A Wolf’s Legacy 6i1l4p

A Wolf’s Legacy

Sabrina Dubbert

Copyright © 2012 by Sabrina Dubbert.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012910643 ISBN: Hardcover Softcover Ebook

978-1-4771-2826-8 978-1-4771-2825-1 978-1-4771-2827-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

Prologue

Part 1

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Part 2

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

Prologue

I could feel something coming. My heart sped and sweat collected on my face, which is what happens when something dangerous lurks around the corner of my life. I knew it was up to my leader, the rest of the clan, and me to stop it . . . whatever “it” was. Our job was to unearth this mystery. You see, the reason why we involve ourselves in such a risk is because we live in part of a world where magic exists. We are all humans: humans that turn into wolves. No, we’re much more than werewolves. Werewolves are those beastly creatures who in no way resemble a wolf. In the village that I live in, we all have powers that include the four elements: fire, water, wind, and Earth. My talent is to harness fire. There are also more uncommon powers such as stardust, which is made from stars (my leader has this power). For now, let’s continue with the story. Oh, and by the way, my name is Fire Mist, Guardian and warrior of the village.

Part 1

Chapter 1

The fierce, molten star slowly emerged from the rocky outline of the horizon, presenting itself to the world with yellow and orange water colors that stained the sky. As the star rose, a romantic red harmonized with the orange and soothed into a reddish magenta. Not all people get to see this, but I do. I was sitting on my cute little porch with my pet fox, Harmony. I named him that when he first saw that red color in the sunrise harmonize with the orange. The combination is his favorite color. That’s why I bring him out here every morning. He doesn’t mind being woken up, either. Stroking Harmony between the ears, I looked at the trees hiding right below the mountain tops. They looked like one broad colony of broccoli. Wait, does broccoli colonize? You would think a person would know. Anyways, I live on a small hill a little distance from the village, but not too far. It’s perfect because with the help of a wolf’s legs I can still get there if the village is in trouble. On the other hand, my house is far enough away that I get my privacy. The village is an adorable little one with thatched roofs and dirt paths. A single dirt road leads straight through the middle of the village to sick bay, which isn’t much. It’s just a tower. I guess that is sort of interesting since it’s the only one we have. Long story short, it is truly beautiful out here. Unfortunately, I have to get to work. My leader, Twilight Star, (who likes to just be called Twilight) wants the council of the clan to meet today. I sighed and slowly pushed myself away from the railing that surrounded my house. I stretched like a cat. “Come on, Harmony,” I beckoned. Inside, I put on my basic outfit that I wear out and about. This includes silver clasps with a flown, intricate design around the edges and thin velvet padding on the insides. These protect my forearms and ankles. Each one also has a single flame on them. Next, there’s the tunic and leggings. The lace-up tunic is deep red but the leggings are a softer shade of red. To go with it, I wear a soft leather belt. Last are the boots, made of a woven fabric that is amazingly sturdy and soft.

He followed me to the area outside where he usually takes his meals. I inspected a tiny pile of bones. “Well, it looks like you already got breakfast when you went out before sunset yesterday,” I smiled. “You know, along with your dinner.” I scratched Harmony’s head and he closed his eyes. I love it when he does that because it makes him look so cute! “We should probably get going.” As if he understood what I said, Harmony turned around and trotted down the hill. My body shifted and I bent down on all fours—as a snowy white wolf. My clothes were replaced with silky fur, my hands and feet turned into paws, and I viewed the world out of gold eyes that were only three feet off the ground. When I caught up to Harmony, we broke into a run straight for the village. Suddenly, realizing the fox wasn’t with me, I stopped and looked back. He got distracted by a puddle of water. “Come on, you lazy pile of fur!” I barked— literally. Even though my words are incoherent to Harmony when I speak to him in my human form, he understands me perfectly when I’m a wolf. He whimpered and reluctantly left the water, taken aback by my remark. It shouldn’t have been insulting when I said that because we playfully tease each other all the time. It looks like someone was being a little touchy! You know, he usually gets that way when he’s preoccupied. His sixth sense tells him if there is danger in the near or distant future, which I can’t sense as well since I am only part wolf. To me everything seemed fine, but Harmony apparently had other thoughts. Huh. That’s weird. It wasn’t the time to consider his behavior because we were about to the first house of many. We were almost there. And then, Luz spotted me. Oh, great. Sometimes I like to think of her as the “Luzer.” You know, kind of like “loser.” Her name is pronounced LOOZ, so it makes sense. The thing is, she can get under my skin when I bring Harmony to meetings. It’s almost like she can’t take me seriously when I bring him. Yep! You guessed right. Luz is a member of the council and a warrior. When she was born, she was granted the gift of energy flowing through her veins. That’s how she got her name. Luz means “light”. So there she was, running towards me. I shifted back into a human while running and did a quick somersault. I stood up right in front of her. “I see you brought your fox again,” Luz scoffed. Her face was contorted with

disgust. “Since when is that a bad thing?” I said with my hands on my hips. “Because every time I see him, I can’t get over how girly his name is.” “Luz . . .” I said in a warning voice. “Look, I’m saying that it sounds like a girl’s name.” “And?” I prodded. “And . . . it doesn’t change how great a fox he is.” She said that like you would say, “Fine, I’ll wash the dishes.” “That’s better,” I said happily. Luz is my friend, but the kind of friend that is obnoxious most of the time. The color of her tunic was equally irritating. It was bright yellow with tan leggings, a grey belt, grey boots (unlike my dark brown ones), and those same silver bracers. On all four of them were single lightning bolts. “So, where is everybody?” I asked. “White Wind wanted to meet us at the fort, where the meeting is going to be. Then we’ll walk over to Sparrow’s Tavern for lunch.” “Ugh, I’m starving. I hope there are fresh-picked, candied blueberries at the meeting,” I said after my stomach growled. “There always are, aren’t there?” commented Luz. She and I have a love for that sort of thing. As we walked down Main Street, Luz said, “I hear this meeting is extra special. I mean, I can feel it, can’t you?” “Yeah,” I said subconsciously. I couldn’t help being distracted. Harmony still had that pouty face and walked with his tail between his legs. “Aw, come here, Harmony.” I scooped him up and assured him that all would be okay. The noise of people talking got louder and louder as we advanced forward along the path. Once Luz and I were in the middle of the village, Harmony perked up. I glanced in the direction he was looking and saw Doe coming. She walked with a

gentle grace and warm smile. Her tunic was an earthy green and her leggings dirt brown. Her dark leather boots matched her bronze bracers, which bore no symbol. Doe lacked a magical power, but is still a council member. She has an unusual gift to connect with animals. Even though she cannot connect with wolves, her very presence makes all sorts of woodland creatures relaxed and calm. When I said she connects with animals, I meant she can also understand them. “Hey, guys!” Doe looked at Harmony. “Do you mind if I hold him until we get to the fort, Fire Mist?” “I don’t see why not,” I answered reluctantly. I don’t like a lot of people holding him, so I only trust Doe. Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait long until I got him back. Our little group came to a stop at the fort. It is just like every other building, the only difference being that it has a sign next to the stairs that lead up to the front entrance that reads: “Maple Clan Council.” Inside, Twilight Star was waiting. She was standing tall and proud like a leader should. Her tunic and leggings were both a deep royal purple. Her boots were a normal brown, but nothing could compare to her shining gold bracers that had a single star on each one. They looked like the brilliant, guiding North Star. Twilight Star’s face was expressionless except for her eyes, which were soft and welcoming. Next to her was White Wind, or as Twilight sometimes calls her: our “ice-breathing friend,” who was also wearing all white. That said, you can probably guess what her power was. As she reached out for a blueberry, her ice symbol reflected the light from the candle chandelier hanging above. White Wind sat at a smallish oval table with six chairs around it. Usually there are chairs out for only the five of us, but this time there was a sixth one. “Welcome. I’m glad all of you were able to make it,” Twilight said before she laughed and added, “I see Harmony made it as well!” “Yeah. Well, I wanted to bring him this time,” I explained as Doe handed Harmony back to me. “I’m glad you did.” She paused. “I am about to tell you all something very new and exciting.” She paused. We all waited patiently, however, in my mind I knew we all were eager to see what fate was ahead. Everyone. Though we all have

unique ways of looking at things, we have one thing in common: to keep order to these woods. Finally, Twilight declared, “We will be adding a new clan member. Nightfall, why don’t you introduce yourself?” I was truly shocked. Never in my wildest dreams had I thought this would happen, nevertheless, it still happened. A handsome-looking guy stepped out of a dark corner and appeared next to Twilight, and his presence had an air of mystery. He looked to be a year or two older than us, seventeen or so. His strong build made Twilight seem very delicate. This guy was pretty buff, because Twilight is the strongest female in the village. Nightfall was about seven feet tall and had a face with a moon-like glow in contrast with our golden skin. Obviously he was from far away tundra. Nightfall also had eyes that were so light they were ice blue. His high cheek bones went along perfectly with the rest of his look and the ruffled, electric white hair. His whole outfit was black with silver bracers bearing the symbol for jewels. Ugh, he wasn’t the first person I’ve met who had the power to harness jewels. That brings back bad memories. “Well, first of all,” His voice was like a siren song. It grabbed your attention whether you liked it or not. “I am here because I was shunned from my original clan. They wouldn’t tell me why. When you shun someone you don’t talk to them.” He laughed and then got serious again. “But before I left, my friend told me in secrecy that I might have been framed for a serious crime I didn’t do. So, I’ve been traveling constantly to see if any clan would be willing to take me in as one of their own. No one has, until now. I will also be a part of the Maple Clan’s council. This is because of my power. I can harness a different version of jewel . . . Black jewels are the only ones that I can control. It is quite interesting, actually . . . um, are you okay, young miss?” Nightfall was talking straight to me. I knew it must’ve been me since I was the only person acting up. I glared hard at the wood floor and my hands were balled into tight fists. “It’s okay, Nightfall,” Twilight explained. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that we used to have a clan member whose power was jewels. I’m sure Fire Mist was happy that she left.” It’s true. I don’t like to recognize her name, but I hated her. Seriously, we greatly hated each other. Our feud went on in the past, now the present, and will continue into the future if I ever get the unfortunate chance to see her again. She said she left us because we are “too serious and uptight about the whole protecting the clan biz.” What a lame excuse to leave! “Oh,” Nightfall drawled out, “I understand. Everyone has someone like that. It was nice to meet everyone, but I best be off. Very busy getting settled in, you

know. I have to talk to someone in town about a place to stay. One more thing, though. It was very nice to meet you, O’ Guardian Fire Mist.” He smiled at me as he swept past for the door. Suddenly, Harmony twisted around and bit him in the forearm with the sound of a jaw clamping around a hunk of steel. Nightfall froze in place, his eyes wide and his mouth open slightly. Fortunately for him, his bracers were protecting his skin. This was unfortunate for Harmony because the silver hurt his teeth. A whimper followed Harmony’s vicious growl at Nightfall. I gasped and stroked him gently on the head. Then I ed about the person who got bit. “I’m really sorry, Nightfall. I don’t know what’s gotten into him.” Then I glanced at Doe, who gave me an I-know-what’s-wrong look. “It’s quite okay.” Then he was gone.

Chapter 2

I had too much to think about on the way to the tavern for lunch. For example, why did Harmony try to bite Nightfall? Well, I suppose because he can be pretty possessive. Maybe Harmony didn’t like how Nightfall was treating me. I tried asking Doe several times what was up, but she wouldn’t tell me. Something about Harmony wanting his privacy about the matter. Well, I’m willing to respect that. Another thing is how Nightfall was treating me like we had a special connection when we obviously didn’t. His essence just screams leader and, well, mine is yelling at the top of its lungs, “person who follows others.” Plus, what was the whole deal about him knowing I’m the guard control representative for the Security Team when he just met me?! That’s more than a little disturbing. I guess Twilight must have told him a little bit about all of us. Probably so that he knows the fundamentals about what goes on around here. “Uh, Fire Mist!” It was the “Luzer” who interrupted my reverie. “For the last time, what do you want to eat? Lunch is on me. But something that costs no more than ten bronzes.” Then I noticed we were already standing in front of the counter at Sparrow’s Tavern. “Er, I’ll have cornbread with a side of any type of meat except fox.” “Coming right up!” said the cook. Doe gave me another one of her famous irritated glares. She hates it when I order meat. Figures, she’s a vegetarian. Bet ya can’t guess why! “Hey. Feel fortunate that I’m one of the very few around here who don’t eat fox,” I said to Doe. “That’s only cuz you own a fox!” she responded. We all sat down at a table after the sparrows left from pecking at the crumbs on our seats. That is why that place is called Sparrow’s Tavern. “So, how about that new Nightfall person, huh? Pretty darn cute don’t you

think?” Luz said to me in a mushy voice. “What are you talking about?” I asked irritably. “I don’t even know the guy! I just feel sympathy for him since he was turned away.” “But didn’t you see the way he acted around you? ‘O’ Guardian Fire Mist.’ Anyway, I’m pretty jealous. I wish he noticed me more.” “Oh, would you shush your mouth, Luz? I’m sure Nightfall just wants to settle in right now like he said,” Doe replied. We ate quietly for the next minute or so. Eventually Luz blurted, “He looks like he came from the cold part of the world. I heard they eat sparrows there!” That caused a spasm of screeches and fluttering plumage up above on a beam. Then we all cried, “Luz!” Partly because she was acting ridiculous and now there were fuzzy brown feathers in everyone’s food. I picked them out of my cornbread and took a bite. “Well, I happen to know for a fact that they don’t,” White Wind said quietly but matter-of-factly. “And is it just me or does anyone else find it strange that Twilight took in Nightfall? I mean, something like this has never happened in a long time. In fact, it’s never happened before at all! The only people who are in a clan are if they’re a descendant from someone else part of the same clan. No one ever gets in, but they can leave.” I knew she was thinking about my enemy. “When they do leave, they can only get into another clan if it’s made up of people entirely with the same element. For example, if I left, I could only get into a place where everyone there harnesses ice. Like me. This is so that no one has to worry about a certain type of element wielder taking over the clan based off of discrimination against another type of people.” Yep. White Wind is definitely the ultimate smart one in the council. “Then how can a clan of mixed elements come to exist, such as ours?” Luz asked. “In the beginning, there were only clans of the same power. Then people who broke away from their village eventually stumbled upon each other and created their own community. Nowadays, some people leave their original clan if they don’t agree with the way the council rules over the people or if leaders believe their offspring is destined to go out and lead others.” We all smiled to ourselves, because that was why we were all here.

“Long story short. Twilight truly is a kind person for adopting Nightfall into our clan,” I concluded. “Indeed,” White Wind continued. “But I wasn’t finished. Another thing to consider is that there hasn’t been a male council member in about 300 years. Until now.”

Chapter 3

When I reached the top of the hill where my house was, Harmony ran excitedly in circles around me. “Okay, okay!” I laughed. “You go hunting. I won’t be home until dinner time, so go have fun. I’ll be on the trail.” He flicked his tail, dipped his head, and trotted happily into the forest. Alone at last, I thought. I started off into the forest in the opposite direction of Harmony. There wasn’t originally a path, but since so many people—and wolves—go in there, a walkway was made from all the treading. I usually go on walks alone because I like to marvel at the beauty by myself. The majestic, tall trees gradually bent over the trail until they created a round ceiling, with the main branches like beams in a tall building. There was the occasional chipmunk that scurried across the dirt path. There was also a torrential downpour the previous day so everything was still soaked. The light brown bark was now dark brown and soft on top. The leaves closest the top of the trees were dry and lime green from the sun shining on them. This was in contrast to the leaves closer to the ground. They were a dark green and were still rain-kissed. The drops of rain shimmered and shined from the rays of sunshine seeping through the thick foliage above. I stopped to take it all in. I breathed in the wonderful scent of damp forestry and heard the birds sing my favorite song. Two yellow finches were playing together when I heard something behind me. My face hardened and I got ready to throw a ball of smoldering fire to defend myself against the enemy. It was just Twilight. “Jeez, Twilight! You scared me.” “I’m sorry, but I was looking for you and thought you might be out here. I guess I was right.” She sighed and looked around. “Don’t you just adore it when it rains? Well, everything except for the pesky mosquitoes. They don’t bother you?” “Nope,” I responded. “The scenery is what matters. Not the annoying bugs.” “Well said. I came to you for a reason. Nightfall needs to be shown around the village so he knows where to get food and such. Maybe you could show him

around? I thought you would be perfect since you know where everything is from your night shifts. Are you up to it?” Twilight asked. I sighed. I’d hoped that day when we met Nightfall would be when I had more free time. Well, not anymore. Still, I replied, “If it helps you, sure. My leader,” I concluded. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.” Then she disappeared, sprinkling the already soaked soil with more drops as she brushed past the bushes. I supposed it would start getting dark in a few hours so I should have gotten going if I was still meeting Harmony for dinner. I enjoyed one more moment of peacefulness then left.

