by H B Lyne
'No,' Fortune said quietly. 'I don't believe they will. But we have to try.'
He strode across the room towards Ariana, crossing the veil right beside her, which sent a peculiar ripple through her body, as if she could feel the very fabric of reality moving as he crossed.
Chapter Twelve
At 11pm, The Blue Moon left the betting shop and made its way to Redfield Park, on the north-eastern border of their large territory. Shadow's Step and Speaks-With-Stone went in their animal forms, scouting ahead, the others as humans.
Ariana had her swords strapped to her back, their new magic hiding them from human eyes. Wind Talker and Flames both carried bags over their shoulders, packed with supplies and Fortune wore a huge war hammer on his back, imbued with the same magic as her swords, making it invisible to humans.
'I don't want a fight,' Fortune had explained as they all gathered their weapons and supplies back at the shop. 'I want a peaceful end to this, but we don't know what the Witches will do, if they come, so we need to be prepared in case it comes to blows.'
He led the way now, every bit the alpha; tall, broad and armed.
The pack gathered in the centre of the park and waited. It was a dry night, the sky was clear and Ariana looked up to see stars spread across the sky, a crescent moon hung high above, smiling upon the shifters that were so governed by her shifting form.
Shadow and Stone remained in their animal forms and made regular circuits of the park, Ariana watched them carefully, longing to shift form and join them.
Eyes grew restless as they waited, unable to keep still for long and paced across the back of their formation every now and then. Ariana could sense that he was itching for a fight and she had to admit to being curious to see what he could do.
She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time, it was 12.20am, the Witches were late. She heaved a sigh and put her phone away. Fortune turned to her and scowled a little.
'They're not coming,' he said in a hushed voice.
'No,' Ariana replied. 'No, they're not. What do we do?'
The sound of pounding paws across the grass drew their attention, Shadow raced towards them from the far north of the park and Ariana picked up a single word, company.
Her eyes darted to the tree line and the whole pack tensed up, eyes searching the darkness. But it couldn't be the Witches, unless they had come through Wrecking Crew territory, no, this had to be the Wrecking Crew. 'Will they enter our territory?' Ariana asked no one in particular.
'If they do, we fight,' said Fortune authoritatively. 'No warning, they've had plenty of those, they know the rules.'
Ariana looked at Eyes, his jaw was set, his hands clenched into fists.
Stone flew down from the black sky above and shifted form swiftly and seamlessly as she arrived at the assembled pack.
'No, we can't fight them,' she said quietly. 'If the Witches show up and we're in combat with another pack it will not only make us look bad, but they could flank us, or use the opportunity to slip past us. Cool heads, people, please.'
'Stone is right,' Flames spoke up. 'Eyes, Ariana, bring it down a notch. Even I can smell your adrenaline and in this feeble human form that's bad, very bad.'
Ariana took a deep breath and looked up at the stars and moon, focusing on their light to help soothe her heightened fight instincts.
Fortune stifled a snarl, but he nodded once to indicate his agreement.
'Fine. Stone, Ariana, you two with me. The rest of you wait here.' Fortune led them towards the edge of the park at a brisk jog, one hand on the hilt of his hammer, the idea of a fight wasn't entirely out of his mind.
They reached the edge of the park and Stone led them to where she had caught sight of them from the air.
'Here, they're approaching from this way.' Stone indicated the street beyond the trees.
'Ariana, shift form, please,' Fortune whispered and she did as she was asked, dropping to all fours, her clothes and swords disappearing into her fur. She sniffed the air and smelled them heading towards the park, from downwind.
