by Natalie Erin
The last, the most loving, silver coat of snow
Blonde hair and gray eyes, but proudly he walks,
While lingering the one with wit of a fox.
One will leave after two broken hearts,
Then quickly soon after the group is split and departs.
They must join back together, to save and retrieve,
The one who has the gift of prophecy.
Through the bond, the other is strong as well,
The unknown powers they wield not even the Great One can tell.
Five young paws will set out to help find,
Family binds them together in soul, body and mind,
And found three young orphans who were left behind.
A curse spreads quickly throughout the land,
The wicked man’s power reining by hand,
And when curse does spread and no treatment is found,
It will be reversed with the death of a Changer, it’s blood spilt red upon the ground.
One more broken heart will beat sadly forever,
Two lovers who could never truly be together.
The man will be scarred, on the outside and in,
And a new legacy will truly begin.”
All was silent. That is, until Casiff broke the silence. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” he yelled.
“It’s simple really,” Ionan huffed sensibly. “A journey will have to take place to retrieve the two who have the gift of prophecy, which are Allie and Kennu. The company going on the journey will be made up of an Accompany and Changer, two fairies, four wolves, and a Pegasus. The group will be divided, and then reunited again, to defeat some sort of curse upon the land.”
“Could you repeat the prophecy please?” Lilja asked. Ionan did so and the wolf cocked his head. “But what sort of a curse is it? What kind of powers could two children wield that not even Vixen knows? And what is this about orphans?”
“And about the death of a Changer,” Kia said, speaking for the first time in hours. The air chilled at her words and the entire group shuttered. “What does that mean?”
“I’m not sure,” puzzled Ionan. “But I’m sure the unknown verses will reveal themselves before this is all over.”
“How do you remember all this?” Keota marveled.
“I have an excellent memory,”he boomed proudly.
“He makes up for what you don’t have,” Casiff muttered, looking at Keota.
Keota glared back. “So who is the prophecy talking about, when it refers to the company?”
“It’s obvious,” Lottie said. “An Accompany and Changer can only mean you and Ionan. A fairy whose heart fears one danger…I don’t think Kia fears anything except losing those she loves, so that fits. A soft mare who’s coat exquisiteness bursts, that has to be Snow Drop. Four strong wolves, a brave night-pelted male…Lilja, your name is Nightcoat of the Blackened Heart Stream, and you are pretty brave. A brown scarred she-wolf, I’m almost certain that’s Cornia. I don’t know any wolf who is a wandering loner, though.”
“You are definitely the last one,” Lilja nodded. “I have never known a wolf more loving than you.”
“Thanks,” Lottie smiled.
“So what do we do?” Casiff asked. “Do we wait for the unknown wolf to show his butt up?”
“I’m not going any longer without my baby!” Kia yelled, and she tore out of Keota’s arms. “I’m getting him back NOW, prophecy or no prophecy!”
“But where do we begin?” asked Lottie sadly. “We have no clue where they went.”
The group fell silent, at a loss for an answer. A crackling from the bushes broke the quiet and the assembly turned to see Cornia charging out of the forest, looking terrified.
“What’s wrong now?” Lilja sighed.
“Our pups are missing!” Cornia cried. Lottie’s eyes widened and she asked, “Haven’t they returned to camp?”
“No, I thought they were helping Lilja,” Cornia whispered.
“I thought they were with you!” Lilja panicked, and the wolves fell to a heap of whining and howling.
“Five missing wolf pups and two kidnapped children!” Casiff threw his hands up in the air and then pounded them down on a tree. “What else can go wrong?”
Just at that moment a red bird fell from a branch, completely knocked out. “Scarlet!” Kia cried and she ran to the little bird’s side, picking him up in her hands. “The thump must have scared him,” Kia said, glaring at Casiff.
“What doesn’t scare that thing?” he hissed back.
A few minutes later the bird awoke, confused. “Kia,” he said wobbly. “I have something important to tell you!”
“Well, out with it then, Scarlet,” Kia said.