Chapter 4

The village was now a flutter of even more activity. The smell of boiling vegetables filled the air which became thick with woody smoke. It swirled around its surroundings and tickled my cheeks. Two laughing, screaming children rushed right in front of me, flicking sprinkles of magic at each other playfully. A second later, I heard a mother’s voice calling, “Hey! Get back here you two rascals!” Scurrying over was a slightly large woman with a burgundy shawl and dark dress. “Good evening, Midnight Waters,” I addressed her. “H—hello, Fire Mist.” She sounded out of breath. “I’m sorry, but these two young lads have been going at it for a while. Probably because they’re finally allowed to use supervised magic.” The boys must have been five years old since that’s when you’re allowed to use magic officially, but strictly with adult supervision. Once a person is fully trained, they can use their power freely. “I’m sure you have some very important business to attend to,” she said sheepishly, as if she was embarrassed by her sons’ behavior. “Actually, yes. But it’s okay. I when I first received my privilege. Hey, I noticed your husband is having some trouble lighting the fire, let me be of service.” I strode over to the fireplace. There was a slightly stocky man with a puzzled expression that was growing impatient as he tried unsuccessfully to light the rain-soaked wood with several matches until he looked up at me. I pointed my finger at the pit. A small line of flames jutted out and dried the damp wood. I held it there for a moment then released it, letting the logs burst into flames. Behind me I heard small cheers and claps. I turned on my heel and bowed to the two boys saying, “Thank you, and thank you!” Then I said to their mom, “So, about the thing I need to do. Do you know where I can find Nightfall?” She must have met him before since her family owned the home goods store and Nightfall probably needed supplies for staying here. “Oh, Nightfall! That young lad! He’s just charming, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. Yeesh, could we move on here?! I needed to know where he was right away. However, I responded calmly, “He seems nice.” “Anyways, I haven’t seen him all day since he saw me during lunch time. Oh, wait! There he is now.” Waters pointed to the side of a house. Then I noticed him. He looked up, startled, and took off at a quick pace. “Oh jeez. I’ll see you guys later,” I said in a hurry. “Bye!” the family said together. I started at a jog over to where I saw him last. I had come just in time to see him round another corner. Breaking into a sprint, I called out. “Wait, Nightfall!” I yelled. Unfortunately, when I came to the corner, he was nowhere to be seen. I sank into being a wolf and used my sharpened senses to figure out where he was. I’ll be able to catch up with him on four legs, I thought. I was right. As I turned onto a different path, Nightfall came out of nowhere and practically slide-tackled me. He got defensive and was about to attack. Then he hesitated. Once Nightfall noticed the symbols on my bracers, he relaxed a bit. “Oh. It’s just you,” he said. I grumbled softly in agreement then transformed again. “Yeah. Just me,” I said and smiled shyly, because his cold gaze seemed to bore into me. Then I took on some confidence. “Twilight has asked me to show you around. If you’re lucky, I might even tell you a little ,” I said as if I knew practically everything and he didn’t. “You mean Leader Twilight Star?” he asked. “Well, that’s her real name. But she likes to be called Twilight for short,” I explained. “Ok. Well we should get a move on because I have to leave soon,” said Nightfall. “‘Kay, first I’ll show you the heart of the village,” I explained as we started on our way. “That’s where most of the activity is. Some people live there, but not too many. Then outside of that are the houses. Well, most of them at least.” I looked to my private hill in the distance.

“I see.” He seemed to be musing to himself. I was thinking about some things myself. For example, where was he staying? There really aren’t any houses for sale. There’s a cottage next to the mountains, but it’s pretty darn expensive. So I asked. “You do realize all the neighborhoods are filled, right? Where are you staying?” “There’s this cute little cottage a little ways from here.” I knew it! “I’ve been there before. It’s nice.” There was one of those awkward silences that you have when you are meeting someone and have run out of small talk. “So!” I said a little too cheerfully, “Let me show you all the places where you can get food. There’s the Sparrow’s Tavern, General Food Supplies, The Maple Pub, and you can always go out in the forest for the freshest food. I’ll show you where.” I led the way to the edge of the meadow. “First off, the only berries we pick are blueberries. Mostly because they’re the most common berries and we respect the creatures of the forest. They need something to eat, so we let them have the more sparse berries.” “If we ‘respect the creatures of the forest,’ how come we eat them?” “Good question,” I said. “But it’s hard to explain. Well . . . I guess you could say that every living being has its time. They realize that. However, we never hunt younglings. That’s just cruel.” I paused. “Think of it this way: the Lily of the Valley on the dawn of spring has fully matured. However, there is also a family of hares with a little one hopping alongside his mother. The hare is the dominant organism in the forest. The baby also needs food or else he will not go on.” I could see he was still confused, so I said slowly, “Nature must continue the circle of life. If not, the circle dies.” I added sternly to Nightfall, “We can’t let that happen. Get that.” We walked along the secluded outskirts in silence. A breeze ruffled the flags of gold, red, orange, and yellow that were posted along the paths and all through the village. They flicked their pointed ends like several hundred snakes hunting one mouse. “What are the flags for?” he asked hesitantly. “It is the time of the Fire People,” I said with a little bit of excitement. “One of the four biggest celebrations ever. Since it is summer, all people who control fire

can rejoice for their element. It’s the time when my people are cherished for helping to keep nature and everything in balance.” I smirked. “During this time we also get an unbelievable discount to all the shops.” Nightfall gave out a short laugh. “It is also believed that my people are so strong that we can kill anyone with a single swipe. No one is proud of the possibility.” “Oh” is all Nightfall could say. “Thankfully, it’s just a myth. People have been trying to prove this theory for a while now.” “Wait. But there are so many different powers! How do you squeeze all of them into four celebrations?” he exclaimed. “That’s it exactly. First of all, there is a celebration for each season and since the four main elements are the very fundamentals to everything, we only celebrate fire, water, wind, and Earth. So you’re pretty lucky if you harness one of those.” “Which season is for which element?” he asked. “Fire is for summer, wind is for fall, water is for winter, and Earth is for Spring. Fire because it represents the warmth of summer, wind because it represents the cool gusts of wind that rustle the falling leaves, water because it makes up the ice and snow of winter, and Earth because nature brings new beauty upon Earth in Spring. Does all that make sense?” I asked. Nightfall just nodded. For hours, we had wandered the village outskirts discussing various subjects. After giving the huge tour of the meadow our clan resides in, I spent the rest of the time going on about the clan’s history. Then he came to an abrupt stop. He said casually, “It’s twilight now. I should go.” He turned away from me for a moment to look over the scenery. I’m glad he did so because Luz was nearby picking blueberries and putting them gingerly into a basket. She looked up and a smirk spread across her face, then a mocking kissy expression. I glared at her and mouthed something nasty to her that I absolutely refuse to repeat. Suddenly Nightfall turned back around and gave me a strange look. I blushed red, made a nervous laugh, and then refocused my attention.

“By the way, that thing is Luz,” I said pointing to her, and then she was the one who turned red, for she was still making that weird face. Luz recovered herself and morphed her face into a flirty look that was directed at Nightfall. You can only imagine how obnoxious it was. “You may her from the meeting,” I said in an agitated voice. “Oh, yes. I you.” He addressed Luz who giggled and said rather flirtatiously, “Oh really?” Ugh. “Yeah. It was nice to meet you, but I should get going.” “Me too,” I said then bade them both good-bye. We broke off into three directions toward our homes for the night.

Chapter 5

“Fire Mist, wait up!” Harmony and I turned away from the tree where I was picking pears to look at Silver Dew running towards us. He was a young man in his twenties, several years older than me. He is a distant cousin with White Wind because they both have some form of water as their element. They’re not actually blood related, though. He spoke between gasps of breath from running. “I . . . wanted to . . . talk to you.” His breathing slowed down a bit after a while. “Well, well. You can talk once you catch your breath and after I say this: you need to get into shape! If you’re protecting the villagers, you need some stamina. Endurance!” I yelled in his ear. Since Silver Dew was bent over, I didn’t have to stand on tip-toe to reach him for once. He rolled his eyes annoyingly. “Look, shortie. You’re not one who should be talking that way to an adult,” he said back to me in his “authority voice.” He doesn’t have to call me shortie. I’m not short. He’s just 6’8”. Either way, Silver Dew calls me short or a youngster just because I’m the youngest—and yes, shortest—on the Security Team. I’m even the only girl! “Whatever, freakishly tall person,” I mocked him. “What exactly were you going to say?” “Twilight wants me to take the second half of your shift again. Was it nice to get some sleep the night before Nightfall’s arrival?” “Yes, yes it was.” I usually take on a full night shift and sleep part of the day. That hasn’t been happening lately. “What time does my shift end?” I asked. “Midnight. As usual.” “Okay.” Silver Dew turned and headed back to the guard station. Once inside our house, I changed out of my casual orange dress and put my

usual tunic and pants back on while Harmony went to the kitchen and gnawed on a pear. I sat down next to him and grabbed one myself. Enjoying the peace and quiet as I drifted into deep thought, I subconsciously ate and gazed out the window at the surrounding trees. When the shadows became longer and the golden hue upon the scenery turned into a darker blanket of nightfall, I pulled myself back to reality and pushed myself out of the chair and stretched. When I stepped through the doorway, I called back, “See you later, Harmony,” before closing the door behind me and transforming. The village was completely deserted, the only proof of life a single light from the guard station. I loped along the perimeter of silhouettes that made up the settlement. I was a dim glow among the darkness, an obvious contrast of white fur against pitch black. Soon it was almost midnight. I had almost completed my fourth circuit when I heard a soft rustling sound nearby. I came to a stop and watched for a good three minutes. When a fox jumped out of a bush and ran across my path into the village, I began to move again. Before I could take two steps, a massive black, sleek shape hurdled over the bush where the innocent fox had been a moment ago. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed me. A vicious, snarling wolf almost twice my size slowly turned his glare, a small stream of saliva dripping from his muzzle glistening under the moonlight. He tried to make a break in the direction of the Maple Clan Council building, but I bounded across the distance between us, leaped towards him, and missed. When I turned around, he was now only fifteen feet from me. We nervously circled each other for what felt like forever. The stranger made the first move, and I was ready. I shied away from the pounce that was aimed for me, and if I hadn’t moved, his claws would have been painfully accurate. I stumbled a little then shot thick swirls of fire from one of my paws. I missed again. Now it was his turn. He shot black crystals out of his claws lightning fast. I tried to roll desperately out of the way, but it was too late. A single jewel seared a million cuts in my cheek. I yelped in pain and jumped over my opponent, doing a complex combo of twirls and a summersault landing. I quickly turned on him and managed to give him a fireball in the flank. Then I howled into the night, calling for some kind of help. While I did so, he almost completely sank his

claws into my back. With my last bit of strength, I turned awkwardly around and aimed at his chest with teeth, claws, and flame. Right before his life faded away, I shook him off me and he landed several feet away. I just stood there. The last thing I ed was Silver Dew leading the Security Team to where I was. They stared at the still body then slowly turned to me. They all looked at me with an awed expression, but Silver Dew nodded and said, “You fought well.” I knew then that he had finally accepted me as worthy to work beside him. That was truly the last thing I ed before I blacked out.

Chapter 6

Something strange woke me up; it was the numb feeling of gauze stretched across my cheek and along my back. I looked around with a fuzzy gaze. All I could see were figures dressed in white gowns gliding in and out of my field of vision against a white background. Am I dead? I wondered. Did I go to heaven? My eyes cleared up as soon as my head did. The soft blanket over me and the welcoming environment surrounding me said it all. I was in sick bay. Well, duh! Why didn’t I think of that? That’s where every ill person goes. White Wind walked towards me in her nurse dress that was actually sort of flattering compared to the shapeless uniforms the other doctors wore. She said to me softly, “Hey, Fire Mist! How are you feeling?” “How do you think? I just survived an epic brawl. However, not without a scratch,” I croaked. Then I smiled weakly. “But really, I feel better already. What’s the verdict?” I was actually talking, so apparently I changed into a human while I was ed out. Not that I would’ve noticed. I was too weary. “That’s good. You should be up and moving by the end of the day. What you have here is a cluster of small cuts on your left cheek that together made a huge impact. Once that heals up, you should have a nice collection of scars. Let’s talk about your back. We found traces that conclude a wolf’s claw left deep gashes in the middle of your back, in case you forgot about that part of the fight. If you completely leave those alone, you may have a chance of no scars developing and your skin will look like no one ever touched it. What’s fascinating is that the rest of your body is totally flawless from that little brawl of yours.” She half smiled. “No little cuts, bumps, or bruises. Very well played.” I sighed in relief at the thought of almost completely recovering. “Now please lay down on your stomach so I can replace your bandages.” I did as I was told. It was a good thing White Wind was treating me because I trust her a lot more than the other doctors. I then realized Twilight was sitting in a chair next to my bed. She had on her

sympathetic face and said to me, “Looks like you’re awake, but rest all you want. You’ll need it for the council meeting.” I was a little concerned when she said that. We usually only meet together once a week for updates. “I know what you’re thinking, Fire Mist. Don’t think I don’t.” I frowned, which stretched my injured cheek. I sucked in air through gritted teeth. “Feel better,” Twilight said encouragingly. She then swept out of the room, smiling at all the patients as she did so. I started to think when White Wind interrupted my thoughts. “By the way, the meeting is at 4:30 pm. Don’t be late.” She looked away absent-mindedly with a worried look on her face. Perhaps the whole village was also under some spell to make everyone nervous. What was I missing? What does everyone here know that I don’t? I was apprehensive about the meeting, and as long as I wondered what the meeting was going to be about, I couldn’t sit still. Correction. The village wasn’t nervous . . . they were terrified.

Chapter 7

When I left sick bay, there was a dull roar above my head. I looked up to see ugly gray clouds spread across the sky. They bulged and soon started to cry. I blinked when their tears fell into my eyes as I ran along the village to get Harmony and bring him to the meeting. He hates being alone during storms. Well, who wouldn’t? The bushes, trees, and other surrounding nature grabbed my attention, forcing me to stop running and walk. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I realized this was where I killed the anonymous wolf, just half a day ago. I touched my back and started to run again, this time faster. I found Harmony waiting outside on the drenched porch. A shiver shook his body and his fur was up on end. The poor fox was pouting and looking around sadly. “Aw, Harmony. You could have waited inside for me.” Harmony trotted over to me and walked between my legs like a cat who wanted attention. “Let’s get going. The sooner we do, the faster we get out of this rain.” I gave him a quick smile then took off in my wolf form. Harmony followed quickly, stumbling down the slick hill. Our paws sank into the mud that had been the path into town. The village was filled with adults scurrying children inside. People had also given up trying to make an outdoor fire to keep warm. Harmony and I shook our fur in front of the meeting area and I transformed. My hair was still water-logged. I wrung it out on the porch so I wouldn’t get the floor wet inside, then headed in. In front of me there was a flurry of conversation. Nightfall spoke a couple of times, trying to say something reasonable. It didn’t work. Twilight just stood patiently at the front, letting everyone get out all their energy by yelling at each other. Did I understand the purpose of this? Of course not! Eventually Luz turned and gave me the evil eye. She pointed and exclaimed, “You! This is your entire fault! You ticked them all off and now you screwed everyone’s fate! DOOMED US ALL!” she screamed.

I yelled back, “What are you talking about?!” “Oh, you know very well what you did. that intruder you fought? HE’S DEAD! YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO KILL PEOPLE! THERE’S ALWAYS A CONSEQUENCE!” “I REALIZE THAT!” I screamed. “I had no choice, though!” “You have no right to make excuses!” she snarled two inches from my face. “Luz, Fire Mist. Peace.” She placed a hand on each of our shoulders. We both took a deep breath. “Luz, you know she had no choice. In fact, she did the right thing. However, there will be consequences. That means since Fire Mist did kill someone, the consequence is compromising everyone’s safety because of the feud to come. It’s up to all of us to prevent that.” This didn’t make any sense. Who is “everyone?” What consequences? I asked quietly, “Twilight Star, what is going on?” Luz suddenly forgot about our fight and turned serious. Twilight looked at all of them then said to me, “Fire Mist, that wolf the other night was part of a dark, evil clan. They were trying to break into the village and attack from the inside. You prevented that.” “How do you know this?” I asked. “My family has experience. Hundreds of years ago when my great, great grandfather was the leader of his clan, another clan’s council infiltrated his village’s boundaries and nearly seized the clan through tyranny. If it weren’t for the help from his comrades to fight off the villainous clan, I wouldn’t be here. Basically, the villain tries to overthrow the delicate balance of the civilization,” Twilight explained. “It’s always been like that. The clan knows this plan has been ruined, so now they have to attack from the outside. Of course, we’ll be ready. They must have found out their friend was killed from a spy that tagged along to keep an eye on the intruder. I wonder why he didn’t come out to help him, though.” White Wind snorted and said, “Scaredy cat.” Nightfall silently glared at her. “I certainly wouldn’t have helped him. If he

wasn’t strong enough to defend himself, that’s his problem. I know you wouldn’t bother to help the people in this room, either.” “Get off my back,” White Wind snapped. “Wow. It really is my entire fault,” I breathed. Nightfall forgot about White Wind and said, “Nonsense. Like Twilight said, you did the right thing. If you would’ve let him get through, this whole meadow would be in chaos at this very moment. Do not beat yourself up over the matter.” “Thanks,” I mumbled. It was silent for a moment when Doe said, “So, what’s the plan?” We all turned to Twilight who hesitated. Then she decided, “It’s quite simple. Well, perhaps not. It all depends on how you view the situation. What we will do is scope out their camp. We’ll attack and, well, we’ll see how it goes. Is everybody clear on that?” “Yes,” Doe said. “But we haven’t had to deal with enemies on this large of a scale before. What do you suggest?” “Get in some practice. You’ll need it. Anything that would involve skills necessary in the woods is what should be practiced,” Twilight said. “When will the plan start?” I asked. Twilight just said, “You’ll know when the time is right. Come to me when you all are prepared. Just make sure that when you guys decide we should start the attack on the clan’s campsite, it’s before they decide to attack us. I estimate the time to prepare for the infiltration will take a month or two.” Right when I started to forget she was in the room, Doe spoke up. “How are we supposed to find their campsite? The surrounding forestry is huge!” “Easy. The evil clan can’t be too far away because they need to stay close to the village. This is so they could make a surprise attack at any time they needed to,” Twilight explained.

