by Jade White
The smell of smoke grew stronger as the sun peeked over the eastern horizon. “We’re almost there!” Freki said as he surged forward, unhindered by the sledges his brother, and his lover were pulling behind them.
Bargi spotted an orange twinkling between the sparse trees. “I see a fire!” he said as he started to surge forward. Pulling the sledge behind his very robust body was nothing for him. Geri wasn’t too far behind as Freki scouted on ahead.
“I smell their scent,” Freki called out as he lifted his nose from the ground. “Camp isn’t too far away.”
“They didn’t go far after we left,” Geri noted. “I’ll have to speak to Onris about this, they were supposed to be finding Gerda.”
“Maybe something happened,” Bargi said with concern.
“Yeah, let’s get to the camp,” Geri urged as the four began to move faster.
Poor Mamut was winded as he ran as fast as he could to keep up with the wolves. Freki poked his nose between the trees and noticed the tents were set up already. He padded into the camp looking for Onris and Holda’s tent. He found it. It was more ornate than the rest of the tents due to Holda’s rank within the pack. He changed into his human form and scratched at the door.
“Come in,” Onris’ sad, tired voice came from the other side.
Freki pushed his way past the leather tent flap and noticed Holda lying on the bed furs, breathing heavily. Her skin sallow and taught across her sharp cheek bones.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“We haven’t moved much because Holda is gravely ill. Her age is catching up to her, we think,” Onris said sadly as he pressed a dripping hide to the old woman’s mouth.
Freki’s eyes widened in shock. “No,” he gasped. “She can’t…I’m going to go get Geri,” he said as he hurried out of the tent.
Freki ran to where Geri was setting up his tent. “Geri, you need to go to Holda’s tent right now. She’s sick and probably dying,” he said breathlessly.
Geri’s eyes widened in shock as his jaw dropped. He didn’t say a word as he let a tent pole clatter to the ground, sprinting off towards Holda’s red and black tent. He didn’t even bother scratching as he reached the tent. Geri just pushed aside the tent flap and shoved his way inside. He looked down at Onris as sadness brimmed his eyes.
“Am I too late?” Geri asked.
“No. She still clings to life,” Onris said softly as he took Holda’s aged hand.
Geri sank down next to the withered old woman. “Holda, I’m back,” He whispered.
“Good,” she said. “I’m not long for this world and you need to bring Gerda here. She’s my successor and if she isn’t here when I pass, the shaman’s power of the Wolf people will be lost forever.”
Geri’s eyes went wide. “No…” he whispered. “She can’t be.”
“Yes, she is, now get your ass in gear and go find her,” Holda said as she started coughing.
Geri backed out of the tent and spun around, finding himself face to face with Mamut.
“Holda is dying isn’t she?” he said sadly.
“Yes, I need to go find Gerda before she does,” Geri said as he transformed into a wolf. “She’s the only hope for this pack,” he said as he loped off.
Mamut sighed. “There’s a raven up there that will lead you to her. Don’t be afraid to follow."
Geri looked up and saw the large, black bird staring down at him with its beady black eyes. It fluffed its feathers and let out a throaty croak and flew south. Geri ignored the gnawing hunger in his stomach and took off at a dead run in the general direction the black raven had flown.
CHAPTER TEN
Gerda swept the front stoop of Lars’ cave with a broom made out of dried rushes tied together with a leather thong. She helped him hunt the skittish deer that inhabited the area around his cave, to contribute her share. Lars was old, extremely old. He could barely shuffle around the cave in his human form so he spent most of his time sleeping in his bear form. Winter was coming so he was gearing up to hibernate, anyway.
Lars shuffled out of the back cave on his carved walking stick. “I fear this might be my last winter,” he wheezed. "My old bones aren’t what they used to be.”
“Stop being so pessimistic,” Gerda said as she swept a beetle off of the cave stoop.
“I’m not. I’m being realistic. I don’t think I’ll wake up next spring. There are worse ways to go, I guess,” he said as he remembered the touch of flames on his flesh.