Scarlett shook. “I just saw, not a week ago, five wolf pups lost in the forest. I went to help them, but was soon stopped by the creature who aided and abetted the same man who stole Kennu and Allie!”
“You saw the man who stole them? Why didn’t you tell us sooner?” Keota asked furiously.
“I tried to stop the man, but he swatted me out of the air,” Scarlet said grumpily. “I still hurt too from the bruises he gave me. By the time I came around, I couldn’t remember where I was. I flew off to find you, and then I saw the little puppies being abducted! I’ve been looking for you for days and haven’t been able to find you and I asked all the other animals where you were and they said they didn’t know and it just got more and more overwhelming and...and...”
“And you fainted,” Kia said, frustrated. “Well, at least you gave it a shot.”
“So my pups are with Kennu and Allie,” Lilja said, relieved, before he darkened again. “But also with a criminal.”
“Did you see the man’s face? What did he look like?” Keota asked.
Scarlet shook his head. “He was wearing a hood, I didn’t see him. But I do know what the man’s get-away horse looked like! Well, I couldn’t call it a horse but…”
“Oh Scarlet!” Kia cried impatiently and the red bird bristled.
“Alright, alright! His abettor was a Changer. Her main form was a she-dragon. Purple. I know, because I saw her change. She looked like she was hurt.”
“Vera!” Keota snarled and he whirled on Ionan. “How could you let her lure you away and steal our child, and Allie as well? You swore to protect them! Now we know Wyntier has them, all because we let our guard down and allowed her to fool us into thinking she had changed!”
“It can’t be her. You have the wrong Changer,” Ionan said, shaking his head.
“How long will you refuse to accept it Ionan? She’s on Wyntier’s side! Not yours!” Keota screamed.
“None of this would have happened if you and Kia weren’t such terrible parents!” Ionan argued. “If I’m not there to watch the children, they might as well be babysitting themselves!”
“You’re going to blame Kia and I for your ex-mate taking our son? Oh, wait, let me rephrase that,” Keota said cruelly. “She never was your mate, was she? She sided with Wyntier over you, every time!”
“Don’t even get me started about relationships. You and Kia have no right to be together! You rushed into a relationship, and a marriage, without knowing a thing about each other. You two simply don’t work, and this proves it!” Ionan shouted.
Keota shrugged, holding up his hands. “And yet I’ve been happily married for five years, and the Changer you’ve known since you were a hatchling betrays you once again.”
Ionan growled, lurching forward to strike at Keota. But Lilja jumped between the two, bearing his fangs. “Enough! Fighting isn’t going to get us anywhere. But Keota is right, Ionan. Vera did take them. You can’t blame him for that.”
Ionan hung his head to the ground while his Accompany turned away, disgusted. “Do you know where they’re hiding?” he asked Scarlett, ignoring Ionan.
Scarlet looked up at him from Kia’s hands. “I heard him say something to the Changer about the Ice Borns, but where he’s hiding isn’t near the valley of the unicorns, that
’s for sure. It’s somewhere near the sea, and maybe the desert where the dragons live. But that’s all I know.”
Kia wasted no time. “Alright people, time to get things in order. We can’t take as long as our last little vacation, that’s for sure. The wolves can’t ride in Snow Drop’s bags anymore, but can you keep up with us?” she asked, turning to them.
Lilja shook his head. “We’re fast, but cannot run as quick as you fly.”
“We’ll have to make do,” Kia said. “We don’t really have another option. Can you carry the wolves short distances, Ionan?”
Ionan lifted his head slowly. “I’m strong enough to carry Keota and the wolves, yes, but not very far with autumn ending. Clouds will be gathering for winter soon, and my strength will continue to get weaker the more the sunlight fades, as will Keota’s.”
“We’re strong enough to make this journey,” Keota insisted. “We’ll go by sky as far as we can, and then the ground when Ionan needs to rest.”
Kia took off at a run towards her hut. “I’ll be gathering things. Be ready in about a half an hour!” she called.
