Donovan hadn't been sure he could still control Sylvia like that, but he was very pleased that he could. He had been very hard on her, harder than he had ever been, but he knew if he could break her soon, she wouldn't offer much fight later. This was even better than he had hoped. In a couple of days or a week, he would be ready to attack the werewolves in full strength, and now he had a very pretty woman to do it with him, even if she was unwilling. She was so beautiful, even with her eyes all black like the Nightwalkers. He couldn't stop thinking about her. Donovan shook his head to clear the image of her from his mind. He had to stop thinking about her and check on the moonstone.
"I can't wait till she does it on her own!" Donovan found himself responding again to the image of her dress torn and her naked body underneath him.
"Later! Later! I will get back to her soon enough."
Donovan stepped out into the moonlight and looked down at the stone. It had only been a little while but it already showed signs of recharging. The light on the inside was faint but it was rebuilding slowly, even under low light of the stars. Donovan placed a hand onto the moonstone and drew out the slightest trickle of power. Just enough to assure himself he wouldn't need worry about controlling a few Nightwalkers, or losing his grip on Sylvia.
"Now, I need to get back to my lab and work on those improvements. This second batch of Nightwalkers will be unstoppable."
He left the stone silent in the room. The starlight fading as the sun once again rose over the lip of the canyon.
Chapter 19
Kai was still shocked that this little girl, woman perhaps, was her leader. Now that she had felt it, she knew it all the time. She could have closed her eyes, spun around, and pointed to her without a second’s hesitation. Dawn broke her train of thought.
"We need to get others to see me for what I am. How can we do that?"
Kai considered a moment before speaking.
"Well it would be perfectly simple if they just felt for the leader like I did, even more so if they were in your presence while doing it. There is a problem with that though, if we take you outside Brokentooth will know within moments and he will demand you brought to him. I don't think he would care if you were the leader or not. He would kill you himself."
Dawn's eyes turned to steel."He will have a harder time with that then he thinks."
Kai's view of Dawn shifted a bit as she saw the look of steel inside her eyes.
"She cares for us, even though she doesn't know any of us. No, she is not a girl. She is a woman and a fighter too."
"Perhaps if we brought in a few at a time, staggered so no one would pay it any notice, we could convince enough before we had to tell everyone. If enough of the clan knows you are the true leader, Brokentooth will not be able to sneak you away without having a full rebellion to deal with."
"Yes, I think that is the best way to do it for now. Is there someone you trust to bring first? I will have to trust in your judgement."
"Yes, I know just who should be first. He is older and comes to see me often. It wouldn't be weird for me to go see him and bring him here. He has no desire for leadership but that makes him well liked in the tribe. People often seek him out for advice."
"That sounds like a good start, please go and get him right away. I will lay here until you are back."
Even though she knew it was a request, Kai found herself lunging to do as Dawn asked. Her requests were as strong as a command.
It didn't take Kai long to find Daniel. He was sitting in the middle of a group of youngsters, telling them stories of when he was a child. Kai felt bad for interrupting his story but she had no choice.
"Sorry Dan, I need to talk to you about something."
"Well of course Kai, anything for my favourite healer! Did you know kids that if it wasn't for Kai here I’m sure I would have died of something months ago!"
All the children broke out laughing. They all knew that Dan was in perfect health, every werewolf was. One of the children suggested a game of hide and seek and the group was off in a flash while one child began his count.
"Well, I guess they didn't want to hear my story after all. That’s a pity. Here I was thinking they liked me more than that."
"They like you just fine Dan, but you did already tell them that story three times this last week. Perhaps you need to think of a new one?"
"Three times you say?"
Kai nodded as she began leading Dan back to her tent.
"Well, I could have sworn that was the fourth time. I was beginning to wonder when someone would notice and tell me."
Kai gave a wide grin and hurried Dan along the path."I need you to look at something for me Dan. It's something very important."
Dan's face turned serious at the tone in Kai's voice."Ok, and here I thought this was just going to be a nice visit, perhaps some of that honey tea you make for me. Does it have to do with that girl you have been working on?"
Kai's mouth dropped open before she could catch herself."How do you know about her?" Kai whispered.
"Everyone knows about her. You know this is a small clan. Word gets out quickly. So, am I right?"
Kai looked quickly around to make sure no one was paying close attention. Feeling safe that nobody was watching, she simply nodded and held the tent flap open for Dan to enter.
Once inside Kai motioned to Dawn. "Dan, I would like you to meet our real leader, Dawn."
"Our real leader...What are you talking about?"
Dan shimmered slightly as he searched for the leader much the same as Kai had. His eyes opened in shock at what he saw. Dawn sat back up on the bed and looked Dan right in the eyes.
"It's nice to meet you Dan."
Daniels knees came out from underneath him with the shock and he fell straight to the floor landing on his backside.
"I think with the next person we should have them sit down first." Dawn smiled as she sent the message to both the werewolves at the same time.
"She, she is..."