“True,” Gerda replied as she set the broom in its place. “Well, it’s been a few days since I’ve been here. I caught you three deer and their pelts are curing now. I might go off and find Geri.”
“No, you stay here. It’s best that you stay so Corvo can lead him to you.”
“Yeah,” Gerda sighed. “I just have this nagging feeling I have to go home soon,” she said as she peered through the thick woods.
“Get back inside, the Raptors might spot you,” Lars said as he shuffled back into the dark cave.
Gerda took one last look out the cave mouth and proceeded to slowly plod back inside. As she reached the door to the inner cave area, a throaty croak rang out. “Lars, Corvo is back!” she shouted.
“Don’t be so loud!” Lars chided the excitable young woman. “The Raptors will hear you and be here to take you away. They are camped not far from here.”
“Sorry,” Gerda said shamefully. “It’s just…”
“I know. You miss him and your people. Before you go, I’ll teach you how to communicate with him. Talking to ravens is the secret of my people. I don’t have anyone else to teach it to,” he said as he took Gerda to the inner cave. “Also, you’ll need to come back here in the spring. I’ve chosen you to inherit my power. You won’t be able to change into a bear, but you have the gift in you, the gift of shamanism.”
“Me?” Gerda asked incredulously.
“Yes. That’s why the Raptors want to sacrifice you. Only the shaman’s death can give them our ability to survive the cold,” Lars explained.
“Oh,” Gerda said as Lars eased his old, aching bones to the furs.
“Now, sit across from me and close your eyes.”
Gerda did as she was told and felt a warm energy flow over her. She tried to fight it for a moment, not understanding what it was. “Stop.” She heard Lars’ voice in her head. “You need to relax and let go.”
Gerda took a deep breath and tried to release her inner control and let Lars into her space. She felt a warm energy flow over her and into her mind. While she sat and meditated, she saw flashes across her vision of a raven. Suddenly, she felt a door opening in her mind and a flood of knowledge flow in. She knew deep down inside how to use Corvo as her second pair of eyes to scout for hidden dangers.
Gerda breathed a sigh of relief as she felt Lars leave her mind.
“And there you go. You can use Corvo as I can. Holda never was able to figure that out. You might be a gifted one after all,” Lars said as he transformed into a bear. “Now use your newfound knowledge to scout for your pack, I need to sleep,” he said as he curled up and drifted off to sleep.
Gerda decided to use her new found power and send her consciousness to the raven waiting outside. Her eyes saw what Corvo’s eyes did. She flew through the trees as the sun set outside and found the Wolf pack’s camp. They looked as if they were there for a while and she wondered what was up. She perched on a tree over Onris and Holda’s tent and listened intently. Gerda felt her heart leap as she saw Geri running towards the tent and plunge inside. She cocked her head out of curiosity as she listened to the conversation.
Holda was dying. She felt her heart skip a beat at the news. Geri had to bring Gerda back before Holda passed away so the spiritual power of the wolf people could be passed on to her. This was her chance. She sat in the tree and waited for Geri to emerge from the tent. Once she saw him, she let out a loud croak to draw his attention. She waited and saw that he changed into his wolf shape. Gerda croaked once more,
and Geri noticed her, so she flew to another tree hoping he would follow.
She was relieved when he started following her through the forest so she flitted from branch to branch leading her beloved through the darkness to the cave where she was hiding. She heard him panting as he ran behind her while she flew through the trees, every few miles she stopped to look behind her to see if he was still with her.
Gerda saw the warm glow of the torches Lars had put up in the cave entryway and made her way to it and perched on the top of the cave mouth. She then withdrew her consciousness from Corvo and brought herself back to her own body.
“Hello?” she heard Geri call out. “I followed you here, now where are you?”
Lars woke from his slumber, stood up and shook himself off. “Who is it?” he bellowed.
“I’m Geri Fenrison, Alpha of the Wolf people and I was led here by a raven. I want to know why I’m here.”
