Willow

by Amy Richie

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lessons Begin

  I refused to ride home with Rueben and since no buses went out to our cabin, I resigned myself to walking. The boys didn't want to let me walk home alone. Rueben sped off in a dust of anger while Rodney, Steven, Tyson, Colby, and I started our long walk.

  "You should have just gone with Rueben," I huffed as we crossed Main Street.

  "Walking is good for us." Steven pushed his unnecessary glasses up on his nose. His voice, like always, was calm. It held no hint of accusation or even teasing.

  "We can't let you walk alone," Tyson added.

  "I think I can handle myself."

  "Gage would kill us."

  I bit my lip and turned away. "He's mad at me right now so maybe not."

  "Why is he mad at you?"

  "I want him to teach us to fight."

  "We already know how to fight."

  I rolled my eyes. Why were all boys the same? "We need to learn better skills to help us beat Mikhaul when he comes for us." All four boys nodded solemnly. I was glad that they seemed to be taking the threat of Mikhaul seriously, Gage on the other hand was not.

  Thoughts of Gage made me suck in a deep breath through my nose and let it out slowly. He was wrong to not try to teach us. If Mikhaul came now he would destroy us.

  Main Street was a bustle of small town activity. People walked lazily to and from different shops. They didn't bother to lock their car doors and they had a ready smile for anyone who passed them. An old man rode his motorized wheel chair to the front of the pharmacy and lumbered off of it. A kid I recognized from school held the door open for him as he slowly, so slowly, made his way inside.

  A black car pulled up into a parking place a few feet in front of us. Rueben. I ground my teeth together.

  "I don't know why you're so mad at me," he called lazily.

  I didn't grace him with a verbal response but I did glare his way as we passed. "Come on, get in the car. Let me drive you home."

  Not a chance was I riding with him. If he couldn't even understand why I was mad, no way was I going anywhere near him. Rueben needed to start realizing he wasn't a normal teen. He never could be again. He went out of his way to irritate me every chance he got.

  If he was in Bella's pack she would have already sent him away. He was lucky I was such a lousy leader.

  

  Once we reached the outside of town we ditched our bags and morphed so we could get home faster. A few miles from the cabin Jed and Gage joined us. I felt a small twinge of guilt that Rueben wasn't there, but I shrugged it off and pushed myself to go faster.

  The wind rushed musically across my coat, lulling me into a false sense of security. My pack was behind me, Gage was beside me; nothing could ever hurt us.

  We stopped at the stream to drink after running for almost an hour. Rueben was waiting for us there. I growled my warning. I wasn't ready to forgive him yet; in fact, as a wolf the irritation was much stronger.

  He dropped to his belly and whined, tossing his head once or twice. I stubbornly kept my position. He crawled close to me and Gage flew at him. Gage's teeth clamped down on Rueben's hind leg, making him yelp. His ears flattened against his head and he stayed on his belly.

  Satisfied that he had learned his place, at least for today, I relaxed my stance. He ducked his head under my chin submissively, thumping his tail on the ground.

  "Let's get home."

  The pack followed me back to the cabin. During our run we'd caught rabbits so I didn't feel the need to hunt again tonight. I morphed back first but didn't stick around to see if the rest had followed. I bolted inside to find another outfit to put on. I hoped Aubrey and Lindsey wouldn't notice if I never wore these jeans again.

  "Hey." Gage tilted his chin in my direction when I came back in the living room.

  "Hey."

  "I could give you some pointers on morphing," he offered.

  "Oh, you're agreeing to teach me something?" I knew my voice was whining, but I still felt put out with Gage from this morning.

  "I've been thinking about that."

  My head jerked up. "And?"

  "I'll teach you guys to fight." It seemed like he had come to this decision at great personal sacrifice.

  "You will?"

  "Yeah."

  "What made you change your mind?' Like I cared, as long as it was changed.

  "I want you to be able to protect yourself and the pack needs to be able to protect you."

  I'd take it. I ran the short distance to him and flung my arms around his neck. "Thank you." I kissed his lips quickly. "This is a good thing," I assured him when he still looked uncertain.

  "Go tell them to be ready at the clearing in ten minutes," he said shoving me away.

  "What's the clearing?"

  "They'll know."