Luz was the next person to question Twilight. “If they can pounce on us at any time they want to, how do we know they aren’t on their way right now?” That accusation made everyone fall silent, as if we were expecting to hear feet marching right outside our door. “Their clan is no different than ours or anyone else’s. Their plan to attack won’t be completed any sooner than ours.” With that, we all left. Before I could step out the door, Twilight said, “Fire Mist? I believe in you. I’m counting on you. And there’s no doubt everyone will fight by your side and help you through this.” I smiled and the sun smiled back at me. It shined through the now clear sky. I realized right then and there that there was hope.

Chapter 8

I grabbed my bow from the rack and headed for a vacant spot on the training field. I could tell the bow belonged to me because it was the only one made of cherry wood with matching arrows. Each one had a single feather representing flames because they were shades of red, orange, and yellow. I notched an arrow and was about to send it deep into the center of the target when someone called out, “Fire Mist!” The arrow whizzed through the air, beyond the target, and in the grass. “Doe, why do you always do that?” I complained. “Sorry. I was just wondering if I could you.” “Sure, sure,” I muttered as I stomped my way over to my arrow. I plucked it out and said to Doe, “Look. I just have a lot on my mind, okay?” “Of course,” she said after her arrow landed a few inches away from the center of the target. I glanced over at Luz who was a few targets down. She didn’t seem occupied with thoughts from our fight, but instead looked eagerly out in front of her. I followed her gaze to see Nightfall smiling and waving. My shoulders shrunk. I don’t know why, but I don’t approve of this guy. He just seems to interfere with my life too much. Nevertheless, I watched him cross the field with unusually high self-confidence. He came down to where Luz was and made conversation with her. What was strange was they weren’t practicing anymore. Nightfall had a bow and arrows, but he put them down and never picked them up the whole time. Luz still tried to practice a little, though. Thank goodness. We all need to be focused. Then it occurred to me: who was this guy, anyway? Apparently he thinks he doesn’t need to practice because he’s better than us! I started to march over to him when I accidently bumped into Twilight. She

seemed to be everywhere as well. She was carrying her bow and quiver on her back. Just imagine how embarrassing it would have been if I started picking fights in front of my leader. That would not be good. Instead, she said, “Hello. Have you seen Luz or Nightfall?” “Yes. Actually, they’re right down there.” I pointed to where they were talking. “Thanks. I wanted Luz to teach him how to use a bow, but maybe you should do it. Luz needs to keep her mind off of him for a while, as you can see.” She laughed and gestured towards Luz right when she was twirling a lock of strawberry blonde hair. I laughed along with her not only because of the comedy of the situation, but also because I was delighted to find that Twilight hadn’t lost her humor in times like these. “What will we do with her?” I laughed. Suddenly my mind came back to something I ed. My awareness shot up. “Wait! What do you mean he can’t use a bow?” I exclaimed. “It might seem hard to believe considering everyone here uses one. Actually, Nightfall comes from a completely different climate. You may or may not have been able to tell. This factor changes how he hunts and what his activities are. When I met him, I learned a lot. He told me how instead of bows and swords, his old clan would hunt with spears. His strong build is from when they wrestled in their spare time. It came in handy if they had to fend off enemies.” “All wolves wrestle,” I sniffed. “But it’s what they specialize in.” Twilight shook her head and waved her hands as if a bee was annoying her. “I’m getting off topic. Long story short, our ways of life are completely foreign to Nightfall. This means he can’t use a bow.” “Interesting,” I said slyly. This would be entertaining to watch. It looked like he wasn’t so perfect with his handsome structure and the way he talks to girls at all. From my opinion it looked like he needed to start from scratch. Wow. I actually felt a little sorry for Nightfall. The idea of being turned away . . . no proper place to call home . . . it sounded too terrible. I quickly wiped the idea away. He was here now. I glanced at him and my stomach cinched with guilt. I took a deep breath and said, “I’ll do it.”

“Do what?” Twilight asked. “I promise to help Nightfall with anything he needs. I’ll teach him and be his very resource to everything.” “Fire Mist,” she warned, “This is a huge responsibility. Are you sure you’re up to it?” I hesitated before repeating, “I’ll do it. I want to.” I wasn’t lying. However, I only wanted this so I didn’t feel guilty for not helping Nightfall in his time of need. I was just thinking of others. Don’t expect me to like this! “Very well,” Twilight said. “You can start by inviting him over to your house first thing tomorrow. The rest is up to you.” As soon as she turned away and got out of ear shot, I groaned. This was going to take a while. What have I gotten myself into?

Chapter 9

There was a light morning breeze. It rustled the leaves and made it seem like I was surrounded by the sound of ocean spray. Sssssssssssssssssssss. The wind made the trees dance and it flicked the hair around my face as if everything was taunting and teasing me. I didn’t find it amusing because soon the breeze picked up more to the point where I had to put my hair back in a braid. There was a small growl behind me. Harmony walked in front of me with a possessive attitude; the way he acted when we first met Nightfall. I used my wolf sense of smell to figure out that my apprentice was almost here. After a few seconds, it returned to normal and all I could smell was morning dew. I gave a breathy laugh to myself as I realized the irony of the situation. When someone is an apprentice, they are usually younger than the master by at least a few years. The point of this, at least in my village, is that the older of the two has more experience. You know, from being older. Nightfall is still technically my apprentice, except he is two years older than me. It’s a good feeling to have more knowledge than one who was born before you. Eventually, he came up to me and said, “I appreciate you doing this for me. I really need some proper training. But let’s get something right; I’m older, and you shan’t talk back to me. Even though you are the trainer. Shortie.” I wasn’t paying too much attention. I just kept rolling my eyes. “You got that name from Silver Dew, didn’t you?” I accused, raising my eyebrow. “If that’s the lad’s name, then yes.” He smirked. “Well let’s just see how much cockiness you have left after our lesson. Sadly, yesterday was our last chance to practice out on the field. It’s temporarily being closed because it will be used for the celebration of fire. Booths and games and such will be put up. So . . . try not to break any windows.” Harmony snickered from where he lounged on my rocking chair. “Let’s begin. I hope you brought your bow and quiver.” He held them up. “Good,” I said. Then I continued slowly, “This is a bow. And that is a quiver.

Inside there are pointy sticks called arrows. Not spears.” He glared at me and I smiled. “I set up various targets. Some are in plain sight, which we will start off with and some are slightly hidden in bushes and trees for when you get better. Start with that one.” I pointed to a target. Nightfall was hesitant. He held his bow and slowly notched an arrow the way he thought was right. “Good. That is correct. Now hold up your bow.” He automatically held it up and tried to look bold and like he did this all the time. “Try not to stick your elbow out.” I circled around him to see how his posture was. I said calmly, “Don’t be so tense. Relax, but concentrate.” Nightfall spent a few moments trying to get focused. I repeated, “Relax,” and he looked ready. I said very quietly, “Go.” The arrow went shooting across the space between him and the target and perfectly landed in the middle of the red dot. “Spectacular,” I commented. “I’m a fast learner,” he said casually. “It appears so.” We moved onto each target, going down the line I made. I had him do each target until he didn’t miss, and it went on like that for a few days. Occasionally we would have a break and take a short stroll through the forest. Days turned into weeks. Once Nightfall pretty much perfected the art of archery, we moved onto a different skill that was new to him, such as sword fighting and how to scout in the temperate forest. We would still brush up on archery at the end of our lessons, though. The council didn’t know when to expect the enemy clan’s big attack, but we leisurely went on with training and didn’t rush. That may or may not have been a good idea. Finally the day came to us when I took him straight to the outskirts of the village. We stopped in front of the forest. “What are we doing here?” Nightfall asked. “Your archery has improved impressively over the course of weeks. Unfortunately, the celebration of fire is almost to an end and the booths and decorations will be down in a few days. On the bright side, the training field is open now, so we can use it to enter this part of the forest, where the best obstacles are.” “Practice what?” “Practice cross country running,” I said. “It shall be the next skill you will need to master.”

“Isn’t that where you run while going through challenges like hurdling? I already know how to do that.” He jumped over a bush and back over in his wolf form before turning back into a human again. “Yes, but there is also my form of cross country. The clan’s form. This is where you race through the forest and nimbly avoid running into trees and such. It’s all about dodging. Unlike jumping over logs and bushes, or in your case, snow banks.” Nightfall looked a little surprised when I said that. “How do you know where I came from?” he asked. “Twilight. You didn’t know she was telling everybody? Anyways, follow me. And try to keep up.” I laughed and turned into a wolf, giving him a toothy grin. He transformed as well. It was the first time I had seen him as a wolf. He had the darkest brown fur, contrasting against his ice-blue eyes. I turned and dashed through the forest without warning. Dodging massive and also skinny trees was so simple, I ran faster and faster. The leaves and twigs barely brushed my face. I gradually slowed to a canter so I could look back and see how Nightfall was doing. I screeched to a halt, my paws digging into the ground. He wasn’t there. My heart pounded as I jogged back about thirty yards. I found him behind a small tree on his back not too far from where we started. He shakily got back to his paws and shook his head. I barked out a laugh. I told him in wolf language that we should probably go slower. Nightfall nodded and we started walking. I told him all the little things he should look out for that could trip him. “Any roots or fallen branches cause trouble,” I barked. “If you are in a place that has experienced rain, be careful. You’ll need quick footwork because being careful doesn’t mean going slow.” “Why should I be careful? A wet forest ground is the same as a dry one,” he barked back. “Wrong. I thought you could use common sense to figure out that after a shower, it’s extra dangerous. There are slick areas and mud puddles. If you do not go around these, they’ll slow you down. You could get stuck in mud. Does that make any sense?” I barked. “Yes! Let’s get moving,” Nightfall declared. “I was going to say the same thing.” Soon the trees ran faster and faster in the

opposite direction as me. Nightfall was behind me so he could copy my every move as I side stepped so many trees and bushes. My mind went blank and I floated as I picked up speed. We couldn’t hear our own footsteps and neither could the world around us. Nor the hare who ran right in front of me. Only I noticed it as I tried to lean back and stop my momentum. I gasped and unable to stop myself, flew over the poor, furry creature. I slammed against the bulky trunk of a tree as it escaped. “Fire Mist. Get up,” Nightfall barked and walked over to me. “Are you okay? Please get up.” I didn’t want to. I was sore from running with injuries and my vision swam. Reluctantly, I shakily got to my paws. My back yelled at me and I trudged to Nightfall’s side. “Wait! Do you see that?” He pointed a paw at a patch of wildflower buds with long stems. “Er, yes. The flowers will indeed be beautiful this coming season.” What was Nightfall talking about? “No, no. I’m talking about what’s behind them.” He walked over to the flowers and gently brushed them back, exposing deep gashes in the once untouched bark. I walked up to them. “One, two, three, four,” I muttered to myself. I looked at my paw. It was dull white from all the dirt, and there were four razor sharp ivory talons. I gingerly fit them into the gashes. They didn’t fit into the full depth of the scratches. I sneered viciously and swiped the poor, defenseless tree right next to the gashes. Together, Nightfall and I examined the two gorges in the bark. Both damages to the overgrown ginkgo tree were identical. “You know what this means, don’t you?” I asked him. He walked up to the original gashes and sniffed them. Nightfall growled, “Fresh.” I sneered, “Wolves.” “We should report this to Twilight,” stated Nightfall. “But what about our lesson? Well . . . alright. But you better find time to make up for this.” I ran ahead of him and we sprinted to the village. Despite that, what would we do? Nightfall wasn’t ready. No one was ready for battle.

Chapter 10

The whole clan and I went back to the ginkgo tree the next day. Well, everyone except for Nightfall. He didn’t show up that day. I supposed it didn’t matter. He was probably out fitting in some extra practice time. That day we had to wear our cloaks because of the early autumn weather. I pulled mine around me tightly as we hiked into the forest. I don’t get why we didn’t just head out as a pack of wolves. We would’ve had the warmth of fur. Anyways, the council made a semicircle around the tree. White Wind examined the gashes and bent close to them. She switched her sense of smell to the one of a wolf’s. She got a whiff of the evidence and pointed in one direction saying, “Whoever was here went that way into the Desert Forest.” “That figures,” said Luz. “They all camp out there.” “What Luz means is that all the enemies from the past tended to make camp in there.” “We know,” Doe said. Twilight began to pace back and forth on the forest floor. She seemed to be making plans, so we all waited patiently. Finally Twilight said, “Defense at this point is what will hold us. We need to keep this dark clan away until everyone is ready to fight back. Fire Mist, that means you. Once our business is done here, you need to assign specific rolls to every person on the Security Team. The rest of you need to spend all the time you can training. Anything to brush up on skills. Once you’re all ready, report to me and you will get further orders.” “What will we do once we’re ready?” asked Luz. “Good question,” said Twilight. “You and Doe will gather people to help build a protective wall. About six feet high should be fine. It will have to wrap around the whole village. White Wind will gather supplies for any future wounds. There will have to be a tent put up so patients won’t have to be brought all the way to sick bay. I’ll be more than happy to help with anything that needs it.”

She left someone out. “What about Nightfall? What will he do?” I questioned. Twilight answered by saying, “Well, he will have to be our offense. I’m planning on having him do more head-on fighting, so he needs to have that be top priority for training. I suppose he could also help by gathering food. It will become more risky to go into the forest for game. He’ll be able to test out his new skills with some hunting. Any more questions? No? Are you sure? Good. Have a lovely rest of your day.” Most of them went to the training field, but I wandered through the forest some more. I was hungry and felt like catching my own food that day. I didn’t have my bow, so fire was the alternative hunting tool. I was crouched behind a bush and stalking a hare. It was chewing on holly bush leaves and it was fully grown. I crept up a little bit more to peek around my hiding place. Some overgrown branches hid my focused expression. The hare suddenly looked up and its eyes grew big. For a moment, though, we exchanged glances with an understanding that this was it. His time had come to give back to the other living inhabitants. Nevertheless, he still tried to dash to the side. Before the hare could escape, I shot a splash of fire shaped with a pointed end at him, like a dart. His limp body fell in mid hop. I walked over to the body and took out a cloth to wrap it up. I felt depressed. Eating animals served to you is different, but what about when you hunted the meal yourself? It hurts a little inside. Thankfully, the feeling goes away once you taste the delicious meat. On my way home to cook it, I took the route through the forest. A chilling gust of wind unsettled my crimson, embroider-edged cloak. I shivered. At least autumn hadn’t stolen the summer beauty just yet. Everything was alive. Moss still grew on cold, gray rocks planted in the ground that pointed lost ones in the right direction. I heard a call and looked up. The sun shined past the sparrows playing on the highest branches. When I looked back down, a single thread of gossamer glistened and disappeared. It floated calmly in the midst of the tall grass. The thin, trampled path seemed to appear way too quickly. The trees parted to reveal a clearing that was the top of my hill. A pile of targets lay next to the side of my house. I walked into my house and put my cooking tools and the hare on the kitchen table. Once I got the meat boiling, I tossed the scraps, such as the fat and bones, into Harmony’s food pile. He walked into the room and brought his lunch over

to his padded bed. When the meat was done, I ate it quickly, swiped some berries from some nearby bushes, and headed over to the guard station. When Harmony was done with his meal, he caught up to me. “Hey, Harmony!” I called. When we got to the Guard Station, everyone was inside. Some people were sitting in chairs bent over books. “Hello, Silver Dew. What are you guys doing?” I asked. “We’re thinking of how we can protect the village. We like to plan ahead,” he answered. “But you don’t even know when the first attack will be! Or how we will be attacked! Oh, so be it. Besides, I have direct orders from Twilight to take charge of our defense. So you all have to follow my orders,” I smirked. Silver Dew sighed. “Well, I suppose you earned it. After that fight with the other wolf and all.” He tapped my cheek. It didn’t need to be bandaged because it almost completely healed into scars. My back, which caused a dull pain, still had to be bandaged a little longer. I had to it, the whole situation rattled me a little. I weakly responded, “Yeah. I guess so.” I decided to lighten the mood a bit. “Okay! Everybody up! We’re going to line up outside.” I led them to the front yard of the station. “Each of you will get a job. First off, sooner or later, you all will have to fight directly in the field. You know, break out the swords and fight? Until that time comes, you five,” I pointed to a group of young men, “will be in charge of all archery. Gather archers, collect supplies, and assign places for them.” “What do you mean ‘places’?” one guy asked. “There will be a wall built around the entire village, and placed at regular intervals will be stations for archers.” I waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. “Let’s continue. The next five of you will gather former troop . Tell them to prepare old weapons for defense and head-on fights. The rest of you . . . er . . . well, someone has to keep this team together! The rest of you may help as you see fit. That includes keeping the paperwork under control at the station. Finish up any undone business here then get to your assigned duties.” I enjoyed having control over people, although not in a power-hungry way. It made me feel important.