“Why did you follow the raven?” Lars said as he shifted to his human form. He grabbed his walking stick, motioned for Gerda to stay back and shuffled out to greet the intruder. “You stay in here until I deem it safe,” he whispered to her. The orange lamplight glowed eerily in his blind eye.
“What do you mean? It’s Geri! I brought him here,” Gerda protested.
“Trust me, I need to make sure for myself. Raptors have a habit of trying to trick us,” Lars said as he shuffled outside.
Gerda sighed and rolled her eyes. That old fool should know that it was her. If he weren't always sleeping, maybe he would have witnessed her using the raven to bring Geri here.
“You can come out now,” Lars said, “He isn’t a raptor.”
Gerda puffed her cheeks out, sighed and thought, I could have told you that, you old fool. But she decided not to voice her rebellious thoughts to the wizened elder bear as she stepped out through the narrow opening to the front area of the cave.
Her heart skipped a beat as she saw her mate standing there in the pale moonlight. His braids were coming undone and his blonde beard was unkempt. His blue eyes were rimmed with a weariness of a dozen worlds and all she wanted to do was to take that pain and wash it away with her love. She ran up to him and threw herself into his strong arms, planted her soft lips on his and kissed him passionately. Their tongues danced around each other as their passions renewed. Gerda heard Geri moan in her mouth as he melted under her embrace.
She broke the kiss, looked at him deep in his ice blue eyes, and then promptly smacked him on the head with such force it sent him reeling. “Where in the seven hells were you?” she demanded.
“Well, I…” he stammered as she planted her lips onto his once more. She pushed her tongue between Geri’s cracked, dry lips as she kissed him feverishly. Gerda felt her nipples tighten and her pussy moisten as they embraced.
Lars coughed nervously, interrupting their reunion. “So, I take it the war between the Northern Pack and the Eastern Pack is over?”
“Yes, we ended it with our mating. Gerda here didn’t want to even entertain the idea, but her father was pretty persuasive,” Geri said.
“Oh come on, I made the choice of my own free will for the betterment of my people, had nothing to do with my father,” Gerda huffed.
“Just let her believe what she wants to,” Lars advised Geri. “It will make life much easier on you. You both need to return here when the snows begin to melt. I have a gift for Gerda that will only be available at that time,” he said as he shuffled back into the cave. “I can’t thank you enough for offering this old man company,” he said to Gerda as he went to prepare for his last ever hibernation.
Gerda felt tears welling up in her eyes.
“What’s the matter?” Geri asked.
“He’s not going to wake up,” she said. “He told me this himself.”
“Well, you have all winter to prepare for it. Holda is dying as well and she needs you to be there to witness. She said you’re the heir to her power.”
Gerda’s eyes went wide. “Let’s get going. We also have to stop the Raptors as well,” she said as she shifted into her wolf form.
“How did you get free anyway?” Geri asked.
“I said I had my moon blood, which was a lie, but the Raptors have some pretty strict taboos when it comes to that so I exploited it and ran off. Was lead to Lars by Corvo up there and that’s where you found me.”
“I see. Well it worked and I’m glad,” Geri said as they ran through the forest, as Corvo followed them in the trees above. “So he’s coming with us?”
“Yes, he’s my friend now and also my sight beyond sight. Lars taught me how to use him to scout and whatnot. He doesn’t need him anymore so he’s choosing to stay with me,” Gerda explained.
“That makes sense,” Geri said. “If we weren’t in such a hurry to get to Holda…” he hinted suggestively.
“I know, I wish to have a nice roll in the furs as well,” Gerda said wistfully, “but that needs to wait. Once I find out what Holda wishes of me, we can take a break and regroup before we head down and rout the Raptors once and for all.”
“Yes, let us hurry, Holda didn’t look too good when I was there, I’ve been running all night, and we’ll get there by morning.”
“You’re probably exhausted,” Gerda said. She was genuinely concerned over her mate’s health. He was exhausted, dehydrated and probably famished after all his travels.