"Yes," Kai responded before Daniel could finish spitting out the words. "She is the true leader, and she can speak to you inside your mind. She can't speak normally, but it doesn't hold her back. I haven’t been able to find out why though."
"How did she become the leader? Brokentooth told us..."
"Brokentooth lied to us, he told us a story made up of only some truth so that he could come back here and take over. Now we need to tell everyone who the real leader is before Brokentooth finds out what we are doing. If he finds out Dawn is awake and ok first, he will have her removed permanently.
"I always thought there was something wrong with his story but it didn't matter much to me. One leader was as good as another."
"No, he's not as good as another Daniel. You know he is slowly getting rid of everyone who he doesn't like."
"Bah that’s just bad luck, we lose people on raids and we lose them to the wilds sometimes too."
Kai gave Dan a scolding look that seemed to make him shrink down to half his size.
"You know better that that! You know Brokentooth is systematically getting rid of everyone who confronts him. You would be out on a patrol yourself if you had ever once given him a reason to. You can see it in his eyes as plain as day."
Dan scratched at his beard and looked back at Kai before responding. With a deep sigh, his shoulders dropped and he seemed to give up.
"Yes, you're right, everyone knows it, but what are we supposed to do about it. Even talking like this will draw his attention and I am too old for patrols."
"That is where Dawn comes in."
Both sets of eyes turned back to Dawn and watched her face light up as she shared her plans with them without saying a word.
Daniel left shortly after and sent another to the tent. Then the next werewolf repeated the process. They were very good at keeping the attention down but Dawn was getting frustrated. It was too slow. It would take weeks at this rate to inform enough werewolves to be able to keep Brokentooth from discovering she was
awake.
Dawn's nerves were also being frayed, the longer she waited the more likely Brokentooth would be to come and check on her again. She didn't think she would be able to pretend to be unconscious for much longer without him taking her anyway. Dawn knew that she would have to keep things peaceful as long as possible. With her recovered memory, she knew the wolves were in more danger than they could know. They would need their numbers to keep safer if they wanted to stay alive.
#####
Brokentooth was losing his temper. Every time he had sent a guard to check on Dawn, they came back with the same response. She was still unconscious. So far, he had been exceedingly lucky that no one in the clan had tried to sense the leader. He knew that that if one did he would have some questions to answer and now was not the time for that.
He needed his own answers and Dawn was the only one to give them, in private. She would meet with a horrible accident after that and then his leadership would no longer be in question.
Brokentooth closed his eyes and sensed for the leader himself. She was still there. He let out a deep breath he didn't realise he was even holding and forced himself to relax a little. It would do no good for others in the Clan to see him so shaken up by a little girl. In fact, Brokentooth knew that it would do the opposite. If he kept too close attention on her, everyone would wonder why. Then more questions would come, he walked a tight line and he didn't like it. Every fibre of him wanted to pull her out of there and tear her throat out right now. Brokentooth shook visibly as he thought of the pleasure he would take from that.
One of Brokentooth’s trusted guards walked in and gave him a look that was full of more questions then he would have liked to answer.
"What!"
The guard stepped back at the tone in Brokentooth’s voice and the questions disappeared as fast as they had come.
"We caught someone trying to sneak inside our inner border."
"The inner border...How the hell did anything get past the sentries at the edge of the woods?"
"I don't know. The guard is thin out there. Perhaps they missed him."
Brokentooth began pacing back and forth inside the tent then paused.
"Him...He's not a Nightwalker?"
"No, it's a young man. Thin and covered in ashes. That would have helped him get past the guards, they wouldn't be able to smell him and the ashes would have provided cover."
"Where is he now?"
"We put him in the tent with Bonetwister. He didn't try to fight or escape. In fact he seemed happy to see him even though we chained him to the ground."
Brokentooth growled a low growl and the guard took an involuntary step back towards the tent flap.
"He was happy!" Brokentooth roared and shifted to a wolf. He burst out of the tent knocking his guard on his back.
#####
Shade didn't waste any time having Bonetwister fill him in what was happening.
"They haven’t let me see her. If I ask any questions about her they just laugh at me and knock me around a bit."
The blood was evident down Bonetwister’s neck, but he didn't seem affected by it. He just sat in the dirt and waited. Shade knew from the look of him that they hadn't offered him much in the line of basic care. Let alone food or water. Shade pulled again on the chain they had placed around his ankle. His captors pushed the stake deep into the ground and it would take the strength of a werewolf to pull it out again. The closest one though was in no shape to help.
"She is alive though, right? You got her here alive?"
Bonetwister nodded reflexively, then winched as the points once again broke his skin.
"Yes, sometimes I can hear the whispers outside of others or the guards talking. She is alive. They say she still hasn't woken up though. That is all I know. I shouldn't have brought her here. This was all a mistake."
The life inside of Bonetwister was still strong to Shade's eyes, but on the outside, he looked like someone who had given up.
"Look, you might have given up, but I haven't. The werewolf that caught me didn't search me and I still have my moonstone."
Shade opened his hand briefly to show it to Bonetwister then quickly closed it.