“We have to get our pups back. Cornia, I’m leaving Mingan in charge while we’re gone,” Lilja said, turning to his mate. “Are you ready for this?”
She bared her teeth. “If you’re asking if I’m ready to rip apart the ones who stole my children from me, than yes, I’m more than ready.”
“Great,” Casiff grumbled. “We’re going to be risking life and limb. Again. Can’t things ever be normal around here?”
“I don’t think things are ever normal with us, Casiff,” Lottie said quietly.
He scowled. “Obviously. Look who I married.”
Ana and Maekrel had been searching the skies when they returned to the hut to see everyone leaving. “Where are you all going?” Ana asked Keota as he scrambled passed her with a bag of supplies. She grabbed onto his arm, holding him when he refused to speak. “Answer me, brother.”
“We’re going to find our children,” he answered, and he pulled free of her tight grasp. Keota ran to where Kia stood, loading packages onto Snow Drop. “Here are those things you wanted.”
Kia took one look at the bag in his arms and lit up, her face contorting into an angry snarl. “Not those Keota, the other ones! You’ve lived with me for five years, and this isn’t our first trip together! How long is it going to take for you to understand what I need?”
“Kia, I know you’re frustrated and scared but I am too!” Keota shouted, on the verge of tears. “I’m his father!”
Kia looked at him, her eyes welling up with tears of her own. “I’m sorry. I’m trying Keota, I really am.”
“I know,” he said quietly.
She kissed him on the cheek and added, “Go see if you can find those maps.”
While Keota rushed back inside, Ana strode up to Kia’s side. “I can watch things around here if you need me to.”
“You really don’t have to,” Kia said, pushing her knotted hair out of her bloodshot eyes. “Running the Verinian is a lot of work.”
“Look,” Ana said softly, touching Kia’s hand. “I know you don’t feel comfortable leaving your forest in the hands of a stranger, much less an Accompany and not an accomplished fairy.” She took a deep breath. “But you can’t do this alone. If word gets around that you’re gone, your forest would be vulnerable and I know enough about your kind that if things here get too chaotic, you’ll die. I’m no fairy, but I am an officer of Nesting’s Haven. I can keep this place in order and your crown safe until you return.”
Kia nodded in agreement, whether it was because she saw the logic or because she was too tired to argue, Ana didn’t know. “Alright. You can stay behind and keep an eye on things. But I have to say that if you’re anything like my husband, don’t expect me not to worry.”
“Trust me,” Ana smiled. “I have a few less rocks in my head than my brother.”
“I sure hope so. Otherwise, we’re all doomed.” Kia permit herself a small smile.
“Nothing will harm this forest while I’m here,” Ana promised. “Come on Maekrel, I think they may need some time to get everything ready.”
Ana called to her Changer, who was talking to Ionan privately a ways away. The younger dragon had bowed his head, and it looked like Maekrel was reprimanding him. Ana grimaced. Maekrel had given Ionan enough lectures on Vera in earlier years, and she had hoped the two would have parted on better terms. But that was Maekrel and Ionan...when it came to their chosen lifestyles, the two always had to be in each other’s business. Ana turned to walk away and in her mission to stop Maekrel, tripped over a beautiful brown wolf.
“Watch where you’re going!” Cornia growled before she sped away to where the rest of the group was beginning to gather.
“Nice people. I feel so welcome,” Ana smiled as Maekrel came to her side.
“Should I go and see if I can find Wyntier first? I’ll cover more ground alone than they will in a big group,” Maekrel rumbled.
“I don’t like being separated from you. We’re stronger together,” Ana said.
“We have a mission to accomplish, and the longer it takes the better chance we have of losing our jobs,” Maekrel told her. “We’ve never lost a culprit twice, and I’ll be damned if I let that snake slither out from my claws again. He killed too many people as it is without going after our own relatives. I want to end this.”
“Go then. But be careful.”
Maekrel chuckled. “I’ve taken on worse than a murderer and his little pet. Vera’s the size of one of my paws. I could take her down easily, and after that he would be no problem.”