“You could say that,” he replied dryly as they coursed through the forest. “I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since you were taken.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it,” Gerda replied. “So what have you been doing since I’ve been gone?”
“Well, first I wanted to look for you but then Holda sent me up to the Giants. We got some artifact that will stop them…” Geri explained.
“Holda probably knew I could rescue myself,” she said ruefully.
“Would've been nice for her to tell me that,” Geri said. “Anyway we’re almost there, another hour or so to go yet.”
They ran the rest of the way in silence, as the moon dimly lit their path. Luckily, they were also wolves so they didn’t need to rely on just their sight alone. They continuously sniffed around to find their way back to their pack’s camp.
Gerda caught a whiff of smoke from a near-by campfire after they had run along in silence for a while. “I think we’re getting close.”
Geri lifted his muzzle and sniffed the air. “Yes, we are. Just a few more minutes out.”
Gerda surged forward feeling a sense of urgency that she had not felt before. There was a pall of almost darkness hovering over the camp as she approached. Behind her, she felt the presence of a large, foreboding entity trailing close. She shivered as the chill from it permeated her bones. “Geri, I’m…”
“Go to Holda’s tent, I’ll wait for you in ours,” He said as he turned towards his tent.
Gerda changed into her human form, swallowed hard and scratched at the flap of the brightly decorated tent.
“Come in,” she heard her father’s voice call out. She shook her head in surprise but crawled in despite her misgivings.
“Gerda!” Onris called out as he swept his daughter up in his strong arms in a crushing hug. “I never thought I would see you again. Are you alright? Have you been eating? You look rather pale…” he prattled on.
“Father, I’m alright,” Gerda said interrupting him. “Holda said she wanted to see me?”
“Indeed, I did,” A frail, wheezing voice said from the furs.
“Holda!” Gerda exclaimed as she sat down next to the dying woman.
“Yes I’m dying,” she wheezed. “It happens especially when you’re as old as I am.”
“I met Lars!” Gerda said. “He remembers you, he said he might not wake up from his hibernation in the spring.”
“Makes sense. I’m glad that old mangy bear is still kicking around.” Holda sighed. “Now you need to stay here until I breathe my last. When I do, you need to inhale the breath from my lungs. That’s how you’l
l inherit the gift.”
Gerda nodded as tears filled her eyes. She had met the old woman officially just a few short weeks ago, but it still felt like she had known her for her entire life. The look of emotional pain on Onris’ face was even worse. It clicked that the old man loved the witch despite being torn apart for the duration of Onris’ life.
“Holda, Lars also wants me to be there when he breathes his last, is that okay?” Gerda asked.
“Well, of course it is, you foolish girl. The only one you can’t be there for is Sthiss since her power is completely alien to our own, well, that and her entire race wants to kill you,” she said as she began coughing.
Onris sat Holda up as she coughed her life away. He held a piece of soft chamois hide to her purple lips and caught the bloody froth the old woman coughed up. “You need to relax, Holda,” he said as he gently lay her back down.
Gerda sat and watched the old woman gasp for breath as she lay dying. “Isn’t there anything you can give her?” she asked.
Onris shook his head. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”
Gerda got up and found an old otter skin bag that held all of Holda’s medicines. She searched for pain and cough reducing herbs and tossed them in the steaming bowl of water that sat on the brazier.
Holda laughed a wheezing laugh. “See, she already has the gift. She just doesn’t know what to do with it.”
“Hush now, Holda,” Onris chided. “You need your strength.”
“Oh, stop being so foolish, I’m dying. She’s going to try to take away my pain. Try to deny it all you want, I’ve had this coming for a while now.”
Onris sighed. “We’ve finally gotten back together and now you die on me. Just my luck.”
“Wait, what?” Gerda asked.
Onris sighed. “When I was a young man, Holda was the woman who helped me learn the ways of pleasure. Our two packs separated and I mated to your mother. I never did forget Holda,” he said wistfully as he looked at the sleeping elderly woman.