I picked up Harmony and walked through the lines of houses. Some people must have assumed, from experience, that there would be a battle in the future because some middle-aged adults were beginning to sharpen swords, battle axes, poniards, and other weapons of destruction. How did the public know about what was to come? My boot came down on something smooth that almost made me slip. Harmony jumped out of my arms and picked up the parchment. I read it and it said: Come to Sparrow’s Tavern. We have the finest delicacies in the forest! To my left was the board where people nail flyers and ments. Then I noticed an article with the headline: Another Crisis Has Arrived. It read on about how this was going to be the biggest war in hundreds of years and that preparations should be starting soon. Well, they were right. That hope I felt some weeks back quivered as I imagined what war would be like. How many troopers would these enemies bring in? Doe has told me this before: “Don’t jump to any sorts of conclusions and don’t worry too much about the future.” I sighed with frustration and tried to distract myself. In the center of the village was Twilight holding some sort of a blue-print in front of Luz and Doe. Once I got into earshot, I heard Twilight say, “. . . six feet tall with steps at each station for shooting over the wall and peek holes.” She turned and saw me. “Hello, Fire Mist. I trust you got everything under control with your troopers?” she teased. I laughed, and it was a magnificent feeling. “Yes. Now I’m just going out for a stroll,” I answered. “Well, I don’t think you should be ‘out for a stroll’ when you obviously made a promise to me.” She must have noticed my confusion because she added, “And to Nightfall?” My eyebrows shot up and my jaw fell. “Of course! I completely forgot!” I exclaimed. “I suggest you fetch your bow and look for him to finish the training.” Right as Twilight finished, I pulled my bow from my back. “I already have it with me,” I said in a low voice. Luz made a tsk noise. “It’s true. You have always been a little bit on the paranoid side.” She noticed my sword sheathed at my left hip so I could grab it with my right hand. “Perhaps a lot paranoid,” she concluded. I hate to it that Luz is

right about anything, but I never really carried my sword around unless I felt a real threat around the corner. This is because my sword isn’t any ordinary one. It’s the legendary Fire Sword that has been ed down through many generations by my Fire People. It holds the most power ever possible to wield in a weapon at one time. Of course, it only works if you are one of the Fire People. I felt proud of it. Nevertheless, I rolled my eyes at Luz. “We can talk later, Luz. Bye, everyone.” After they responded with a good-bye and I jogged off, I could still hear Luz say, “This whole war situation is making everyone tense. We haven’t gotten a chance to just enjoy time together.” No one had the guts to say that out loud.

Chapter 11

It took a while to find Nightfall walking out of the forest. I ran to him from under a stand of trees and he got startled and said, “Fire Mist! Do not sneak up on me like that.” I said slowly, “I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you.” Then I continued, “Anyways, we need to finish the final step of your training. I hope you have your—” I was cut short when I noticed he already had his bow with him. “Er, good. Then we won’t have to get it from the rack.” “These are indeed dangerous times,” Nightfall said gravely. “Yeah. Indeed,” I mused subconsciously. “Follow me back into the forest. I want to show you something.” “But we’re not allowed to go in there.” “Then why were you?” He didn’t say anything. My pace picked up as we traveled through the forest until I was running. Nightfall tried to keep up, but I wouldn’t stop. A huge smile crossed my face. I slowed down as the time ed and the vegetation got thicker. I could’ve kept running despite the thickness of growth around us, but we had been traveling for a long time and my stamina ran out. After what felt like two hours, we saw the sun break through the branches above us. The trees and bushes thinned until we came to a small clearing. It was magnificent. A crystal stream soaked up the golden rays of light and beautiful stags lounged and drank leisurely. “Now is the time to put what you learned together, and I think you’re ready for hunting down a stag.” My adrenaline shot up just by being here. I loved that place more than anywhere else. “Where are we, anyway?” Nightfall asked loudly. “Sh! You’ll scare the deer away. We are at a place that only two people know

of.” “Who are they?” “You and I,” I whispered. He smiled and excitedly notched an arrow. “Now, you have to be extremely careful here. All the male deer come here, and sometimes if you aim for them and they notice, they might try to run you over flat. You must act quick and with stealth. Watch me first.” I prepared my arrow and picked out an individual stag. I chose one with his back turned and who had large antlers. But this ended before he could attack me. I aimed and let go, causing the large animal to make a thud into the stream. This shook the other stags, but nevertheless, they continued grazing. “Okay. See my hunting strategy? The others are riled up now, so be on your feet. This will cause some commotion. Good luck.” I smiled slyly and descended more into the protective shade. Nightfall took a deep breath then put on a face of pure ambition. He picked out a stag that was alone like I did and was ready to shoot. All was still and quiet when out of nowhere— BAM! A stag had snuck up on us and knocked Nightfall clear off his feet. He tumbled to the ground and laid there for a moment, his eyes glazed over. I frantically ran over to his side. “NIGHTFALL!” I protected him with my bow up, but didn’t shoot. This was Nightfall’s battle. I moaned, “Nightfall. Please get up.” The stag ran closer and closer. Without warning he got up, shot . . . and missed. The arrow flew between the antlers and plopped into the stream. “Run!” I breathed. We took off in different directions, never leaving the clearing. I dodged boulders and holly bushes with speed, trying to distract the stag while Nightfall snuck up from behind. He sprinted clear across the space between him and the deer, weaving through the pack with the skill I taught him. Everything was now in slow motion. I was about to face the stag once I’d lost my patience with the game of tag when Nightfall leaped over an intimidating boulder. He went sky high over the six foot slab of rock with his long, powerful legs stretching over it. He landed with a flawless somersault then whipped out his deadly weapon. With a dangerous flicker in his eyes, he shot down the mighty stag. I was stunned by Nightfall’s jump so much that I hadn’t noticed that all the other deer had left to go protect their families. It was so quiet that the only noise there was to hear was the stream in the middle of the clearing. It gurgled from trying

to push itself past the massive figure I still left lying in the water. I jumped when Nightfall was suddenly by my side saying, “Nice teamwork, don’t you think?” “Yeah.” I gasped as I straightened my back. “Oh dear. Your back still aches?” “Not all the time. Mostly there’s just a dull pain, but now it hurts. I don’t know why.” I stiffened as he spontaneously started rubbing my back gently. Then I sighed. “Relax . . . there. Does that feel better?” I moved and twisted around to see. It felt great! “What did you do?” I asked him with wonderment. He must have detected the streak of concern in my voice. He laughed and said, “I healed you. Don’t worry; I used my powers to fix the breaks in your skin. That process would have taken much longer without me. Take a look.” Nightfall gingerly took my hand and led me to the stream. I lifted the back of my shirt as he delicately unwrapped the bandage. Once it was gone, all there was to see was a revealed back. It was completely flawless except for the tiniest glint of a crystal right where each claw had dug into my flesh. “Wow,” I breathed, “It’s beautiful. I owe you my gratitude.” “That’s okay. To make up for gratitude, you could let me carry you home. We don’t want you tearing the crystal magic that is holding your back together. It takes a couple of hours for the healing to sink in permanently,” he told me. I laughed. I had just ed what Luz said weeks ago. But didn’t you see the way he acted around you? Nightfall was flirting with me! He really was the ladies’ man. Well, I couldn’t let that happen to me. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s a long way back and we also need to carry the meat.” I gestured to both stags. “You couldn’t handle all that weight by yourself.” Nightfall considered that for a moment. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“I’ll be fine.” I brushed past him to wrap up as much meat it took to feed Harmony and I. Nightfall went to his own deer. Seeing so much extra deer meat made me feel terribly guilty for wasting the life of an animal when Nightfall and I could have shared a single stag to eat. Ultimately, it went against my value of hunting animals only when they’re needed to the other races. Yet we sacrificed an extra stag for the sake of Nightfall’s training. That knowledge put a sour look on my face. “Who in the woods eats the leftover meat? You know, since we can’t carry it all? At my old home, snow leopards ate it.” What was just said made me pause. Wouldn’t he have already known that? Twilight talked about how he’s traveled all over from place to place. I was sure he would have been to many forests. “Er, we leave it for the sparrows.” That’s when I felt it. My sixth sense took over everything as I could tell something was not right. What could it be? I looked around like my eyes were scanners detecting the source of something wrong. When I looked at Nightfall, there was a stab at my heart. I had to quickly avert my eyes. My other senses came back as the sixth one faded away. Whoa. That was extremely strange. “Ready to go?” he called over his shoulder. “Yes!” I said in an awkward, high voice. “Are you hungry?” I just gave a small nod. He put his arm around my shoulder and I paused. Nightfall gave me a strange look as we slowly started walking again. Small talk was all that was exchanged as the sound of the stream faded into the distance, all too soon.

Chapter 12

Back at the village, the sunset was almost completely gone, and it was only 5pm. Before we returned home for the day, Nightfall asked, “Does this mean my training is completed, then?” “Yes. You are now free from my bossiness.” We both gave a small laugh. “A few days a week, could we still practice a little together?” “I guess it wouldn’t hurt,” I said awkwardly. We stood there in silence as I traced a crescent moon in the dirt and twirled the velvety strings around my finger that tied my cloak. He finally said, “I suppose we’ll see each other again tomorrow,” and half smiled. Before I could say anything he bent down to give me a quick, light kiss on the forehead. It felt as if heat simmered from my face as I walked home, and my emotions were still racing. Not from embarrassment, but from anger. I knew that was bound to happen eventually! That was exactly what I was trying to prevent. On the contrary, the kiss wasn’t that bad . . . No! I couldn’t let romance invade my life. When I got home, I forced myself to calm down before heading in. As I walked up the creaky steps, Harmony jumped out of nowhere. He walked between my legs and disappeared back into the house. “Well,” I laughed to myself. “It looks like someone’s glad that I’m home.” I walked through the doorway after him. As I started preparing dinner, I talked to Harmony. He didn’t exactly understand me in human form, but he liked listening anyways. “So, I was walking back with Nightfall from—” I was cut short by his snarling. He obviously recognizes Nightfall’s name. “I know you don’t like him, but you’re not being reasonable. He’s not that bad!” Suddenly Harmony leaped onto the table to where I was setting out salad and fruit. He sniffed my forehead and bared his teeth. I rolled my eyes. “That kiss wasn’t my fault! It was all him.” He just ignored me and started gnawing on a

piece of meat. My gaze drifted to the window and I perked up. Beyond the streaky glass was a beautiful tangerine harvest moon. It illuminated the trees as it stalked the land behind the forest. The horizon was a periwinkle sprinkled lightly with small stars. The rest of the sky wasn’t quite dark blue, but definitely darker than the blue during the day. I grabbed my food and headed outside to enjoy the moon. By the time I went inside to prepare for bed, the harvest moon was high in the sky against the blue wash that was getting darker and darker. Twilight wanted me to rest up from the cumbersome tasks I had taken on, so Silver Dew took my entire night shift. In my bed, Harmony curled up against me. I whispered “good night” as I wrapped my arms around him. With my telekinetic form of fire, I made the flame dancing on the candle wick silently blow out. I fell asleep with a smile on my face. More and more into the night, a scene crept into the mists of my sleep. The grass grew long and lush along the pathway, and everything was tinted with a heavenly golden hue. I was walking alongside Nightfall in my flowing orange dress as our conversation took on a strange direction. “So, you know where I came from. What about you?” I began my life’s story. “My mother and father live far away in another forest somewhere across the continent. They live with a clan completely made up of Fire People. A long time ago, they both happened to be traveling. My father was part of the Maple Clan and my mother from the other one. I believe it is called the Sunrise Clan. They met somewhere in another area and became betrothed. Once I grew up in the Maple Clan, I stayed there and my parents went back to the Sunrise Clan. My father is able to stay there because he is connected through my mom as a family member, although he harnesses fire as well. I was put in a training boarding school here so I was watched over. They believed I would carry on the honorable title of being a warrior, so I got an education. I haven’t seen my parents ever since. We all live on our own. The whole clan council can visit their parents whenever we want, but we don’t because we are needed here. Besides, it would be a long trip, and not much of a weekend visit.” I finished with a laugh. Suddenly Nightfall turned to face me. “I must it, O Guardian Fire Mist, I’m glad I’ve gotten to meet you before . . .” In my sleep, I felt like the biggest ball of emotion had socked me in the face. It was like nothing I have ever felt while I was sleeping! There was fear, regret, guilt, the feeling of being overwhelmed . . . where was all of this coming from?

It was like someone was trying to communicate with me. Something was wrong! I shot up, clutching my forehead and ending my dream. I forced a few shaky deep breaths and looked at my sundial. It was 6:30 in the morning and time to get up anyways. Completely oblivious to my spasm attack, Harmony slowly, but surely, got up and stretched like a cat. I sighed and got dressed. Instead of my normal outfit and cloak, I put on a few extra pieces along with my usual tunic and leggings. I strapped on my special shoulder and arm protectors and a specially crafted breast plate. It came half way down my stomach before it curved, exposing my sides. It secured in the back with two metal pieces designed to look like flowing vines. I was ready for what I was about to do. “Harmony?” I said in an anxious voice. “I want you to stay home. I shouldn’t be gone long . . . hopefully.” Harmony could tell that something wasn’t right. He whimpered like he was begging me not to go. I smiled sadly at him. Letting this depressing scene happen made my eyes get heavy, but warriors don’t cry. Instead, I scooped him up and gave a gentle squeeze. “I’ll be home before the day is done,” I assured him. Harmony snuggled against my silver armor and I kissed him between the ears. We looked at each other for a moment, and then he jumped out of my arms. Bravely, I left the comfort of my house to face my fate. I sprinted in the form of a pure white wolf to the council building where the meetings are held. On my way there, I saw a buzz of activity. The foundation for the brick wall was being worked on and supervised by Luz and Doe. The training field was filled to its max with troopers and archers led by Silver Dew and other people on the Security Team. I still couldn’t believe our entire defense was basically my responsibility. Up ahead I recognized my friends. Some were in gray, but most of them were in brown shades like melted chocolate and polished cedar wood. I was the only patch of white in our group. We all arrived in the building’s yard at the same time. After everyone transformed, I noticed that we were all thinking the same thing since we had our armor on. I didn’t waste a second. “Did anyone else feel something strange in their sleep?” I said in a rush. “Now that you mention it, yes! And I’ve never felt anything like it before!” exclaimed Luz. “It’s quite peculiar,” White Wind remarked logically.

“When did everyone feel the jolt?” asked Twilight. We muttered 6:30am. “So did I. This can only mean one thing; the dark clan is about to attack once and for all. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; we have to prevent this,” Twilight concluded. We looked at each other, like we were heroes, because we were. The Guardian, The Healer, The Protector, The Leader . . . that was us. “Let’s go,” Twilight said solemnly. A thought hit me like a ton of bricks. “Wait! What about Nightfall? We can’t leave one of our council behind!” I exclaimed. “He’ll have to fend for himself. We can’t wait all day for him to show up! Fire Mist, there isn’t any time. We have to go now!” Doe was growing impatient. “Alright, alright. I suppose if he stays behind then he can help defend the village if intruders attack.” I paused. “You know, I have a hunch about Nightfall and how he might be part of—” “Fire Mist!” Luz yelled. Taken aback, I reluctantly followed them towards the forest that was forbidden to villagers on the other side of the meadow.

Chapter 13

I could feel something coming. My heart sped and sweat collected on my face, which is what happens when something dangerous lurks around the corner of my life. It was obvious everyone felt their sixth sense giving them a warning of invasion, not just me. Running to the Desert Forest at full speed in our wolf form, the clan made its way to the entrance of the eerie forest. The reason why it is called the Desert Forest is because even though the vegetation is lush and the soil is moist on the outskirts, it’s nothing like that deeper in. Inside, the dirt is cracked like the side of an old building. The brush is tall but shriveled even in the spring time. Clearly this is the spitting image of a desert. I took to my guardian jobs immediately as we made our way through the short path. This led me to keeping an extra careful watch out for enemies and taking mental notes of, if we were ambushed, where to fight so we could gain the upper hand. I could hear our heavy paws clank against the metal gate that once stood to capture our kind. You must know that there were mortals and not just wolftransforming humans in the world. It’s a long story, but invaders once put it up to capture us. It didn’t work. Yet it still lies about as a memory of our strength. As we entered the barren, vacant area, everything went quiet. Too quiet. We kept a keen pair of gold eyes as we searched deeper into the depressed territory. Suddenly, a crumble of small rocks skidded down the slope we were on. Everyone tensed. After a few moments and we had all recovered, the clan knew it was necessary to move onward, but it only became more risky. Any invaders that came back here in the past usually camped here, too, which is why it is forbidden. Then, in the faint distance, we heard the calling of sparrows. Their call meant for us to follow them because potential danger was at hand. Since the sparrows are our allies, we trust them. Flying overhead were the birds that would lead us to the dark clan. Now what we had to do was run east.