“Just don’t hurt Vera,” Ana said. “For Ionan’s sake.”
Maekrel shook his wings before taking off into the sky. “I might,” he said, “Just to get rid of the problem.” Before Ana could order him otherwise Maekrel was soaring through the sky, high above the treetops. Ana shook her head. Ionan had an issue when it came to his obsession of Vera, but she thought Maekrel taking her out of the picture completely would be a little on the extreme side. Though what did she know? After she witnessed personally what Vera and Wyntier did to her home, it wasn’t too far of a stretch to say that Vera deserved it.
Chapter Five
Impossible Changes
The wind blustered against Kia and she pulled her brown jacket around her tightly as they walked up the short slopes. Keota wrapped his arms around her and they continued on, Ionan in the form of a gray cat, trotting quickly behind them with Snow Drop, who was exhausted already from the first trip to the Ice Borns and now getting weaker by the second. Casiff grumbled against the wind and complained of it being too cold, kicking rocks as he went. Lottie walked by his side, her brother next to her. Cornia was in front of them all and growling at the weather, refusing to accept defeat.
Without a second’s notice Cornia came to a dead stop, a low growl in her throat. “No. No farther. I refuse to take another step. We must go around.”
“What is it?” her mate asked.
Lottie looked at him. “Lilja,” she whispered, “Don’t you know where we are?”
It took only a few seconds for him to realize it. The small mountain slopes in front of him and the rocky hills with little trees indicated that they were close to their old territory, the home they knew as pups. Lilja realized they were close to reaching the old den, and the river where his mother had fallen. The only reason he hadn’t recognized it before was that the scent had long faded from memory five years ago.
“Cornia,” Kiatana sighed wearily, “We have to cross through this land. The old way will take too long. Besides, we’re looking for Wyntier, not unicorns, and he and Vera are hiding out near the desert, on the other side of the Ice Borns. We have no choice.”
“If Vera is even involved in this,” Ionan muttered.
Keota shook his head and Lilja padded up to his mate. “We’ve got to get our pups back, for the future of our pack. We can’t take any longer. They could be in dang
er. The three of us will do it together,” he said reassuringly, nuzzling her.
Cornia shuffled her eyes from side to side, shaking. Lottie pushed against her. “If we hurry we can cross through easily. Just think of your babies and you’ll be okay.”
Cornia growled. “Fine, but let’s move. I can barely stand it here,” she mumbled.
The eight of them picked up the pace. Keota thought he saw a shadow above him and looked up. He sure hoped they weren’t being watched.
The three wolves came to an abrupt stop. Keota lost his balance and tumbled into Casiff, Snow Drop whinnying as he fell onto her neck.
“You foolish Accompany, don’t you know how to walk?” Casiff snapped.
He paid no attention. All of them were staring as the three canines stood at the opening of a small patch of grass and sandstone. A cave sat in the corner, one that was attached to a mountain that was not as tall as the Ice Borns, but still an admirable size. The wolves padded slowly around the area. “There is still some ash here,” Lilja mumbled, swishing it around with his paws. Lottie looked at a tree limb that looked like it had been gnawed to bits. “After all these years, my teething branch is still here,” she whispered with wonder.
Cornia didn’t speak at all. She was looking around at everything she could get her eyes on. She stomped over to a tall pine, and Lottie joined her. “We used to play under here,” she said, “And listen to stories of Erris over there,” she pointed out a blackberry bush.
“Come now, we must get moving,” Ionan mewed, his tail flicking gently.
The company was quite quiet after that. Lilja walked in a trance, and he stumbled as his paw hit thin air. “Whoa,” he said, and he looked down into the rushing river. “Great, now we have to cross this again,” he grumbled.
Casiff was staring down the water as well. “I rescued Caini, your mother, when the current had reached my territory.”
“But she fell right there!” Lottie said as she looked a few yards down.
“She swam from here all the way to your territory?” Kia shook her head. “Well, now we know that determination runs in the family. No wonder her children became stowaways.”