by Natalie Erin
“We can never go home now,” Ionan said, and Keota felt the dragon’s stomach getting hotter underneath his legs as fire burned within it.“Keota, what were you thinking? We don’t belong here!”
“This is our home now, Ionan. I never told you that we were going back to Nesting’s Haven, even before we met Kia,” Keota said. “I love her and I want to be with her. There’s nothing more to say.”
“Do you realize you’ve bonded your heart and soul to this girl by doing this? You’re tied to her now! I never expected this out of you.”
“That’s your problem, Ionan. You’re always expecting people to turn out exactly like your expectations. Stop preaching to me! We did nothing wrong,” Keota protested.
“Your actions have consequences that somebody is going to have to pay. Did you possibly think for one second that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life here?”
“All you want to do is accuse. It’s done and over with now.”
“No it’s not! She’s having a child!” Ionan said, his voice rising to a furious note.
“What’s your problem?” Keota asked nastily. “You’ve never acted this way before.”
“Me!? What about you! Ever since we fell into this silly patch of green all you can think about is her! I don’t even know who you are anymore!”
“I guess you don’t care for her or my child?” he said.
“I care! I just care for you as well! Whatever happened for caring for me? I’ve noticed you haven’t done much of that recently.”
That stung, and Ionan knew it. He had been neglecting Ionan for Kia. The run in with the Ortusans had proven that much.
“And if that’s not worse enough,” Ionan stated, “The Great One is probably furious with us. You couldn’t just leave well enough alone, could you? No! You had to go and get her pregnant!”
That was going too far. Keota’s temper broke and he yelled, “Well at least I’m brave enough to be with the woman I love! You’re the reason we fell into this forest in the first place!
Ionan bucked in mid-air. He twirled and twisted as Keota tried desperately to hang on. Kia pulled Snow Drop around and yelled, “Ionan! Stop!”
But he wouldn’t listen to her. He wouldn’t listen to anyone. “I was doing my best!” he thundered. “I was trying not to think of her!”
“She left you, Ionan! She couldn’t love you!” Keota screamed. “She loved her Accompany more than you! You’ll never find a mate! Just because I’ve found someone and you couldn’t hold onto Vera doesn’t mean you have to be bitter and angry all the time! You take out all your pain on everyone, especially Kia! You’re ruining the chance we have to be together!”
Ionan let out a roar that seemed to shake the clouds. Shocked by the noise, Keota let go. Kia screamed as he fell through the sky, Ionan diving after him.
“I thought you loved me,” he said as they dove, “I thought you cared. Who helped you get your best friend out of prison? Who saved your life time and time again in the army? Who has done all you’ve asked him to all these years, just to get a slap in the face in return?”
“The only reason you helped with Luce was because Rex was Vera’s brother!” Keota yelled back. Neither one of them seemed to care they were hurtling towards the ground at a terrifying speed.
“Well maybe I should have left your precious Luciana there to die! That foolish girl vanished soon after we rescued her!”
“If you had let her die Vera would never considered loving you! Never!” Keota hissed.
“How dare you say such things! Rex was my friend too, I wouldn’t have just left him there to rot! And after all I’ve done to keep you safe,” Ionan roared. “You care nothing for me, don’t you?”
“I do care!” Keota yelled quickly.
“But not enough,” Ionan argued. “You love Kia more than me and expect me to be agreeable while I’m heading the mission, keeping everyone on track. Blast it all, even Snow Drop has shown me more concern on this journey than you!”
“What are you saying?” Keota asked, frightened.
“I’m going back home,” Ionan said. “We just don’t work together as a team anymore. You will be quite happy here, with her. All a Changer ever wants is to make his Accompany happy. Now I can see…the only way to make you happy is to have me gone.”