She caught sight of four of them, all in human form, walking briskly across the road that ran along the edge of the park, and entering the narrow band of woodland. They stopped suddenly, about five feet inside the tree line, right on the territory border. Ariana looked them each over carefully. They were all scruffy and covered in black grease, their clothes were smeared and at least two of them had it on their hands too. The Alpha was mostly clean and wore baggy jeans and a leather coat. The other two men wore overalls and big boots, the skinny woman that Ariana had seen the last time she encountered the Wrecking Crew was dressed in black leggings and a hooded top, also with big boots on her feet. Her long, thick hair was pulled back into a careless pony tail. They looked like they had just crawled out of a pit lane on a race track, except Rust. Ariana tried to focus her mind on Rust, she reached into his heart, digging, searching for that inner truth that must be there. She saw him watching the others work, felt his lazy boredom oozing from him.
Fortune indicated for Stone and Ariana to follow him to meet them.
'Rust,' Fortune greeted their Alpha, tension in his jaw. 'What can I do for you?'
'We got wind of your entire pack assembling in the park, thought we had better come and check it out. I'm sure you would do the same,' Rust replied.
'Perhaps. But this is our territory, it's our business what we do on it. It's no concern of yours.' Fortune kept his tone casual, though it was clear that a threat hung unspoken underneath it.
Rust snorted and shook his head.
'Fine. Fine, we'll leave you to your midnight stroll in the park.' He turned and his pack turned with him, they walked back to the road and then stopped. Rust glanced back over his shoulder, a glint in his eye. He looked like he was about to throw some dig back at them, then thought better of it and walked briskly away the way they had come.
Fortune growled and stomped back towards the centre of the park, Stone and Ariana exchanged worried looks and followed him.
'Waste of bloody time,' Fortune was mumbling as they rejoined the others. 'Right, Flames, I need our messenger here now. I want confirmation that the message was delivered, before we do anything rash.'
Ariana thought Fortune looked as though he wanted to be rash, but was reining himself in remarkably well.
Flames opened his bag and started digging through it, but before he could even begin the summoning, a gust of wind blew a flurry of leaves across the park and from out of the shadows stepped a beautiful, shadowy figure. It moved gracefully and was glinting with silver among its dark folds, like dappled light. Ariana felt the power of the demon, and knew it was Shadow-of-Moonlit-Leaves, here in its own environment it looked different, at peace, not scraped together out of what was available. She would even say it was beautiful. “Demon” didn't seem the right name any more and she wondered whether her perception of demons from her human life was entirely accurate in the real world.
'No need for all that.' Its rustling voice seemed to reach out across the darkness and halt Flames from rummaging in his bag. 'I am here. I delivered your message to their Alpha herself.'
'Did you wait for a reply?' Fortune barked impatiently.
'I did. What do you take me for?' The demon whipped towards him, like a leaf caught in a gust of wind changing direction. 'She sent this.'
Something thudded to the ground between the shadowy demon and Fortune. The Alpha bent to pick it up and Ariana moved closer. It smelled of Teri. Fortune turned it over in his hands, studying it closely and Ariana shifted back into her human form to get high enough to see, just as his fist closed around it. It was Teri's necklace, the one with the gibbous moon on it.
'What is this supposed to mean?' Fortune snarled.
'Why, the kitten has renounced Artemis, of course, and joined the Witches.'
Chapter Thirteen
19th November
Fortune tucked the necklace into the pocket of his jeans. Ariana watched him caref
ully, studying his hard-to-read face.
'Teri will be wanting it back.' His voice was barely a whisper and Ariana was sure she was the only one who heard.
'Thank you, Shadow-of-Moonlit-Leaves,' Stone spoke, her voice steady as a rock. 'We will ensure we keep up our end of the bargain. You may leave us.'
The demon swirled and folded in on itself, disappearing back across the veil, whipping up a small flurry of dry leaves in its wake.
'Fortune?' Stone turned to the Alpha, her face no longer a mask now that the demon had left. 'Can it be true?'
'No,' he replied with absolute certainty.
'What are we going to do?' Ariana asked, unable to hide the urgency in her voice. Fortune took a deep breath and thought for a moment.
'Flames, Eyes and Wind Talker, I want the three of you patrolling from here to the southern border. Stone, you come with me to Crossway. We're going to bang on the front door. Ariana, go with Shadow to the back door. Slip up into Fenwick Forest and find Teri. We'll draw their attention while you two slip in and fetch her. If she has been turned by them we will turn her back. She is our sister.' Fortune's voice was fierce and Ariana's pulse raced with the fire that had been ignited in all of them.