After the sparrows left, the pack was at the place where the enemies were hiding. Keeping magic at our claws, we cautiously advanced forward. Deeper and deeper into the brush we went, following wolf prints as the incline got steeper. Then it happened in a flash! Wolves jumped out from all directions, closing us in. Twilight gave us the signal. Now was the time to attack! We decided to split up, each of us taking on one enemy. As they snarled at us, their sleek black fur seemed to absorb the light around them. A deathly dance between the savage and the brilliant was about to happen. The dark clan slashed at our fur. We slashed back, staining the enemies with blood. Twilight took on the biggest of them all, assuming it would be their leader fighting against ours. I challenged one of them that was about Nightfall’s size. Half of his fur was clumped and tinted a very dark brown, and the other fur mixed in was jet black. His eyes were merciless yet had traces of understanding. Nevertheless, we both lunged for each other at the same time and collided. Dark jewels were thrown by the other clan and bounced off of our bracers, thus sending them into the air. Our elements actually hit them, occasionally missing, and the sky was like a display of fireworks in the daytime. It seemed to take forever to defeat them. Because they were all male, they had enhanced stamina and power that was beyond us females. Slowly but surely, each wolf from the dark clan began to fall. Their pride and self confidence blinded them, and we were able to out-wit them with clever tactics. The black wolves fell until Doe and I were the last ones still fighting. The others had to help Doe since she couldn’t hone an element. Her battle depended solely on her strength and the wild life around her. Once her opponent was almost finished, it was just me and the mysteriously familiar wolf. It was about to be over when White Wind called out to me, “Watch out!” I looked down and saw a defeated wolf try to pull my front legs out from under me. I kicked him away and at the same time gave a punch of fire to my opponent. The impact was strong enough that not only did it knock him into a tree, but I stumbled back from the energy and heat given off of my mini comet. Just at the point of death (for them of course), Twilight commanded, “Halt! Do not kill! We will take these enemies in as our prisoners because they still deserve to live. Our village believes in peace and harmony. Now is the time to retreat.

This way!” We all started to turn to pick up the defeated enemies, but she called to me, “Wait, Fire Mist! We can’t carry all of them. You need to stay here and make sure there isn’t the slight chance of them escaping while the rest of us get more troopers. We won’t be gone long.” I set my gaze back to the still dark clan while I listened to everyone gallop away. All of the wolves were either temporarily unconscious or too weak to move. Now all was a tranquil silence. I sat and waited. Fifteen minutes later, more wolves of brown and gray came to help us carry the enemies back to the village. We were trudging back along the trail when one of the wolves stirred. Apparently frightened, he slashed his claws along the wolf’s back that was carrying him. He yelped and collapsed under trembling legs. “We’ll have to attend to him,” said Twilight in a strained voice. Then she called over to White Wind. “Come, my ice-breathing friend, bring this one to sick bay. Fire Mist can carry the extra weight, can’t you?” She turned to me. “Of course I can,” I replied confidently. “But shouldn’t we also take the enemies to sick bay? They’re injured, too.” Twilight pondered it for a while. “I suppose so. Look, there’s the exit out of the Desert Forest.” Walking through the village, I could see all that was going on. Humans and wolves littered the paths, as well as children playing and laughing, using magic only if supervised or legally allowed to do so. They were utterly unaware of the tension in the air. Despite that, the children were confused as we marched down the main street to sick bay. They hid behind their mothers as if the wolves we were carrying on our tired backs could wake up at any second. Doe, being the kind and understanding person she is, gave a toothy, reassuring smile to a little girl. She shyly smiled back. At the entrance to sick bay, a man opened the door for us as we filed into the hallways made extra wide for both humans and wolves. It smelled like potent herbs used in medicines. When we climbed the wooden stairs and walked into a room, there were pure white cots for each black wolf. We shifted back into our human forms. “I should put Stag Hunter in a bed as far away from them as possible. You know, just in case.” White Wind was referring to the trooper who collapsed. “Whatever you deem is necessary,” said Twilight. White Wind beckoned to

another doctor to help her lift up Stag Hunter. Meanwhile, Twilight paced slowly past each unconscious wolf. “We did well, everyone. However, sooner or later these gentlemen will have to be dealt with. Perhaps they could do some community service,” Twilight mused thoughtfully. “They’re serial killers,” retorted Luz with her arms crossed. “I don’t think they can be trusted out in the public.” “Good point. We’ll have to think this over. I’ll decide what to do with them later.” As Twilight finished, I wandered over to one of the windows. It gave a decent view, although on the top floor above us, you can even look over the forest. I noted the sunset as I thought about the battle. How long had we been gone? Shoot. I had forgotten about Harmony. He would have been wondering where I was, assuming the worst happened. Thank goodness Twilight beckoned for us to leave so I could get home. Besides, White Wind needed space to do her work. “What is there to be done now?” I asked Twilight. She said, “Take to your jobs, whatever is left undone, but do not leave the meadow or go back into the forest.” That was that. All we could do was wait for the captives to heal, which will be a long process considering it is easier and faster to heal in human form. They would have to switch back on their own, but that wasn’t an option since White Wind gave them all medications to keep them ed out for everyone’s safety. Until then, my schedule went back to normal. Meet with the clan occasionally, guard the village from wild dangers at night, and serve my people (um, fellow wolves). Later that night, Twilight approached me. “Is this where you wish to relax for your last hour of free time?” she asked. I was sitting on my creaky little front porch in front of my . . . well, I would call it my hut because of its round outer walls, but it’s technically a house. So there I was, staring off into the distance. She came to sit next to me on the top step. “Yes. I love watching the earth go round as nature takes its course,” I tried to say wisely. She reminded me that I had an hour until my lonely night shift guarding the village would arrive. However, in that moment, I finally realized how important our role of keeping good and justice to this planet was. I vowed to protect it with all my strength; to preserve peace and harmony throughout the

land. So, what will happen to my village after the enemies awaken? That is another chapter of the long story I call my life, and therefore that piece of history is destined to be told later. For now, listen to the crickets call. Watch the fireflies lazily dim and brighten their lanterns. The leaves rustle, and the sun sets.

Part 2

Chapter 1

As the sun rose, it dimly reflected off of the untouched, midwinter snow. It brought everything serenity as millions of orange sparkles shined. They watched me and could notice my expression, but I didn’t pay attention to the snow’s sparkling beauty. I stared and stared at the horizon and everything, if anything, beyond that. That sunrise brought with it a strange new destiny. I could tell already that today was going to be different than the others. We had recently decided what to do with the dark clan. They had been kept in a deep sleep for months now, and that was all the time we needed to choose our next move. When they awaken, they will be put in court. It’s done differently than how normal humans do it. Our court does things not by law, but by justice. Yes, there’s a difference. We make decisions in court depending on what we feel is right. The only laws that are enforced are the basic ones needed to form the backbone of society: do not steal, do not kill, do not hoard natural resources, and so on. In other news, Nightfall is still missing. He’s been gone ever since the day the council hunted down that dark clan. I had a hunch on why he was missing. It’s been haunting me since we finished up his training, but I can’t be right. My hypothesis was so absurd, so unrealistic, it couldn’t have been true. Well, we would all find out today. I reluctantly trudged down the porch steps and stopped. Was I about to freeze myself to death by drenching my boots and walking in snow? Of course not! I honed my element and let heat waves leak out of my hands. The snow on the path melted away and the water evaporated. I smiled to myself. “That’s better.” Unfortunately, it was snowing big, fat flakes that stuck to the ground. My beautiful cape soon was dragging in a light dust of snow. The hem froze partly and got cold and crusty. I rolled my eyes and sighed, which became an obnoxious cloud that flew into my face. I could practically feel the fire in my heart chill to an utter nonexistence. Nevertheless, I slumped onward because there had been a special arrangement to meet at sick bay. The captives were mostly healed and the medication that keeps

them asleep was supposed to wear off that day. On my way, I saw people outside laughing and making small talk. They were forced to stand outside since they had to watch their children play in the precipitation. Luz was amongst them, talking with Midnight Waters. She ran over to me and together we made our way down the street. “Don’t you just enjoy winter? The coldness is so . . . electric!” Luz finished with enthusiasm and a jump. “Yeah, yeah. Well I don’t exactly like the idea of chapped lips and staying cooped up indoors.” Luz snorted. “Fine. Be that as it may, but there’s nothing you can do about it.” The whole building was closed off to visitors, and patients and doctors were advised to stay on the other floors. We were dealing with danger. Inside, I could see everyone making a semicircle around the captives who, by the way, were still in wolf form. Twilight twitched her head towards the doorway at the sound of the squeaky hinges. She relaxed when she saw us. “Luz, Fire Mist. We’re glad you both are now here. Find a place to stand and don’t take your eyes off of the enemies. How much time is left, White Wind?” She was holding a pocket watch and had been looking at it intently. With a tight voice she answered, “Sixteen seconds. Sixteen . . . fifteen . . . fourteen . . . thirteen . . .” “Get ready,” Twilight said. We held our ground as our hands became hot with fire, cold with ice, electric with energy . . . “Seven . . . six . . .” This was it. Everyone’s fate was about to wake up in front of us. “Three . . . two . . . one.” A deadly silence that seemed to scream filled the room. Then, there was a faint rustling. Our heads snapped in the direction of one of the wolves. He slowly moved his legs like he was running in quick sand. Eventually, the others seemed to toss and turn, also. My heart was pounding so hard that my ears hurt from the pulsing. Then, all at once, their eyes snapped open with a fresh and sinister clarity. They looked at us. What were they going to do? Would they do as Twilight said and come peacefully to the court house? The likelihood of that happening was slim.

Twilight determined what would happen next as she said, “You all have awakened from a deep sleep. Follow us and your lives will be spared.” It was the classic threat. Slyly, the dark clan got to their feet. Something still wasn’t right. “But wait. You must identify yourselves first. Besides, if we got into another brawl, wolves against humans wouldn’t be exactly fair, would it?” She finished with a know-it-all tone. All the wolves looked to the biggest one in their clan, who appeared to be the leader. He gave a nod and they turned their backs to us. The same wolf I fought in the Desert Forest gave me a friendly warning with a glance. Then they transformed to reveal the backs of seven-foot males with strong muscles, broad shoulders, and tense, massive limbs. Then the clan turned. What I saw stabbed me in the heart when one enemy stood out from the rest. His dangerous handsomeness was composed of someone who was about two years older than me. He had an unwelcoming, pale face with ice-blue eyes that were chilling and merciless. It was Nightfall. I gasped. “I knew it was you!” Unable to control my emotions, I broke down and cried. He had always seemed so innocent. Then again, that explained the mysterious disappearances. Even louder I yelled, “I trusted you. And you took advantage of that by betraying me! Betraying all of us!” Twilight tried to comfort me without keeping her eyes off Nightfall. “I agree. It was quite a trick to play.” She then addressed Nightfall. “This is shocking. You had such great potential being in our council. It was also a sick thing to act like you were neglected. That is no joking matter!” She stepped forward. “My fellow councilors will now escort you all to the Maple Clan Court House where your fates will be decided based on your actions.” Without warning, a strong, visible chain of power formed a perimeter around the dark clan. “Let’s go.” Down the stairs we went. Doctors scattered across the main floor were paralyzed with awe, while others quickly hustled patients into rooms. Outside was a little different. As we marched down the center of the village, humans spat at our feet and wolves growled deep in their throats when they noticed Nightfall. They, too, trusted him to protect their children. “Fire Mist,” Nightfall whispered in my ear. Now that I really knew who he was, everything right down to his voice seemed different to me. “I just wanted to say

that I’m sorry to see the peace between us die.” That didn’t fool me. “That’s not true. You only built a friendship with me to try and find information about the clan. You never actually enjoyed it.” “But I did.” It’s possible that he’s a good actor, but what he said sounded genuine and not a lie. That made my heart ache with sorrow. Noticing that his clan were eavesdropping, Nightfall changed his tone and said, “Anyways, thanks for training me all those weeks. Now, with my new skills and knowledge of the land, I can teach my council how to adapt, hunt, and do other things in this foreign place.” “That may be, but you’ll never have the natural born skill it takes to truly master forest survival and navigation,” I retorted. I hesitated, then snapped, “Be quiet. I no longer know you. Never talk to me again!” That did the trick. It was nothing more than an uncomfortable silence all the way to the courthouse. Once everyone was there, someone from inside opened the door for us. The man who filed us inside smiled grimly at Twilight. Inside, the Security Team seated the dark clan and we sat in big, leather seats up front. Twilight’s position was in the middle and risen up slightly. I sat two down from her. There was warm sunshine on my back despite the bitter cold outside. It was as if the stained glass windows filtered out winter temperature and brought summer. They also washed my council and me with a rainbow hue that changed and sparkled with our every move. It even colored the many dust particles that made the atmosphere so stuffy. A full jury was there and waiting for us to begin. “First off,” started Twilight, “All of this information is classified. I speak to the jury when I say this: nothing that is said in here goes beyond these walls except for what my council and I must discuss. Well, I think you gentlemen know why you’re here. You have been accused of hostile actions and attempted murder. The first time was solely on my council member, Fire Mist.” I pointed at my scarred cheek and raised my eyebrows to emphasize on that point. “One of your men tried to invade our village at midnight while she was on guard duty.” Their leader interrupted by saying, “That’s true. We had someone go along with Emery to see if anything bad would occur. That person ran back to our hideout and reported the brawl.”

“That was the conclusion we drew up,” said Twilight. “You can’t outsmart us. But let’s continue; this clan was then found in the forbidden Desert Forest, and another fight broke out after that. This leads us to where we’re sitting right now.” Doe spoke up. “Who are you people, anyways?” The leader hesitated then answered, “We are the council of the Crystal Clan. We came from the northern tundra and have been traveling this land for months. My name is Death Shard, and I am the leader of our clan. Who you see with me now is my council. Just like you people have a council, we have one, too.” “I knew it!” Luz exclaimed for everyone to hear. Her face turned bright red. “Sorry. I just had always thought Nightfall looked like he’d spent some time in the cold parts of the world. Continue.” She sank low in her chair and Death Shard smirked. “I have a question,” I announced. “If all of you have black fur, how come Nightfall’s is different?” “Good question, little girl,” said Death Shard. I glared at him. “If at any time he had to turn into a wolf, we dyed his fur so it would appear a very dark brown. May I show you?” Twilight gave a nod. “Good.” Nightfall transformed and caused the jury to be shocked by his enormity. He stood tall and proud, which made him even more intimidating. “As you can see, the fibers are now clumped together and faded. Some black is starting to show.” He rubbed a pinch of fur between his fingers like it was sand. A substance came off of the hairs and onto his fingertips. “Clay. It’s clay,” Death Shard said as if he was thinking out loud. Nightfall changed again and hissed under his breath, “Don’t touch me ever again.” His hostility made me squirm in my seat. I shuddered to think that I was ever within a two foot radius of him. “Does that answer your question, Fire Mist?” asked Death Shard. A pure hatred bubbled inside of me from the fact that he knew my name. What else did he know about me? “Yes, it does,” I said through clenched teeth. “Any more questions?” said a member of the Crystal Clan annoyingly.

“Yes.” Luz piped up. “Is it true you eat sparrows?” The possibility made everyone in the room except the Crystal Clan cringe. “Well, in the tundra, we don’t have sparrows. Sometimes we go to the outer forests where we can find them,” said Death Shard. “So, basically you’re saying that you hunt them?” asked Doe. “Yep. Basically.” “How can you do that?” Doe exclaimed. “They are innocent creatures that don’t deserve to be hunted!” By now she was on her feet, fuming. “Well, it’s what our culture hunts. What can I say? But it’s not like we’re alone. Our allies are the snowy owls, just like yours are the sparrows.” “Doe. Please sit down,” said Twilight with a slight trace of urgency. “We’re not here to pick fights. I think we have enough information about your council for now. It’s time to bring some justice. All in the jury who say the Crystal Clan council is guilty of wrong-doing say ‘Aye.’” There was a ripple of aye’s all around. “Okay. Anyone who will say the contrary, though I find it hard to believe, please stand up.” No one stood except the Crystal council. Apparently they thought they had a sense of humor. “Sit down!” said White Wind impatiently. “It has been decided. Based on the majority of people who claim guilty, Death Shard and his council will be sentenced to imprisonment until further notice. Dismissed,” Twilight concluded. The courthouse filled with commotion as different conversations went on and out the door. “Fire Mist,” whispered Twilight. She grabbed my arm. “I want you and the Security Team to take the Crystal council to the empty jail camp. Please be careful.” I made a tsk noise. “Don’t worry. I have my sword and bow with me.” I also gestured to my arm protectors and breast plate. “Alright. The council and I will see you later.” I gave them a reassuring smile, trying to seem positive, but it wasn’t like that. The Security Team is highly trained, but they hadn’t received the special training that the council got. Together, we’re unstoppable. But one of us singled out? That meant only one

fifth of the strength. The camp was empty, and had always been that way. We hadn’t had a real use for it in a very long time. It’s not that I hate that place, but somehow it feels like walking through a graveyard: cold and empty. Of course, we couldn’t just let the place crumble to the ground. There are people who take care of the jail yard, clean out the cells, stuff like that. Which, by the way, aren’t that shabby. The cells are no paradise, but at least they won’t be sleeping on hay and living on cold bread. We were about to show them to their separate cells—which I expected they wouldn’t go to without a fight—when one of them tried to attack me from behind. Prepared, I heard the whistle of crystals targeting towards me and instinctively side-stepped. I whipped around and slammed him into the cell bars with a blast of heat. His large head made a satisfying thwang against the magiroof metal. Slowly, he rose to his feet, rubbing the back of his head. “Anyone else want to challenge me?” I warned quietly. Silver Dew cleared his throat. “Or the rest of us?” It was dead silent. “Good. I’ll take this one.” I gestured to the victim of my heat blast. “Everyone else take someone, and Silver Dew, you take Nightfall.” I said the name with venom. Someone in the Security Team who I never got along with retorted, “You’re not the leader of this team, you know.” “No, but I am Chief in Defense temporarily. One more thing: place them in every other cell so there’s a room in between each of them.” They all did, but reluctantly. Those immature twenty-year-olds still couldn’t get used to my fifteen-year-old authority. Apparently Death Shard had lost his patience, also. As I walked by his cell, he flicked a crystal at me through the bars with annoyance. I glared at him, then rolled my eyes to hide my fear of his intense rinks of ice. As the Crystal council watched us exit, there was an eerie silence that made me suppress a shiver.