  He followed me outside but morphed quickly and disappeared behind the cabin. I watched him go with a mixture of emotions. I was glad that Gage had finally agreed to teach us to fight but he so clearly didn't want to. Maybe I shouldn't have guilted him into it. What if he hated me because of it?

  "What was his problem?" Rueben asked with a scowl.

  "He's teaching us some fighting skills." I clapped my hands together. "He said to meet him at the clearing in ten minutes." My voice rose in question.

  "Excellent!" Jed exclaimed with a wide grin.

  "So you know what the clearing is?"

  "Beside the stream, about a mile out."

  I traveled the distance in my mind. Yes, it was a clearing of sorts. It was where we always stopped to rest after a hunt. It wasn't very clear though, several trees still stood to offer shade.

  "You guys need to listen to everything he says." Rueben rolled his eyes but the others listened intently. "Gage is old so he knows a lot about fighting." He had survived for this long on his own, he had to be a good fighter.

  "Plus, he works for the vamps," Rueben said slowly. "I'm sure they have taught him a thing or two."

  Shocked silence pervaded. "He works for the vamps?" Rodney looked like he was going to be sick.

  "He works for the council." I didn't really see much of a difference either but I had to defend him. Rueben just looked at me, not quite a glare on his face. "We need to get going," I said quickly. Why was Rueben always trying to irritate me?

  In just a few minutes we were all running for the clearing. My steps kept pace with my heart. I had never seen a fight among wolves. Bella's pack was fairly submissive, rarely ever fighting for anything. If they did have to fight Bella hid Ivy and me away to keep us safe.

  Gage was lying in the clearing, his black fur glistening in the sun. He immediately jumped to attention when he saw us. He rubbed his muzzle against the side of my neck.

  I laid down under one of the massive trees, ready to just watch. It surprised me when Gage morphed.

  "The most important thing is to know your enemy," he began without any fancy preamble.

  "How are we supposed to know them?" The boys had also morphed back and were watching Gage as if he were a teacher at school. A teacher they didn't like.

  "There are things you can learn in only a few moments."

  "Wouldn't it be better to just attack right away?" Steven asked.

  "Go in with guns blazing." Jed grinned.

  "Take them by surprise."

  "They'll never know what hit them."

  Gage smiled and shook his head. "That may work in some fights, but your eagerness shows your youth."

  Rueben shrugged cockily. "There is nothing wrong with youth," he sneered.

  In a flash, Gage morphed and pounced on Rueben, knocking him to the ground before he even knew what was going on. I jumped to my feet. Even if Rueben did irritate me, I didn't want Gage to hurt him. A thin line of bright red blood appeared on his neck but Gage let him up, otherwise unharmed.

  "Youth suggests inexperience," Gage snarled, once more on two legs.

  Rueben blinked rapidly and scrambled to his feet. "You c
ould have just said … " he grumbled hoarsely. He wiped frantically at the blood on his neck.

  I was furious but stayed in my wolf form. I had told them to listen to what Gage had to say so I had to follow that advice myself. I breathed in deeply, making my nostrils flare out.

  Gage looked my way with a dark glare. The look shocked me, sucking out all the anger I had just felt. Was he angry with me? Or was he angry with Rueben? Maybe now he wouldn't teach any of us. I settled back uncomfortably under the tree, watching Gage.

  "So what do we need to learn about our enemy?" Jed asked carefully.

  "If they are young," Gage answered immediately, "their weaknesses, and what is important to them."

  The boys were all silent as they watched Gage pace back and forth in front of them. Gone were their eager looks of wanting to learn. It was more serious now that he had drawn first blood.

  I cringed further down into the ground when Gage had Jed morph so they could have one on one combat. Within seconds Jed was limping back to the group, defeated. Why was Gage being so cruel? He was supposed to be helping them, not trying to humiliate them.

  I crept forward when it was Rueben's turn, almost unable to stop myself from stepping between the two. Rueben, of course, didn't stand a chance. Gage left a long gash across his muzzle, leaving his dark brown fur streaked red.

  I sprung to my feet, my loyalty going unrepentantly to Rueben. "He's fine," Gage said tightly.

  I couldn't answer in my wolf form. I wouldn't have been able to answer anyways. With a small growl, I ran as quickly as possible to get away from the disturbing scene in the clearing.