“No…”
“Before I go I want you to know this. Yes, I loved Vera. But I was more loyal to you. I thought you would have done the same. If anything else, I wish you had not picked favorites.” Ionan caught Keota with his talons and flew back up to Snow Drop, the fire in his eyes gone. Ionan put Keota gently on the pegasi’s back, looking Kia in the eye.
“Take care, Keota,” he said. In an instant he had vanished…Ionan had turned into something too small for them to see.
“Ionan!” he screamed. “No! Come back, please! I didn’t mean what I said!”
Kia was too stunned to react. Ionan would be far away by now, and it would be impossible to track him down. Keota sat behind Kia, staring blankly ahead. Without a word, Kia urged Snow Drop onward and they descended into the same clearing they had found Casiff in. They dismounted, Keota clambering off stiffly, seemingly detached from the earth. Kia wrapped her arms around him and looked desperately at Vixen.
“There is little a bond so strong,” Vixen whispered, and the fairy put a hand on Dragonstar’s head, “As the one between a Changer and his Accompany.” There was silence for a minute and they all let it fall, wondering how they were going to win the battle without Ionan there. When some time had passed Vixen said softly, “Let it slip, my friends. Concentrate on what lies ahead, for danger is on the horizon. Night Mares and Night Terrors are nasty creatures to deal with.”
LOTTIE AND LILJA watched as the animals around them prepared for battle. They were posted as sentries at the top of the hill on a large rock, to watch for the enemy. When the time came they would sound the alarm with howls and join the back battalion. They stood anxiously at the top of the rock, expecting a charge at any moment, though Kikan had assured them that the battle would not start until the sun began to fall. The place where the fight was to happen was large and wide, a separation between the plains and the forest, a virtual no mans land. Most of the ground was dust or dirt out there, and if it rained there would be mud to deal with. The pups didn’t know what Night Mares looked like…Kikan hadn’t described them very well. They knew that they could be killed just like any other animal though, by ripping out their throats or going for crucial veins. For Lilja, that was all he needed to know.
There was a rustling in the trees and they both turned to see Kiatana, Keota, Vixen, Dragonstar and Lavender walking towards them. Kia was carrying what looked like slender metal.
“I’ve picked up a few things for you back at my hut,” she said. She set down on the ground eight slender pieces. “Hold out your legs,” she said. Lilja gave her his left front leg and she started fastening the pieces onto all four limbs. When she was done, she put the four extra on Lottie.
“What are you doing?” Lottie asked.
“Battle armor,” Kia said. “To keep you safe.”
“What! No,” said Lilja, jumping up at his new gear. “We don’t need it! Give it to someone else who does.”
“Everybody else has already been fitted. The armor that they have was handed down to each creature generation to generation, the original protectors of this forest. This armor was especially designed for you as a gift. See these markings?” She pointed to the leggings. They had twirling designs in shape of tree bark, with the tails of wolves within them. “Those are the battle insignias of your ancestors.”
“It must have been made by a professional, to be able to fashion it in a moment’s notice,” Lottie said.
“Only dragon’s fire has had a talent for making armor so quickly. I believe it was forged before we made the trip with some of my old junk metal. Somebody must have gotten bored,” Kia said.
“Did Ionan make it? Where is he, Keota, I want to tha
nk him,” Lilja exclaimed, jumping into the air. Keota flinched and quickly looked away.
“What’s wrong, Kia?” Lottie asked. “Where is he?” She looked around and all she saw were animals in uniform, an iron-tipped stag, a badger with metal claws, a brown hawk…
“Never mind. You might see him later.” She pulled out two helmets from her backpack that went down to the nose, around the eyes and over the head.
“Lilja, son of Caini, brother of Lottie, I anoint you a warrior of this forest.” She placed upon him the black head plate, with a shining opal in the center of the forehead. “I, Kiatana, protector of this land and queen to be, ordain you with your official title. From now on, you shall be called Lilja Nightcoat of the Blackened Heart Stream. Carry this name in honor. Shall it serve you well.”