Chapter 2

“White Wind? Do you have some of that ointment for chapped lips?” I asked hopefully. We were huddled at a table in Sparrow’s Tavern. I had officially gotten sick of just peeling off the chapped skin off of my cracked bottom lip. “Sure, here you go. Just keep the tin . . . you will need it.” The whole council cracked up—even Twilight—as I challenged White Wind to a stare down with a simple yet stern look in my eyes. Nevertheless, I accepted the ointment gratefully. I twisted off the gritty cap and its potent smell of herbs and spice made me blink back tears. The cool substance just added to the numbing temperature of my red finger tip. As I applied it, Luz asked Twilight, “What’s the status on our jail mice? Or, in this case, rats?” It had been a couple of days since the day in court. “I was down there this morning. Activity was low and they all seemed to be asleep,” said Twilight. “You mean you went down there by yourself?” Doe asked. “Yes. I mean, I can afford to.” This was sadly true. The leader of any clan is always the most powerful member, by far. I always respected Twilight, but I was completely jealous of her advantage. “Oh, that’s right. I forgot,” Doe muttered. “In other news,” Twilight continued, “The wall around the perimeter of the village is officially finished. The peek holes are installed, and now they’re using the outside fields of the meadow for combat practice. Well done, Luz and Doe.” “Thank you,” they said at the same time, clinking their drinking glasses with each other. “And White Wind. Do you have all your medical equipment and bandages prepared?”

“Not yet. I’m almost done making a fresh pot of herbal medicine for open sores,” White Wind said. Luz sputtered with a mouth full of food. “Hello? I’m eating here! Open sores? That’s disgusting, Windy.” White Wind made an ugly face and retorted, “You didn’t seriously just call me that.” It wasn’t a question. I giggled and caught Twilight snickering out of the side of her mouth. It was the first childish smile I’ve seen on her face in a long while. “Girls,” Twilight laughed, “We seriously need to get back to the original topic.” She added wryly, “Windy”. “Right. I’ll set up my medical tent as soon as I can.” Just then, the man from the front counter walked over. “Hello, ladies. White Wind, I wanted to let you know that I included your seasonal discount on your portion of the total.” She smiled politely. “Thank you.” I was barely aware of their small talk as I gazed out the window at the blue flags that symbolized water. I wondered if the Crystal Clan had our same tradition, even though none of them harnessed any of the four main elements. I thought of how I was disgusted by their personalities and their lack of concern when we called Nightfall a traitor. They probably didn’t have that tradition. Heck, forget about them having any morals, either! “Fire Mist! You coming?” Luz gave me an impatient poke in the shoulder. “We’re leaving to visit the jail camp again.” “Oh. Uh, yeah,” I stumbled. We walked down the frozen boards into the midday cold. The drastic changes in temperature from burning warmth to biting cold made me continue to take off and put on my gloves. “Do we really have to visit the Crystal Clan? You were just down there this morning,” I addressed Twilight. “Look,” Luz started, “I know you’re having issues with your ex-lover, but this is something we have to do.” “What are you talking about?” I hissed, even though I clearly knew what she was saying. “And what about yourself, huh? You used to drool over him.” Doe

and White Wind winced as I came out with the ugly truth without hesitation. Luz gave me the stink eye. “That was before I knew his personality and everything was a total fake.” Her last sentence gave me a quick stab in the chest. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t get over the fact that Nightfall—ugh, it pains me to think of that name—was on a different side: a different team. “Sh! You don’t want them to hear you talking about them, do you?” Doe whispered urgently. I gave her a puzzled look before my eyes widened. We were already mostly across the jail yard. Time flies when you’re reminiscing about the past. As we walked into the dusty hallway of cells, I stopped in my tracks and my gut twisted. The creaky iron doors were ominously hanging open. I slowly walked to one of the cells as if a monster could’ve jumped out at any moment. When I peered around the corner, my heart raced. The only thing in there was the furniture and a square of light on the floor with bars every four inches breaking the square. I looked up and pale yellow light leaked in and cast weird striped shadows, bars on jail cell bars. Doe was the first to speak. “How could this have happened?” “They could be anywhere! Including in hidden places around the village,” Luz cried. Everyone sighed. “Everyone come over here.” White Wind’s voice echoed down the hall. We circled around a cell door that had the key in its lock. She was bent over it, inspecting. The key was dusted with a dark, gritty substance that shimmered and blinded my eyes from reflecting the sunlight. It was brought to attention by Luz who asked, “What is that stuff?” White Wind took some of it and rubbed it between her fingers. The grainy particles left small marks as if it could’ve cut into her skin if the particles were bigger. “Crystals,” White Wind muttered. “This is what happened.” She walked behind the cell door and acted it out. “They located the key, which was hanging twenty feet away. Then, they used their powers combined to lift the key.” She demonstrated with a nearby tin cup. “They gradually pulled it towards their leader’s cell, which is at the front of the hall. Once Death Shard got out, he went down the line of cells until he got to this one and had let everyone escape. They were probably in a hurry, so he left the key in the lock,” White Wind concluded.

“Well done.” Twilight clapped. “I don’t get why they didn’t blow holes in the wall, since they’re just made of stone and not magic-proof. Whose idea was that, anyway?” Luz accused. “They could’ve escaped that way!” “Don’t look at me.” White Wind held up her now black-tinted hands. “It was my previous ancestors who were the architects.” “Why did they build the jail camp? I thought your line of family specialized in healing,” I asked. “We do, it’s just what they did to help out the village.” She looked at us all. “Anyway, what happened in the past doesn’t matter anymore.” “White Wind is right. We need to send out search parties as soon as possible,” Twilight said. “You mean bounty hunters?” Doe said it like the idea was inhumane. “Precisely.” “But there aren’t any bounty hunters in our village, and the nearest neighboring village is more than one hundred miles away! We don’t have time to leave our people in jeopardy while we run off and try to recruit people.” “Ah, that leads me to your answer,” Twilight said, amused. “We are going in after them.” The idea of traveling as far as it takes to find the Crystal council brought back the gut-wrenching again. That meant going completely outside of Maple Clan territory. “We’re leaving at dusk. Pack anything you might need for camping.”

Chapter 3

“What else do you think we’ll need?” I said in the language that Harmony would understand. He hesitated before running into my room and coming back with my bed sheet in his mouth for us to sleep on. He handed it to me, which I took with my jaws that were six times bigger than his. I shifted back into a human so I could pack everything up with opposable thumbs. “Good. I think that’s everything.” My boots echoed off of the walls as I walked to the door then paused. I stared at the sword resting delicately against my armor on the kitchen table. Would I need these tools? I already had my bow, but I strapped the weapon around my waist anyway and stuffed the armor into our pack, making an irregular-shaped bulge. “Now we’re ready,” I said to Harmony. I shifted again and ran off toward the Maple Clan council building with the bag on my back. At the fort, I sat against the wall, head tilted back. My gaze wandered amongst the many twilight stars in the periwinkle sky. In the distance, the late harvest moon brought out the features of the bare trees with its golden orange glow. Eventually it came to nestle between two mountain peaks. The sunset was just like the one on the night we all were spontaneously woken up. Suddenly, I heard faint footsteps and leaped to a more aggressive stance, giving a low and ragged gasp from being startled. Of course, it was just my fellow council . I was aghast at how on edge I’d been lately. I wasn’t usually that way. “. . . Two, three, four, five. Good, we’re all here.” Twilight spoke in the language of the wolves. “We should get going before it really gets dark so we can make camp. Along the way, we can keep a look out for our enemies.” She looked at the moon that was now crawling towards the mountain peaks. “She’s moving fast. Let’s roll.” Our council loped across the empty outskirt fields that acted as a cushion between the ominous Desert Forest and the village’s newly built wall. The outer spruces provided excessive shade that made me shiver despite my protective winter fur coat. I brushed against one of the lower branches accidently and that somehow knocked down snow from a higher branch in the tree. It collapsed onto Luz right behind me, who gave me the stink eye as she miserably

shook off the cold, extra weight. The bits of snow fell on top of the untouched blanket of snow. Untouched except for a dust of pine needles mingling with the shimmery top of the snow bed. Inside the forest, the moonlit landscape went from an orange glow to a pale ghostliness. I could feel the still sun-baked dirt under the four inch snow. It was pretty hard to find a decent camp site that was far from any danger. After another half hour of weary travel, we settled at a six foot drop that had a hollowed-out cavity in the tiny cliff big enough for the council to slumber in. Once everyone had settled down, they immediately fell into an unaware-of blackness. Within another half-hour, they were back to human form. That’s what happens when you’re in a deep sleep. Though, I was the only wolf left. I lay awake, continuing my star gazing. I didn’t think about anything in particular, so my mind was an unconcerned, empty hole. Even though shape-shifters transformed to wolves, our brains remained very human. That night, so beautiful and so away from civilization, somehow took a toll on me. I hoisted myself up, climbed to the top edge of the drop, and howled like I never had before. I was surprised by its wild beauty, yet it felt so . . . natural. For once, my heart was fully animal. The billions upon billions of flashing stars seemed to rain down on me as I sang until I grew weary and finally fell asleep on the edge of the drop. When I awoke the following morning, I was surprised to see that the brilliant sunrise display was beginning to wrap up as the sun separated from the warmcolored sky and floated into the air above the bald trees. I gave a tired sigh. If that was the first time I’d missed the sunrise in a long while, which it was, that meant something. Still slightly disoriented, I slowly rolled onto all fours only to find my cold hands and knees touch the forest floor. After my private event of that night, the transition from wolf to human was like a slap in the face with a bucket of ice water. Harmony was hovering behind Doe who was brewing up some herbal tea. He turned at the sound of my rustling and gave me a look that read: why was I up and not you? My care for his puzzlement dissipated by the odd sense of peace. The only sound was the crackling fire and faint movements up above from the sparrows beginning to wake up. This was in contrast to how mornings in the village are, where there always seemed to be somebody up and about. There was usually some sort of activity down there no matter what time of day. “Good

morning,” Doe whispered with a smile. “Good morning,” I replied without bothering to lower my voice. Doe shushed me softly and pointed to beyond where I was standing up. I turned to see White Wind’s peaceful, still face. Without a trace of stress in her closed eyes and face, it was relaxing to watch her sleep. It was like a mother protecting her offspring. “Here.” I turned at the sound of Luz’s voice and caught a vibrant red tunic in my hands right before it hit my face. “Put that on and throw away your old one. It’s getting faded and tattered.” “Uh, thank you.” I took the friendly gesture gratefully. I turned to face the inside of our natural shelter so that nothing would be . . . exposed while I changed. After I unlaced the worn laces of my shirt and slipped it off, it showed the flawless skin and small line of crystals that once was my injury a couple months ago. I’d told the council that it had healed completely, but I left out the part about how it had done so. Twilight, who was packing up camp next to the fire, noticed a small, skittish reflection of rainbow on the side of the gurgling pot. She turned and let her jaw drop at the sight of my dark crystals reflecting the dim light. After I turned to make sure no one was looking, I quickly pulled on the new tunic (not bothering to lace it up in that moment), and cried to Twilight, “I’m so sorry!” In that instant, White Wind’s eyes flew open. She rubbed them and said, “What’s going on?” The moment that everyone turned to stare at me hung damply in the air for far too long. The bubbling of the pot and the sparrow’s rustling seemed to stop, and they all waited for an explanation. “I’m so sorry,” I repeated a lot quieter. “He was willing to take the burden of the pain off my shoulders, and I accepted his help. It was all too easy to just let him heal me.” They continued to just stand there. What did they want from me? To break down again? That’s probably what Luz wanted. “Where did this happen?” Twilight asked suddenly. It was hard to talk around the lump in my throat. “The last day of Nightfall’s training. We went—” No. I couldn’t tell them where we were even if my leader demanded it. That place was my sanctuary. “We were out hunting a stag.” They all nodded slowly. “It happened way before I suspected him to be a traitor, when I trusted him to actually be a kind person.” Even though I was choked up, I

refused to let them see me in tears. Twilight strode over and put an arm around my shoulders, but her words were heavy. “I hope you realize that you’ve been permanently marked by a traitor—an enemy. Even though nothing bad technically will happen, like Nightfall having control over you, this will take a huge toll on you mentally. You have given in, and knowing the depth of your mistake is punishment enough.” Just when I looked even more put-down, she added, “I wish this hadn’t happened. Sure, people will temporarily be disappointed. But everyone in the village and everyone here still cares about you. Okay?” Despite the stinging cold, my cheeks became hot from her giving me a pep talk while the council was watching. As if Twilight suddenly noticed that our friends were standing there, she said, “Bundle up all your possessions. We’re leaving in a half an hour. And that’s an order.” The group reluctantly broke away. They seemed like they actually wanted to stay to comfort me. Twilight was lacing up my tunic with gentle fingers and saying, “Chin up. Time to get back to work.” When we got back to the village, the activity level had multiplied. Villagers were frantically setting up weapons and supplies along the outer wall. Their paranoia was probably from the secret of the Crystal council escaping, thanks to the jail care-taker. “Crap,” Luz muttered. “Well, at least we don’t have to tell them about the breakout ourselves.” “No,” Twilight said. “No, it’s good. They’re taking extra measures to ensure safety.” There was a loud flapping right above us. I looked up to see the ice blue flags writhing like snakes cut in two. My vision came down and I noticed how pathetic it was that no one was celebrating the Ice People. No one was eating out for lunch to take advantage of their discounts, and there wasn’t a single soldier who wasn’t marching out in the training field. My thought was interrupted by White Wind. “It looks like a storm is brewing. That’s odd. Why would it start raining in the dead of winter? Shouldn’t it make more sense for it to be snowing?” “It smells like a storm is brewing, too,” I mused. The atmosphere smelled of cool, musky dew, like in the morning. The way the smell taunted my nostrils told me that it would come in about twenty minutes.

Unexpectedly, there was a hush that settled over the whole meadow and village. The soldiers stopped marching to face one of the dirt paths that leaked into the village. They were mistaken. It wasn’t what was on the ground, but what was in the air. A flock of house sparrows took up the sky before gliding down to hover at eye level. They stayed there for a minute, as if they were waiting for everyone’s attention. When they landed on the ground, their slightly bigger leader flew back up to communicate with Doe. They made serious eye as she murmured, “What do you have to report?” The bird gestured to the Desert Forest with a sorrowful look. Doe’s face turned as white as the winter sky. Nevertheless, she nodded in acknowledgement. They continued to exchange an unspoken conversation that no one else could understand until the sparrow leader floated back down to the ground. “Doe. What information have you collected for us?” Twilight insisted. Not even turning around, Doe managed to say, “They’re coming . . . in twenty minutes.”

