Tao. He crunched on the fox’s tail. Simmi dived to his side, snapping her jaws around the fox’s paw. With a screech, the fox released me.

  My heart crashed over malinta’s beat.

  A line of three Taken leaped into my path and I braced myself, too panicked to run. But before they reached me, they changed direction, breaking for the edge of the Rock with shrill yelps. A great black dog drove between them. She dropped to my side as I cowered in terror.

  “Isla, are you all right?” It was Siffrin’s voice. He’d appeared as the fearsome dog from the Snarl. “We need you,” he gasped. “Shaya’s injured.”

  I blinked at him. “I don’t understand.”

  His eyes were wide. “We need your maa for shana-sharm.”

  From the edge of my vision, I saw Tao back into two Taken foxes. Simmi was fighting her way toward him but other foxes blocked her path.

  “Trust me, Isla,” Siffrin urged.

  Trust no one but family, for a fox has no friends.

  Siffrin’s eyes were golden against the dog’s savage face.

  Fear fluttered at my ears like moths. “Show me what to do.”

  “Follow me!” He bounded across the Rock, shunting foxes out of his path. He reached Simmi and murmured in her ear. She spun around immediately, dodging the Taken. In flashes I saw her fight through the frenzy to Tao. The two of them battled to the edge of the shimmering stones.

  It was a struggle to keep up with Siffrin. I slimmered again, down on my belly, shuffling past red-eyed Taken. I didn’t get far before a fox trod on my paw. The slimmer broken, I scampered as fast as I could. I had almost reached Siffrin at the edge of the Rock when a sharp pain shot through my tail.

  “Not so fast, foxling!”

  The vixen’s eyes were caked in yellow gunk. Scarlet veins ran through their dark centers. A shadow crossed them, another fox. For a beat, I saw him clearly—his acid eyes, his pointed ears, and the tail that swished from side to side. A tail that ended in a stump.

  Ice ran through my blood.

  “It’s the Mage!” I yelped at the red-eyed fox. “He’s making you do this. You’re pleached, don’t you see?”

  The fox seemed surprised. She blinked and the Mage disappeared from her eyes. I broke free, diving over another a
ttacker to land at Siffrin’s side.

  He spoke as though I’d always been there. “I need you to chant with us. When Jana says the word, jump off the Rock.”

  “But they’re so many,” I whined. “What good will it—”

  “There isn’t time! Repeat the chant: ‘Come together, rays of light; comfort me in deadly night. Weave a wall of thickest mist; every fiend and foe resist.’ Whatever happens, don’t stop chanting. Get ready to jump off the Rock.”

  I did as he told me, mumbling the words. “Come together, rays of light …” A fox pounced at me but Siffrin lunged at him, still in the shape of the dog. Another charged toward us. Siffrin threw his great forepaws at the fox, sending him toppling over other attackers.

  Come together, rays of light; comfort me in deadly night.

  Despite the snarls and barks from the Rock, and the furious beat of malinta, the Elders’ voices reached me like an echo in my ear, so I heard the chant in harmony. The crashing thump of my heart slowed down. I still saw the turmoil on the Rock—the fighting, the bloodshed—but it floated past my thoughts.

  Weave a wall of thickest mist; every fiend and foe resist.

  My thoughts were amber. Was it I who threw wisps of color around the Rock? They drifted past the fighting foxes. Curls of mist trailed the light. Slowly it thickened, smudging my vision. Through tendrils of amber, the Taken paused. They blinked and turned in confusion.

  Jana’s voice rang in my ears, as though she spoke directly to my thoughts. Jump!

  I gazed into the amber light. The fog was so thick that I could barely see my own forelegs. Malinta thrummed against my paws, soothing, numbing. A deep calm took hold of me. My lips still tripped over the chant, but I hardly recognized the words.

  Come together, rays of light.

  A powerful thump struck my flank and I tumbled. For an instant, I was in free fall, plummeting through nothingness. Then I landed on the mossy ground, just shy of the jagged stones. I yelped and scrambled to my paws. I was standing before the Rock in the circle of trees. The wood around us was sharp and clear—the fog stayed wrapped over the flat mount.

  Only the Taken remained on the Rock. Dotted along the outskirts of the stones were the Elders. Simmi and Tao crouched by the blood-bark tree. Siffrin was by my side, no longer shifted into a dog but back in his own form.