She turned to Lottie. “Lottie, daughter of Caini, sister of Lilja, I also anoint you as a warrior.” She lifted up the most amazing piece of all, an ice-blue head piece that had small diamonds going from the top of the helmet to the bottom. “I, Kiatana, protector of this land and queen to be, ordain you with your official title. You shall be called Lottie Silverstorm of the Crystal Snow Light. Carry this name in honor, and it shall serve you well.” She placed it upon Lottie’s head and nodded. The two wolf pups bowed.
“Here,” a gruff voice behind them and they turned to see Kikan with a branch of blackberries in his mouth. He smashed them with his paw and smeared markings under their eyes. “This is the way we accept new wolves into our pack. Normally you would have a ceremony, but I would think this battle will be proof enough.” When he was done the two wolves ran over to the river. They were amazed at how ferocious they looked.
“Now,” Lottie growled fiercely, “We are ready for battle!”
Lilja bared his fangs. This was the proof, wasn’t it? He was grown up now. He was no longer a pup. This journey had grown him into a wolf.
He and his sister trotted back up to the hill and sat, watching the sun sink lower and lower. When it looked like red had lit up the landscape a long black line appeared at the edge of the plains. Lilja looked closer and saw that there were animals standing perfectly still, forming the line…yet they weren’t animals.
They looked like beasts enough, but there was something about them that was unearthly and cruel. They took the shapes of the dead sick and were thick like smoke, twisting and twirling around in the air as black fire spurted out of their gray bodies. They were transparent, so it looked like fog was encasing the landscape. A smoky horse was running up and down the line. Even from far away, Lilja could see that his eyes cast off a sheen more pearly than the moon.
“How are we supposed to kill clouds?” Lilja asked in a squeak. “The first charge will swallow us whole!”
“They only look like smoke, Lilja,” Lottie whispered, though she was scared too. “You can bite through them and grab flesh, just like Kikan said. If we can get most of them down before nightfall, we may stand a chance against the Terrors.”
Lilja shuttered. The Night Terrors. They were another matter entirely. Formed from those who died at midnight and with skin tough like iron, they would be much harder to kill. Whatever they looked like, the pups knew it wasn’t going to be good. Lilja readied himself, and Lottie threw back her head.
“The Night Mares are coming!” Lottie yelled, and she let out a strong howl. Her brother did the same, baying out his ferocity to the skies. Let them come! He had been through fire and blizzard and rain, had killed Ortusans with his own fangs and traveled places many wolves had never seen. He had lost his mother and his home, and he would be dead before losing more. He was a warrior, and they all should be terrified. He was Lilja Nightcoat of the Blackened Heart Stream. He was invincible.
“Places!” yelled Kikan. There was a sudden rush to align as everyone prepared to attack. Snow Drop rose up in the air, pawing her hooves at the skies. “Show no fear!” she cried. “I am afraid of many things, but I cannot and will not be afraid of death!”
The army bellowed back in response. The pups felt adrenaline surge through them and they rose up on their hind paws, gnashing their teeth. Any minute now, the fighting would begin.
KIA WALKED BACK over to Keota. He was sitting under a tree stump, motionless. He looked like he had already fought ten Night Mares. Kia was concerned about him. Unlike the rest of them, he had no armor, and though his Accompany body could withstand more blows than the rest of them, she still worried that he would be hurt.
“You shouldn’t be fighting,” he said blankly. “Not with the baby and all.”
She sank down beside him. “The baby will be fine.”
“Unless you die,” he said.
Kia looked at him. “If it helps,” she said, “Vixen will be taking the front line instead of me. This is my home. I would feel like I was betraying my friends if I hid while they risked their lives.”