Chapter 4

I quickly untied my pack and took out my armor and sword as panicked people rushed by to seek safety, while others took up posts along the wall. Troops waited anxiously at the gate of the wall. Once I got all suited up, I paced along the perimeter, staring out at the fields on the other side of the wall that would be filled with death in a matter of minutes. The last five minutes were full of wait. For the storm, and for the Crystal Clan’s warriors. “Fire Mist!” White Wind grabbed my arm. “The council needs to gather.” She pulled me further and further away from the wall until we were outside the Maple Clan council building. For a moment we just stood there in a circle, clad in armor and swords that we never had to use on a daily basis. My sword was the most important of them all. Despite its sterling silver handle and gold blade, it was easy to wield and lift. Still, I could feel the heavy burden of responsibility to lead our people in combat. As if Twilight could read my mind, she got up on her soap box and said in a strong voice, “We will enter today in battle and leave today in victory, aiding our people the whole way. We will not fall, we will not let them take our clan, and we will not let them without a fight!” Her voice rose. “Yes!” we chanted. “Friends will be lost and many will be wounded. Nevertheless, we have to rise above this evil and restore peace to our meadow and the forests!” “Yes!” we chanted. “Good.” We cleansed our minds with a single moment of silence kept within our circle despite the surrounding commotion. Then Twilight transformed without warning into her chocolate brown wolf body. She lowered her pointed ear to the ground and listened with unfocused eyes. She swiftly shifted again and stated, “I hear the beat of their march coming this way.” Her words were muffled by a soft rumble overhead. The tiniest silver drop fell between my eyes. I turned and a chorus of rambling warriors ed the thunder as they gradually seeped through

the trees. “Places! Everyone, quick! Get to your stations!” Luz yelled. She waved to us and took off to run around the village, double check for warriors, and get families into their homes. Nearby, Midnight Waters and her husband were trying to bring their boys inside. They were petrified into place with matching looks of awe and horror. Doe ran over to pick up the children and hand them to their parents who ran them into shelter. “You should get over to the archers and issue orders to the Security Team. Go on, don’t dilly-dally! If you need me, I’ll be at the head of the troops, directing them to where they need to go,” said Twilight. I nodded and turned to leave, but then Twilight grabbed my shoulder, whirled me around and said, “Be safe.” “You too,” I replied. Then I jogged off to find the Security Team. They were standing impatiently in a blob next to the brick wall. I hurried over and announced, “Thank you for waiting. Let’s make this simple by dividing the wall into segments of eight. North, North East, East, South East, South, South West, West, and North West. We’ll assign two people per section where they can be in charge of restocking supplies, guiding people to the hospital tent, and so on. If any huge problems occur, come and get me. Good luck and be safe.” They scattered to their stations as I used a burst of fire under my feet to hoist myself to stand on top of the wall. Meanwhile, the enemy clan came to a surprising halt at the edge of the forest. I could see what looked to be their council consulting with each other 150 yards away. I took out my bow and notched an arrow in one smooth motion. I held it up, preparing to defend my villagers if anyone dared to challenge me. My eyes were fixed on Death Shard intensely, as if my gaze could never be broken. Suddenly, I heard a zap and Luz appeared at my side. I never even flinched. Reluctantly, I turned to face her. Her eyes, studying my expression, had a flicker of excitement. They radiated energy that just waited to get out in a well-fought battle. Her sly yet kind smile spoke out the words, “I got your back, sister.” Luz’s words made me lose my neutral composure. I laughed and said, “Right back at ‘cha.” We stood back to back with our bows held up, a symmetrical statue. “No one can or will tear us down,” Luz said with a ion that made my heart rejoice, for she

had never made me feel so ambitious. “You took the words right out of my mouth.” We continued to stand there even though our arms got tired from waiting so long. Death Shard approached the gate of the wall unarmed, though he still had his magic. Luz and I gradually brought our arms down to rest. Twilight abandoned a large formation of warriors to talk to him from the other side of the gate. Death Shard just ignored her and pretended she wasn’t there. He spoke out to everyone, saying, “Now is your only chance. I will say this just once, and you will listen. Surrender now or grieve for the loved ones who are about to perish.” In a voice with an edge of mean to it, Twilight yelled, “Well, what do you think is our answer? Obviously no! We refuse to surrender.” “Very well, then.” His voice was dangerously calm. It made me shudder and I suddenly felt like a hollow pipe. As Death Shard swiftly marched away, Twilight sprinted off to get another group of warriors in front of the gate. I jumped down from where I was perched to walk the perimeter of the section I was in, checking that every archer had arrows and was assigned a peak hole. Luz was my shadow the whole time. I noticed there was a reserved peak hole for me that was stocked with an extra amount of arrows. In the wall above the hole, there was a carving that read in cursive: Guardian Fire Mist. “How sweet,” I mused. We both snapped our heads in the direction of a roaring sound that resembled a water fall. The Crystal council was giving a rather loud and obnoxious pep talk that made their warriors respond vigorously. All the while, the rain drops had been getting plumper and falling more frequent. By the time the Crystal Clan settled down and faced us, the winds were picking up and my hair started to soak up a lot of water. We waited patiently for someone to make the first move, but the other clan was getting antsy. Slowly, Twilight turned her head and gave a slight nod to the two wolves on either side of the gate. They, without warning to the Crystal warriors, forced the gate doors open with two massive gusts of wind. “GO!” Twilight held out the loud cry. Warriors from both sides charged forward, and ours almost knocked Twilight over as she stood in the way. Once our warriors had cleared into the outside fields, she went to prepare the troops left

over in the training field. On her way over there, she asked me, “Fire Mist. Where’s Doe? I was going to see if she could recruit any leader stags to fight on our side.” I shrugged. “Last time I saw her was when she helped get families indoors. That was twenty minutes ago.” “She should have been back by now,” Luz remarked. Just as she said that, Doe came jogging up behind her and my heart stopped fluttering. “Sorry. I had to take care of a problem.” Doe was out of breath. “What kind of problem?” Luz probed. “A minor one. Don’t worry, I took care of it.” There was a pause before Twilight said slowly, “Okay, well here’s what we’re going to do: Fire Mist and Luz have archery duty, I’ll go assist White Wind. And Doe, can you call out to the stags and rally them up for some fighting?” “I’ll get right on it,” Doe replied confidently. Just then, Luz shuddered and hugged herself miserably, hunched over. Her face was pale, save for her ruddy cheeks, and the back of her neck was covered with goose bumps. “What happened to the cold is ‘so electric’?” I laughed softly as I put a comforting arm around her shoulders. “Get to your stations.” Twilight looked over my shoulder and added rather strained, “Hurry!” I turned to see Silver Dew’s section of the wall being head-on ambushed with a flock of arrows. Archers were trying desperately to block them with their shields. I grabbed Luz’s arm and pulled her to my personalized archery post. “Notch an arrow and help me take the archers out!” I shouted over the thundering. “Don’t aim for anyone else! They aren’t the ones causing the ambush!” Luz nodded swiftly and started looking through the peak hole for a target. It was a continuous pattern of looking through the hole, aiming for one person, then letting go and ducking down. We watched our arrows whizz through the air from the hole and heard the thud that made us cringe, letting us know that we had hit our target.

The whole time, our arms quivered under the almost unbearable cold. At times, we almost missed shots because of our bodies’ shaking. The shivers leaked into our wooden bows, bounced across the taught string, and into the arrow itself. The tears of the sky glazed my lips with an icy gloss that never went away. It poured down on my face with a thousand drops: tears like they were my own, but weren’t. No, my eyes were too busy searching for hope across the blurred, bleak field. Despite our tans that somehow lasted through the winter, I could tell that my face was going pale. On top of that, we were forced to take off our cloaks because they became water logged and only made us colder. It didn’t make much difference since the rain had already sunk into our hair, completely soaking it. After about an hour, which felt like an eternity, Twilight came to collect us. I sighed with deep relief and exhaustion. She walked in front of us all the way to White Wind’s hospital tent, which already had around thirty people in it. Twilight didn’t notice that Luz and I were barely trudging behind her. “White Wind. We need to talk. All of us.” “Hold on a moment, Twilight,” White Wind mumbled. She finished tying a bandage around someone’s muscular arm before turning to us and remarking, “It looks awful out there.” “You’re not the one who should be talking,” Luz snapped. “You should be fortunate to have your little shelter.” “That’s not what I meant, but I sure am. I was talking about the battle field. People sure are dying out there.” “On the Crystal Clan’s side,” said Twilight. “Exactly. I have only but a few deaths to report as far as we’re concerned. People have been severely injured, yes, but that is basically it.” “I guess our ambition to win this battle is showing. Death Shard was wrong,” I said astonished. Just then, Doe walked up behind us leading a magnificent stag. The animal’s chestnut hide had sheen to it, and its ivory horns grew thick and intertwined. “How did you convince them to be our allies?” I asked her.

“Easy. All I had to do was promise not to hunt them down after they return to the forests.” “Why did you do that?” Luz hissed. “I eat deer meat practically every day!” “Sh! Don’t let them hear you.” Doe put a hand on the stag’s back and stroked it kindly. “Besides, it’s not a problem for me. I don’t eat meat.” She shrugged with a grin. “Now that we’re all here,” Twilight interrupted, “I’ve decided that we will go into the battle field and fight.” A chill went down my spine. I wasn’t afraid of dying; I was afraid of fighting to the death in the freezing rain and not having the strength to last through the whole combat. White Wind looked at us wistfully. “I’m afraid I have to stay here.” “What!?” Luz, Doe, and I exclaimed. “I want to go, but they need me here. I’m the doctor-in-chief and I have people to care for. People who need me.” “But we need you!” Doe pleaded. “We. Are. A. Team. We stick together, no matter what.” Luz bowed her head in slight guilt. “Even when we fight with each other.” Flashes of our fight the day after I got attacked at midnight raced through my mind. “I don’t know . . .” “White Wind,” Twilight warned, “Don’t make me issue an order stating that you have to come.” It looked like she was about to play, “tough leader.” “Come on! If we don’t leave soon, our people really will start to die,” I urged. “Well, alright.” White Wind snatched up her scabbard that lay on a nearby table then pushed past us and said, “Let’s do this.”

Chapter 5

I could feel my Fire Sword heat up under my grip as we strode out onto the outer fields, leaving behind our safety and getting ready for action. The energy it radiated pressed against my body in a slim line. I didn’t have to keep my distance from the sword even though it was on fire because it wouldn’t hurt the person who’s wielding it. Surging forward, I slashed it this way and that as the rain became steam around the blade and never managed to put out the ionate flame. Together we pressed deeper and deeper into the mass of warriors and always kept within earshot of each other. I looked around as if my sixth sense was searching for someone. Finally, it wasn’t me who found Nightfall but something else inside of me. I saw him fighting with amazing beauty that could’ve only come from extensive training and natural skill due to royal blood. Then I recognized his eyes; they were made of steel, but behind them, they made sure there was a reason for doing something so evil. That was how I ed Nightfall. I crept towards him but gave my friends time to follow me in the same general direction. I continued forward on light feet until I was right behind him in a crouch position. In one move, I straightened up all the way and raised my sword high. I brought it down on a slick, dull piece of metal. Nightfall had suddenly turned around to block my blow that was aimed at his shoulder. “Hello,” he simply said. It took me only a second to realize that it was a trap. Well, it didn’t work! I brought up the Fire Sword and our weapons met right between us to create a jagged, pointed arc. He grabbed his handle with both hands and threw me off. Nightfall examined the blade that already started to melt from my sword’s flame. As he threw it aside like a piece of useless junk, I had an epiphany. If he can’t use his sword, I thought, he will only have one weapon: magic. But I have that and a sword; this will be fun. A strange smile crept onto my face. As I got up, a mini tornado of black jewels was swirling in Nightfall’s hand. With all the crude force powered by anger, I threw a sizzling comet at his face. He ducked and it smacked another warrior’s back. As he ducked, he dropped into the tall grass

like the predator he was and tried to round house kick me. I blocked his foot with my sword and he gave a ragged yell as the flame burned down to the skin on his ankle. I used that time to send a thick heat wave to his face. At the last second, Nightfall harnessed a maroon colored gem the size of his head that had translucent, lavender steam snaking around it. The power it radiated pushed against my heat wave. I pushed harder until the compression of heat was so intense it turned to an orange hue. He forced the wave towards me, and I caught it hovering between my hands until it warped into a fire ball. Next, I stretched it into a long, whip-like strip. Then I snapped it so that it wrapped around his other ankle. I pulled it up so Nightfall was hanging upside down a few feet from the ground and his head brushed the tips of the grass blades. I noted how his helmet thudded to the ground. He seemed so helpless just hanging there and, for the first time, I saw a trace of pure terror in his eyes. I truly did not know what to do. Should I have killed Nightfall? After all, he and his council threatened my village, and we had to get rid of the problem. Then again, did I want to turn into a merciless monster and feel the awful guilt twinge my stomach? He probably wasn’t fighting back so that he could be prepared to block my next move, whatever that was going to be. In that moment, I wished my parents were there. They worked together to be one leader of the Sunrise Clan, and they would have known what to do. Suddenly, there was a hissing noise in my mind that I wasn’t creating. Then came the words, Broccoli thrives below the Mountain Mist. A laugh followed after these words spoken in my mother’s voice. I let Nightfall drop to the ground as a reaction to hearing my mother after so many years and the mentioning of her name, Mountain Mist. The sentence seemed so irrelevant, but it had to mean something. I didn’t have any more time to ponder. A fog settled over the land, and it seemed to appear out of nowhere in a thick mass. My eyes didn’t know where to look, since the reflective fog was as blinding as heaven’s light. I heard rustling, but I couldn’t pinpoint where it was coming from. It was impossible to do so, since the noise—I soon realized—came from everywhere. I became petrified as figures that I couldn’t see brushed against my greaves. They all seemed to be leaving. I wanted to do something because the way my limbs grew anxious made me assume that something bad was happening and I was letting it.

Eventually, the fog thinned and sank so it crouched no higher than a few inches in the grass. It revealed only the dead bodies that I knew were there and no one else. I gasped. The Crystal Clan escaped when the fog appeared! Shoot! I frantically looked around for the rest of the council. I managed to locate a hunched silhouette wearing Twilight’s cloak. Well, at least I found one of my friends. I jogged over to see what was going on and heard soft moans. They were easy to hear now that the storm had ed. I almost doubled over when I saw Silver Dew lying helplessly in the grass. For a small instant I thought he would die. “Oh my God,” I breathed. “What happened?” I was so awe-struck that I didn’t notice White Wind kneeling on the opposite side of him until she spoke. “He’s still in shock, but I managed to figure out that there is a problem with his legs.” She pointed to where approximately on his thighs he was hit. “I assume someone, somehow, used magic to shatter his bones and weaken the nerves. It couldn’t have been one of the Crystal warriors because their element isn’t capable of doing this type of damage. Putting the clues together, my theory is that one of our warriors aimed for the person they were fighting, but the element rebounded off of something like a shield and hit Silver Dew instead.” We looked down at him again and his eyes tried to focus. His stunned face morphed into a small grimace and, after a few seconds, his lips tried to make words. “Sssssshhhhh,” Twilight soothed. Silver Dew ignored her and tried to get up. She grabbed his bicep and pushed him down into the matted grass and snow. She repeated, “Sssshhhhh.” Then, Twilight weaved a thin necklace of stars and latched it around his neck. He suddenly stopped fighting to break free of her grip. “That should soothe the pain,” Twilight said. Silver Dew closed his eyes and even smiled a little. “I’ll go looking for Doe and Luz. You and White Wind should take Silver Dew back to sick bay,” Twilight issued. We nodded grimly and carefully picked him up. I carried his back and she carried his unmoving legs. It usually wouldn’t have been a pain to carry him all the way to sick bay, but we were tired from the battle and our water-logged clothes weighed us down.

Once we finally got there, the maximum capacity of patients was reached. We were lucky to find a cot for Silver Dew on the third floor. Once we sat him down, White Wind described the situation to a group of doctors. While I waited, I found a chair and scraped it across the floor next to Silver Dew. I slumped down in it only to pay attention to White Wind as she turned to me and said dully, “We’ve made up our minds. We are declaring Silver Dew to be paralyzed.” My stomach sank to the floor. I was afraid that would be the answer. With a look of grief, I slowly turned to face Silver Dew. I didn’t expect him to be able to say anything, yet he murmured, “I know what I have to do. I have to retire early and leave the Security Team.” My bowed head snapped up and I exclaimed, “What? You can’t! You have always been the leader of the Team! What will we do without you?” A nurse from behind shushed me and pointed to a sleeping warrior a couple beds down from where I was. “Fire Mist . . .” Silver Dew was gathering up the strength to say something. “You will have to be the new leader.” “But—” “I know, I know. You’re a follower, not a leader.” That same old taunting smile of his barely made it onto his face. “Come on. Be reasonable. Are you going to let your clan down? Are you gonna leave us hanging, not having a leader to lean on?” “You’re acting like I’m going to be the new leader of the entire clan,” I argued. “My point, exactly. All you have to be is the leader for the Security Team. You should be capable of that.” When I jutted out my chin stubbornly, he added, “I’ve always believed in you, Misty.” “‘Always?’ You never showed your belief in me.” “I’m sorry if it seemed that way,” Silver Dew apologized. “At least now you know.” I hesitated before saying, “I’ll have to run this by Twilight. We need her permission before you retire and I take your place.” He nodded slowly.