Fortune and Eyes embraced briefly in farewell, Ariana found Stone's hand and gave it a squeeze and the pack went its separate ways.
Shadow's Step led her east, out of the park and towards Fenwick. He spoke hurriedly as they walked.
'Focus on Teri, on her feelings. She's still one of us, still connected to us. She can't have been turned. Use that telepathy to help locate her. We can do this.' He gave her shoulder a squeeze before dropping to the all fours as he shifted and running ahead as a fox. Ariana shifted form and followed him.
Ariana felt much more connected to her supernatural side as a fox, she could feel her own heartbeat, her senses were heightened and she was more attuned to her body. She was also vastly more attuned to the rest of the pack and she could feel Teri was still a part of her. She put her nose to the ground and began tracking Teri's very faint smell.
She had been driven north into Runmead, where they couldn't follow, so Ariana knew she would have to pick up the trail again one they reached Fenwick.
They reached the border in minutes and paused. Ariana smelled the Blue Moon's border markings and waited for Shadow to cross over first, he sniffed the border cautiously and led her to a narrow path along the side of a row of shops. He looked around before slipping around the side of the terrace and over into Witch territory. Ariana followed him slowly, and as they slipped through the darkness she could feel the presence of Grins-Too-Widely. She made a silent plea to him, asking for his protection from prying eyes, she had a feeling he could grant them that.
As she and Shadow reached the end of the alley they turned out onto a main road, swiftly crossed it and darted down a side street and into the deep shadows of the back gardens of Fenwick. Silently they slipped through the darkness, stalking their way past wheelie bins and garages, keeping to the shadows and away from the main road. Ariana hoped and prayed that the Witches didn't routinely patrol this route.
They took their time, working their way slowly through the area, coming in a wide arch north around Fenwick, towards the woods. Eventually Ariana caught the scent of the Witches, she paused and let out a low whimper to let Shadow know what she had found. He picked up the trail too and let her lead the way. She tracked it very carefully into the woods. She was starting to feel out of her element as she left the city behind, and trepidation threatened to overwhelm her. The trees were tightly packed, the darkness was oppressive and there was no hint of wind in this sheltered place.
She could feel Teri, she wasn't as scared as she had been, there was hope there and with the distance closed Ariana could pick up much more detail of her pack mate's thoughts and feelings, but she still couldn't tell exactly where she was. She could feel the physical pain and exhaustion from Teri, Ariana knew now without a shadow of a doubt that her pack mate had been tortured.
She got a mental image of the Witches from Teri's eyes and confusion filled her. Had Teri really been broken? It made no sense. She saw some sort of a ritual being prepared, possibly an initiation. Ariana came to a halt, something was very wrong. Shadow sensed it too.
They carefully picked their way onwards and the trees began to thin out as they approached a clearing. They could hear voices, and Ariana saw movement ahead. Teri was very close, but Ariana couldn't see her.
There was a crash a few hundred meters away, a tree branch falling, followed by shouts and yells and the unmistakable cacophony of a handful of people shifting into beasts too big for these closely packed woods. Shadow stood perfectly still, listening carefully and Ariana slowly inched her way through the under-brush, trying to pick up Teri's scent, but found nothing. She reached the edge of the clearing and saw a ritual set up, shimmering dust and coloured stones littered the floor, but the clearing was deserted.
There was a sudden rush of movement to Ariana's right, a raging monster charged past, crashing through the trees and sending branches and twigs flying. It was one of the Witches, she recognised the stench. Ariana became disoriented, seeing through Teri's eyes as well as her own, a bizarre double image that frightened and confused her.
The trees flew past her much faster than was normal. Teri was running and Ariana ran too, swift and silent, leaving Shadow behind. She ran from the woods, back to her original path through the back gardens of Fenwick. She was compelled to run, just as her pack-sister was.