Keota looked blankly at her. “Ionan is the reason I met you, although it was an accident we fell. His mate had left him for her Accompany that day. He had told her to stop seeing him, and she obeyed. I suggested that we leave Nesting’s Haven to try and start a new life, though I promised him we’d go back home eventually. There was nowhere else for us to go, if you recall. We had been thrown out of our friend’s house and I was too proud to ask Ionan’s parents for shelter. I was scared about running away and said the wrong thing to him. He was upset and lost control, and we fell out of the sky. I owe him my new life, owe him everything I have with you, and I betrayed him.”
Kia took Keota’s head in her hands and brought it to meet her eyes. Those golden orbs of his were so lost, so empty…Keota was losing the spark that she had always loved to see in him…and it was Ionan who had been the spark in the first place. Kia knew this was something she couldn’t fix.
Kia sighed. “Ionan needed you. But he’s gone now. We have to focus on the present, not the past. If you’re distracted, even more lives could be destroyed. If you had never shown up the sickness would have spread. My father would have taken over. Lottie and Lilja would have had to see their mother die. I wouldn’t be carrying your baby, and most likely would have been dead long ago. It’s not a mistake that you’re here.”
Keota knew everything she said was true. He opened his mouth to thank her, but was stopped by Vixen’s voice.
“The princess must be guarded,” Vixen said, covered in her own black armor from head to foot. At her orders several various guards, badger, bear and wolf, traipsed up to Kia’s side. “Do whatever is in your power to keep her safe,” she told them, and they all bowed in response.
“Thank you Vixen,” Kia smiled. “Your kindness is greatly appreciated. I’ll have to repay you sometime.”
“Ask your previous fiancé to come back with Vixen. Vixen likes Casiff very much.” Vixen giggled and mounted Dragonstar. As she did so, the stallion’s muscles twitched. The stance he had was one of an old war general, who had seen many battles and would see many more.
Vixen pulled out a lengthy sword from her belt. “Vixen always knew it would come to this,” she whispered. “It’s a good thing she brought her gear along.”
Kia looked at Vixen’s long weapon warily. It was a deeper black than Vixen’s armor, and covered in etchings of foxes. Kia somehow knew that it had shed more blood in its lifetime than they carried in all their bodies.
“Are we ready?” Casiff asked. He had managed to run back to his house unseen and grab his own blue armor, and a spear that had a curved blade at the end. Kia didn’t have much, just her daggers and the armor of her mother’s that she had scrimmaged for in the back of her closet. Keota had nothing besides a spare knife Kia had found in her home. He would have to fight with his bare hands.
“The battle will begin any second now” Kia said. Casiff and Vixen went to the front of the line. Kia started walking away, but before she could Keota stood up and grabbed her arm, pulling her into a tight and passionate kiss.
“You’ll be careful out there,” he murmured. “You don’t let anythi
ng happen to yourself. If you’re in danger, run…don’t bother being a hero. If not for you, for me, and if not for me, for the baby. I’ll fight enough for both of us.”
“And you watch yourself as well,” she said in response. “My child needs a father, and I need you.”
Keota kissed the top of her head. He then drifted slowly away and Kia held on to his fingers until the last possible second. Her guards tightened around her and she saw on Keota’s face not the happy, cheerful face that she loved so well, but one of a natural-born soldier.
“READY…” Snow Drop shouted, and the animals jumped in place. “Wait for it…” her nostrils flared and her head tossed. “Charge!”
A huge roar filled the pup’s ears and they raced down the hill at the fastest speed they could manage without tumbling head over heels. The Night Mares moved much faster towards them, seemingly floating along the ground, and Lilja could see the pearly whiteness of their eyes as they loomed closer and closer. Before he had time to take a second breath the front line hit and the two sides collided. The lines held for a few minutes, but then the masses absorbed and it became chaos. Lilja was pushed out of line and he ran into his comrades as the fighting around him erupted, nearly getting stomped by a Night Mare as it chased him with its hard hooves. “Lottie!” he called, but he had lost her. Worried, he began searching for her, but the enemy behind him kept following. Unable to avoid it any longer, he turned to face the Night Mare.