"We need to think of something we can do to get out of here and help her before it's too late."
Bonetwister lifted his head and looked over Shade's shoulder. "It's already too late. He knows your here and he won't like that. I can hear him coming, he's not known for his subtlety."
Shade twisted his head to listen and heard a crashing noise getting closer very fast.
#####
Brokentooth didn't even stop to shift back to human as he tore into the overlarge tent used as his jailhouse. The young man in front of him was Shade. It didn't take a second to see it. Brokentooth used his momentum and crashed into Shade sending him flying out the other side of the tent. A loud crack followed, and Shade's ankle was broken. The supports shook as he tore a hole through the canvas and landed hard in the middle of the Clan's common ground.
Brokentooth took a swipe at Bonetwister with his paw as he walked past. It opened a large tear across his chest. Brokentooth gave him a grin in his wolf form and padded out to see if Shade had managed to live. He was hoping he hadn't.
#####
Dawn was alone for the first time in a while. She had decided to try to speed up her visits, even risking two at a time. She was emotionally exhausted. Spending days trapped as voluntary prisoner in Kai's tent was starting to wear on her nerves. She needed sunlight to shine on her for the days and the stars to comfort her at night. She would have enough followers soon. Perhaps one or two more days and she would be able to confront Brokentooth safely. Dawn lay back down on the bed to relax a moment and wait for her next visitor.
Dawn almost drifted off when she felt the light of Kai rushing towards her tent. Her new friends light had returned much faster than Shade's had, perhaps because she was a werewolf. Dawn and Kai had discussed it at length in the nights. The flap tore back and a very flustered Kai stood gasping.
"They found an intruder. Brokentooth is killing him!"
All fatigue fled Dawn as she jumped off the bed and followed Kai outside.
"I guess I am out of time then."
Kai led her straight towards the center of the village. There was already a large crowd gathered, and inside the circle were the combatants. A large tent was close by and it looked as though it was ready to fall over. A giant tear was down one side of it. Kai whispered as they ran."That’s the guardhouse. Bonetwister must still be inside it."
Dawn's heart twisted at those words. She had discussed ways of freeing Bonetwister with Kai. They had come to no conclusions. Everything they planned hinged on her acceptance as leader of the Clan. Now that Dawn was confronting Brokentooth personally her plans were all for nothing.
"Maybe this fight he is in will help me. There is a chance he might lose right?"
Kai simply shrugged. She was so used to Dawn talking inside her head now that she didn't think twice of it.
"Brokentooth doesn't lose fights. He revels in beating someone down. Usually there is little for me to do when he is done but keep them as comfortable as I can for the few minutes they have left."
Dawn pushed herself harder. The group around the combatants was thick with people watching. There was no cheering, no calling out. Everyone who watched knew who would win. Dawn pushed her way through the crowd. Some of the people noticed who she was from her visits and stepped aside to let her through the crowd. Whispers spread quickly as the word caught like wildfire. Dawn wouldn't remain a secret after this no matter what happened.
When she finally broke to the front and was able to see what was happening she couldn't believe her eyes. Shade balanced on one leg in the middle of the ring. His other leg twisted oddly and the pain inside his eyes was evident. The metal ring still bolted around his foot where the chain held him to the ground. His ankle was obviously broken. One hand was tight in a fist and raised high over his head. Shade didn't notic
e the appearance of Dawn. His concentration was wholly on the wolf in front of him. The wolf on the other hand...did notice. His mouth opened in a snarl and his eyes made a promise without saying a word."You're next."
Kai gasped as she saw the state of Shade. He was covered head to foot in ashes. His clothing was torn and filthy. His eyes bore a look of desperation drowning in pain. Yet somehow, he remained on his feet. All around him there were burn marks on the ground, as though hit by lightening. As if her own thoughts willed it, a bolt of lightning flew from Shade's hand straight towards Brokentooth.
The first bolt had caught Brokentooth by surprise. It was sheer luck that it hadn't hit him square in the chest. Instead, it had just gone over his shoulder as he lowered his head to try to hit Shade in his broken leg. Now he knew what to look for from his adversary so he played it safer. The bolts were getting slower as Shade's pain was taking over. Brokentooth kept circling and waited for the opening he knew would come soon.
Shade knew he had missed his chance. The surprise was evident in Brokentooth’s face when he had used his moonstone to throw that first bolt. Unfortunately, his aim was off. He went high when Brokentooth had moved low. Now his concentration was fading as the sheer effort of remaining on his feet was wearing him down. Shade could feel the shattered bones inside his ankle grind against each other. The pain was beginning to cause his vision to go blurry and he knew he wouldn't be conscious for much longer. There had been no warning to this attack. Perhaps if he had a chance to prepare he would have fared better. Shade kept watching as Brokentooth circled around and around him, waiting for him to drop his guard. Shade did his best to keep his front facing Brokentooth but even spinning around slowly on the spot caused spikes of intense pain to shoot up his leg. Behind Brokentooth, he caught a glimpse of Dawn among the crowd. His gaze went wide to see her."She's alive!"
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