Ariana picked up feelings of elation mixed with the kind of fear you get when riding a roller coaster. Her own body was filled with adrenaline, but she felt the same sensations from Teri, and as Ariana crossed the border back into her own territory double the fear and confusion overwhelmed her. She kept running but not towards home, she turned north and ran along the border, Teri was coming this way, straight through Runmead, Wrecking Crew turf.
Hope began to replace the fear as Ariana ran, she saw the stars through her pack mate's eyes and felt a glimmer of understanding. She decided to move deeper into Blue Moon territory and began to feel more secure. The moment Teri came sprinting into Redfield Ariana felt the soaring high, the relief and the victory and made a direct line for her pack-sister. Ariana rounded a corner and almost collided with the sleek cat coming the other way. They both shifted seamlessly into their human forms and embraced each other tightly, cries of relief and excitement exploding from them both.
'I couldn't believe it when I felt you in the woods!' Teri cried, releasing Ariana but still holding her arm tightly. Ariana was laughing and tears began to pour down her cheeks. 'I was already putting my escape plan into action, but when I felt you nearby I knew the stars were aligned and it gave me the courage I needed.' Teri held out a large, golden yellow stone in her other hand and tossed it into the air, catching it again. It glinted bright orange in the street light.
'What is that?' Ariana asked as the two of them set off at a brisk walk towards the betting shop.
'One of the stones from their ritual. I stole it.' Ariana frowned at her, theft didn't seem like Teri. 'As a token, you know, of my cunning escape. It stopped them completing the ritual too. I'll tell you all about it when we get back. We'd better hurry, they'll be after me and I can't guarantee they won't come right on into our territory looking for me.'
Ariana was confused and curious, but Teri was right, they had to hurry to safety.
As they were approaching the area where Ariana's dojo was located, Shadow caught up with them, galloping up behind them. He growled as he butted between them and nudged Ariana roughly into the wall of a building. She clung to the wall, afraid for a moment, until she felt the relief pouring from him. He turned on Teri and gave her a more friendly nudge and she dared to laugh a little.
Shadow's head whipped around, his nose in the air and he took a few steps away from them.
'What is it?' Ariana was immediately alert, something had caught his attention.
'Border breech,' he barked as he skidded to a halt beside them. 'They are coming in Hepethia, flee now or cross over to face them.'
We need the others. Shadow pressed the thought forcefully into Ariana's mind.
'Grins-Too-Widely, we cannot face anyone without help. Fetch Fortune and the others,' Ariana said hurriedly. The pack elder twisted on the spot and disappeared. Ariana had to trust that he was doing as she asked.
'What do we do?' Teri asked, fear filling her eyes.
Cross over. Shadow looked at them and then slipped into the shadows and crossed the veil. Teri and Ariana looked at each other in alarm before running after him. Teri was a step ahead of her and as Ariana's foot buckled Teri grabbed her arm and held her up.
'Thanks,' Ariana whispered, looking around her. Shadow was a few feet away, looking up and down the street. There were tall hedges on either side of the road, the houses beyond them were dark and close, looming overhead, dark windows watching the street. Parked cars lined the road, casting long, dark shadows. The cars themselves resembled huge, sleeping cats, panthers and the like, but made from metal. The closest opened a sleepy, yellow eye-like headlamp, blinked at them and then settled back to sleep.
Shadow slipped carefully out into the middle of the road and sniffed the air. Ariana and Teri followed him. He set off up the street, in the corresponding direction that Grins-Too-Widely had approached them from. They had been in Redfield and not far from Runmead, it wasn't the Witches that had breached their border. Ariana realised it at the same time as Teri and they exchanged worried looks.
Ariana's hand went to one of her dha on her back, checking that it was there. Her hand lingered near the hilt.
She heard them before she saw them, they were not taking any particular care to conceal themselves, loud footsteps and the occasional jeer between pack-mates carried easily through the eerie quiet of Hepethia.