A basket-case of a woman waddled over and scolded, “Alright, kid! Visiting hours are over.” Who is she to talk to a higher-ranked official like that, no matter what the age difference is? “Excuse me,” I defended myself, “I’m here strictly because of business.” “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this.” Then White Wind addressed me saying, “Alright, kid! Visiting hours are over.” I was going to put my hands on my hips when she whispered, “I’ll talk to Twilight about Silver Dew and everything. You should go collect your cloak and arrows. I assume everyone else headed home, so I’d do the same.” “Thank—” I was interrupted as she compulsively wrapped her damp arms around me. I didn’t know what to do, so I hugged her back. “We made it through together, didn’t we.” It wasn’t a question. I answered by saying, “Yeah. I guess we did. Well, it could take a while to find all my arrows, so I should get going before the sky starts to dim.” I broke away and, surprisingly, White Wind was reluctant to let go. “Bye, guys.” Silver Dew lifted a weak hand and gave a single wave. During the whole time spent retracing my steps out the building, down the streets, and onto the outer fields, I kept replaying the odd message over and over in my head: Broccoli thrives below the Mountain Mist. Broccoli thrives below the Mountain Mist. Broccoli thrives below the Mountain Mist . . . and then that twinkling laugh afterwards. What did it mean? I plucked one of my cherry wood arrows with the sunset-colored feather out of the ground in a frustrated manner. Also, I kept swiping at my face impatiently from the mist freezing to my face and making my facial muscles stiff. “. . . thirty eight, thirty nine, fourty. They’re all here,” I mused to myself. Next, I went to my archery post to fetch my waterlogged cloak. I pouted as I lifted up the heap of matted velvet and watched water drizzle down into the ground. I wrung it out and slung it over my shoulder. I didn’t care about having with something wet since I was already soaked enough. After I trudged home, I walked inside to see Harmony sound asleep under the kitchen table. I smiled tiredly then ed that unlike the others, my house was outside the village borders and completely vulnerable to any enemies that had most likely marched past it. My head whipped around and I turned in frantic

circles to look around. Nothing had been touched and no windows were broken. I guess they didn’t want to waste their energy destroying only one house. Before retreating to my bedroom, I crawled under the table for Harmony and told him, “We’ll get them next time. We will.”

Chapter 6

I rocked slowly in my rocking chair and watched the sun shine through the mist that clung to the mountains. The trees that once resembled broccoli were like tangled masses of beet roots on top of trunks. I let my mind wander as a form of meditation, but the scenery made me continuously go back to the message in my head from the other day. Hm, the trees certainly don’t look like pieces of broccoli despite what my mom said, I thought. I had already unclouded part of her riddle. “Broccoli was obviously trees, but how can trees grow below Mountain Mist, my mom?” I took another look at the jagged horizon, and then it hit me. It wasn’t my mom, but the actual mountain mist! She was referring to the landscape! There was a cave high in one of the mountains that I had found one morning while watching the sun rise. I’d never gone up there, but a year ago I came across a path that led up the mountainside, so I could if I tried. They had to be hiding up there. I rushed inside to snatch up my sword—I couldn’t think of any use for my bow in the situation—and dashed down my hill. I hung a left, heading up the path that no one but mountain goats used, and I eventually made it to the base of the mountain with the cave. Having never been there before, it made me uneasy to imagine the natural structure collapsing on me. I shifted into my pure white wolf form after strapping on the scabbard that hung around my fuzzy girth. I raced against time as I sprinted up the spiraling ledge. Very often I had to dig my claws into the ice to keep from sliding back down. When the howling wind pushed me half over the ledge, I desperately scrambled at the frictionless rock and ice. I crawled away from the cliff as much as possible, being pressed against the mountain wall. Once I regained myself, I cautiously stepped forward to peek over the side. The cave was only about half way up the mountain, but I was already at least a hundred feet up. I was so close to free falling for a hundred feet. My slight fear of heights made my lower legs ache.

I turned to look at the path I still had to take. Would I get there before the council realized I was gone and start looking for my scent? Should I turn back? After all, the five of us work better together than individually. I have come this far, therefore I will not turn back, I decided. I continued on and tried to ignore the wind knocking off flakes of snow from the rock and into my squinted eyes. Eventually, I could hear faint wolf barks and growls. I picked up my pace and that led me to almost the end of the spiraling ledge. After I rounded a corner, I saw the path flatten out and end ten feet past the wide-mouthed cave. Nightfall’s growl was painfully close, so I stepped lightly and advanced forward until I was right behind a rock that came a little in front of the entrance. Translated into English, I could hear Death Shard snarl, “The lot of you should be thankful that mist came out of nowhere. If it hadn’t, we would have been defeated! Have you seen their ranks? Have you?! I assume you did from the battle yesterday! Moving an entire clan to a whole new region isn’t easy for your information! Warriors have died from diseases on the trek down here, and they certainly did in the meadow! We were lucky to have escaped. It was nothing but sheer luck!” Without warning, there was a crude slashing noise next to my right ear and bits of dark rock flew right past my face that made me jump back. Their leader had a temper, all right. Once I thought he had paced away from the cave entrance, I took a risky glance around the corner to see Death Shard growl threateningly at the fear-stricken council . I never thought I’d ever see them in such a state. Death Shard spoke in a tone that made my heart race even more than when he was enraged. He calmly spoke out in a flat, even voice, “Here’s my plan: Nightfall, didn’t you say Fire Mist lives outside of the village walls? We’ll surprise attack her there, which will set a trap for the rest of their council to come to her aid.” He wrapped up his speech with a round of cackling and him saying, “We will finish them off and watch as their clan slowly crumbles without their precious little leaders!” I gasped. Not on my watch! I jumped out from behind my cover and stood my ground in the middle of the cave opening. They as one whipped their heads in my direction. “It looks like your comrades won’t be able to help you with this battle,” one of them said in the wolf language.

“Well, obviously. Are we going to fight or sit around and chat? I hope you’re not afraid of me. Come on! I can take on your pathetic crew!” The words sounded much, much braver than I actually felt. The council didn’t say anything. All they did was penetrate me with their keen eyes and slowly advanced forward. I was stepping back like they were pushing me with an invisible wall. “You’re a headstrong little one. Aren’t you cute?” Another round of cackles followed Death Shard’s statement. “Indeed she is, leader. I know from experience,” Nightfall added. I let an angry snarl rip out of my mouth, but I told myself to cool down. They were just trying to mess with me. As if he could read my mind, Nightfall continued talking. “There were some authority issues, but I buckled down and told her that even though she was the teacher, I was older and she had to go by what I said.” “You never said I had to follow any rules of yours,” I fought back. He ignored me. “Along the process of being trained, she would run completely out of control! She ran all over the forest like a small child. No worries, I tamed her. Watch. Sit! Come on, girl! Sit!” He blasted jewels at me that slammed me against a rock perched on the mountain edge. I crumbled to the ground only a foot away from the perilous cliff. “Good girl!” he cooed like I was some person’s pet dog. I whimpered to myself so they couldn’t hear before trembling and getting onto my four legs again. A different wolf taunted, “Come on, Nightfall. Show us another trick! Make her —” He didn’t finish his sentence. I interrupted him by leaping upon him and tackling him to the ground. Once they realized that I meant business, they cut off the semicircle and enclosed me in a full circle of threat. They pressed in closer and closer, snapping at my ankles like piranhas and making remarks such as, “You will never see another sunrise again” and “Killing you will be too easy” and “Too bad your friends aren’t here to help you.” A pure stream of terror trickled down my spine and dripped into my stomach. Two wolves lurched at my sides from both directions, but I tumbled out of the way and the mindless idiots slammed into each other. Unfortunately, that was a bad move. I rolled right into Death Shard who gave a merciless swipe to my side to make up for the other guys’ failure. I made it out of his reach in barely enough time, so he only scratched the surface of me. It still hurt.

And even though there were only about five of them, it seemed as if hundreds kept coming at me. I would strike down one of them victoriously, but when I turned around, the wolf I had just knocked down was up and ready to practically bite my head off! A growing confidence took over my terror, but a trace of fear still lingered. I wasn’t afraid of dying; that feeling of being finished off at any time I had gotten used to. I feared losing stamina to keep fighting for what I fought for, which was everything. I wanted nothing more than for everything and everyone to be safe from these parasites that would most definitely harm anything in their path. As my nightmare came true, I realized my time was running out. I stumbled before taking a thud to the ground, indicating I had failed. I gasped as Nightfall snatched me up by the neck and cut off my air ages with one deathly clutch. I choked, “Nightfa—don’t. Do. This.” With my last supply of air, I whispered, “Please.” It didn’t do much, but his grip loosened slightly as I saw the thought of a dilemma reflect in his eyes. I sucked in as much air as I could and muttered, “This isn’t you. What happened? This isn’t what you want.” He didn’t reply. He was frozen in place, still contemplating if he would be happier to kill me and gain respect from his leader, or to turn his back to his entire clan to save a young woman’s life. Whether Nightfall liked it or not, there was tenderness in his heart. Not much, but still there. I looked up to the blinding sun and prayed literally for my life. Death Shard noticed Nightfall was wasting too much time, grabbed me and yelled, “Let me do it!” “LET GO OF HER!” Death Shard abruptly dropped me and I coughed. “Doe?” I rasped. Running right in front of her, I saw my Leader Twilight Star leading my friends like a group of warrior angels, their coats gleaming from the reflective snow and midday white sky. I scrambled to my paws and sprinted to Doe’s side before any of the Crystal Clan council caught me again. Luz whispered loudly behind me—which came out as more of a wolf making a hacking noise, “What the hell were you thinking?” I replied weakly, “I wasn’t thinking straight. Something came over me. I don’t know! Now isn’t the time, okay? We’ll discuss this later.” She nodded.

Revealing that he was listening with his keen wolf hearing, Death Shard said, “There won’t be a later for all of you.” Without hesitation, we all seemed to know to streak for the inside of the cave. “After them!” he yelled. After a second, though, White Wind realized what we were doing. “Why are we doing this, Twilight?” she called. “This is an illogical and stupid idea.” Twilight replied by saying, “We’ll lead them in here where we can abruptly trap them and gain victory.” Yet we were pressed against the cold, clammy back wall with officially no escape. The light illuminating outside became dim from being so far back, and it darkened the chain of silhouettes in front of me. “Game over.” I wasn’t sure who had said that, but I didn’t care. I was going to die, and I had to face it. Nightfall was supposed to be in front of Doe, but he was slowly moving back unnoticed, trying not to get involved with our deaths. I would have smiled, but I was too petrified. I cringed as they all lunged for us and — There was a flash of blinding white light. The Crystal council abruptly shrunk back with eyes squinted closed. I wasn’t imagining things as I glanced around at the sleek walls that turned to black with a thick film of white light. My eyes grew wide when I saw that Doe had not only changed back into a human, but she looked like an angel as she floated straight as a board above our heads in a star of light, yet with every muscle relaxed. It was as if a pure spirit possessed her and captured our attention, though I could tell it was still Doe creating this amazing sight. Next came something invisible and sluggish that brushed past my cheeks and split when it hit my nose like water parting around a river stone. Once it came close to the Crystal council , it became visible in something along the lines of heat waves that seemed to seep into their fur, their skin underneath that, and the rest of their bodies. Their faces were as blank as the cloudy night sky. Her voice came out as that of a goddess, yet Doe’s real voice lurked underneath. She spoke out slow and stately. “You all have been caught in the act of wrongdoing. Go! Flee back to the wretched place you came from, and never come back.” My stomach twisted as I noticed that Nightfall was under her control, too. I cried desperately, “No! Please, Doe! Don’t do this! Nightfall wishes to take back his crimes!”

Doe’s voice was as wistful as her eyes. “I’m sorry. But this is what must be done.” And with that, they became transparent, gradually fading as they went back to where they came from. Her glorious light went out and everything was cold and quiet. The Crystal Clan was gone. We all changed back into humans and raced over to where Doe lay quite mortal and moaning softly on the cave floor. Well, everyone except me. I asked myself, “Will I ever see him again?” “No one can read the future, Fire Mist,” Twilight told me. As I leaned back against the cold stone, Doe was bombarded with questions impossible to answer, such as, “What came over you? Do you have a power we didn’t know about?” The last one was, “Are you okay?” It was the hardest to answer. She lay there like a rotting log with a dazed look and didn’t respond to White Wind’s simple questions. “Doe? Doe? Which hand am I holding up? Is it moving up or down?” Her first sign of showing life was when she said so quietly we could barely understand, “Nature chose me. To save this meadow, I mean. She granted me the power of controlling other people’s minds. It makes sense because I almost have the ability to take control of animals’ minds when I can understand them and make them happier. Almost.” Twilight said with an air of respect, “Doe, you are too powerful to have such a low rank in this clan. You . . . you are . . . you are even more powerful than me.” Everyone except Doe, who was still in a daze, gaped at the words that had never before came out of her mouth. “You should have the right to be the leader, not me. We could swap ranks. Ah, I can see it now: Leader Doe Spirit.” Doe broke her straight face with a crooked smile and looked up at a fallen strand of hair on her forehead to avoid Twilight’s gaze. “I’d prefer not to reveal my full name to people. Now they—” “I never knew that was your full name,” I interrupted sheepishly. “Well, only Twilight knew. She knows everything, including things you guys don’t.”

“You sure looked like a spirit a minute ago,” Luz commented. “It fits.” “Thanks. Um, can someone help me up now? I’ve been in this position for a minute, which is a minute too long.” We hoisted her up and after she bent her legs to loosen up she said, “Your offer is very generous and thoughtful. Perhaps too generous. However, being a leader is in your blood, not mine. I wouldn’t dare to break up the tradition of handing down ranks through generations. Besides, I think you guys should know that power was temporary. It will never come back.” “How do you know?” Luz asked. “It’s hard to explain. So my answer is no. We’re keeping our own ranks in power and that is that.” Right after she finished her sentence there was a soft vibrating beneath our feet. What now? I thought. We turned towards the south and walked all the way to the mountain ledge. The air almost seemed to shimmer with a comfortably warm, golden haze that made us take off our cloaks despite it still being winter. At least, we thought it was winter. The snow beyond the mountains shrank to reveal delicate pastel buds just about to bloom. Ant-sized people gratefully emerged from their “dens.” They came to the flag poles to wistfully take down water’s flags but excitedly hang up earth’s flags. They were of every green shade from sea foam green to brilliant emerald green. I smiled genuinely and closed my eyes to breath in the spirit of the spring valley.

Epilogue

I stood there at the end of the aisle before waves of villagers and let the beautiful early afternoon sun tingle my face and warm my sundress that had been altered for the occasion. It now had jewels of every color embroidered around the flowing hem that was elongated into a train. Of course, it couldn’t have been complete without my trusty sword hilted at my left hip. It was there not out of lurking danger, but out of honor. The ironic part was it felt like I was about to be married. That on top of the fact that I was only fifteen made me smile. I started my trek down the aisle and waved in a friendly way to Silver Dew, who was sitting on his floating cushion of water that never got him wet. This was now his mode of transportation. Up at the front stage stood Twilight and next to her was Doe with a royal blue velvet pin cushion and a badge set in the middle instead of pins. Once I got up there, I could see it was made of a gold alloy. It was a carving of a wolf howling at the moon and stars, except a shield with my fire sword on it took the place of the shining sky decorations. The delicate picture was framed with thin yet unbreakable vines while blooming lily of the valleys studded them. I told myself to stop staring at the badge’s beauty as I stood between my two friends and Twilight said in her forte voice, “Thank you to all who attended The Ceremony of the Higher Ranking on this fine late-spring afternoon. I, Leader Twilight Star, will mourn the reg of Silver Dew from the Security Team along with everyone else. However, we are here to celebrate the beginning of a new leader to their team. That respectable person is Guardian Fire Mist, a representative for the defense department in our Maple Clan council. Today, she will become more than a representative. Welcome her into a broad family of leaders with a round of applause.” Even though I accepted the claps and cheers from my people, I could no longer hear them. I only heard the rejoicing of the sparrows, the rustles of the world around me, and my mother’s voice in my head saying, I couldn’t be prouder. Your deeds have created a brighter future for your village and your own legacy. They perhaps made me stronger, too.

Acknowledgements

Above all else, I want to thank my good friend, Aimee. She has been by my side since the moment I decided to write this book, and has been good-hearted and eager to hear about the characters and everything else in the story. Next, I want to thank my family for ing me, especially my mom and my cousin, Tim. My mom was the person who told me I had a talent for writing and encouraged me to be an author. Tim, on the other hand, is my role model who has inspired me to follow in his footsteps when I heard he had written three books himself. He was even willing to help me by answering my questions and giving me good advice. I am also grateful for the people in my community, whether it is school or church, who were happy for me when they heard I was writing a book. Without them, I wouldn’t have the I do now. Some of them even told me they were looking forward to buying a copy of my book! I, of course, want to thank the Xlibris publishing company for handling the distribution of my manuscript and being a big step toward me being an author. If you are reading this, your thanks should reach out to Xlibris, too. Without them, no one except me and my closest friends and relatives would know about A Wolf’s Legacy. Another person I want to mention is my brother-in-law, Eric Miller, for proof reading my manuscript without asking for anything in return. He gave me important and a different perspective on the book that will make me a better writer. Of course, who can forget all my teachers? Each one of my middle school language arts teachers had a role. Mrs. Gonzalez was the first to hear about this book after my friends and family, and her enthusiasm showed well enough that she was proud of me. Next, I should mention that before my story flourished into a novel, it was a three-page narrative for Mrs. Hagedorn’s seventh grade language arts class. The

chapter with the Maple council going into the Desert Forest to find the dark clan’s camp was originally the entire story, although it had been modified to flow into the rest of the book. So, I thank you for your bits of revising advice before I even knew the narrative would turn into a published novel. Last but certainly not least, I would like to acknowledge these two teachers together: Mrs. Bennett and Mrs. Greiner. They worked side by side in my eighth grade language arts class, and they were awesome. Then one day some students and I talked about goals with Mrs. Bennett. When I said my goal was to publish a book I was working on, she said, “When you become a famous writer, I want an autographed copy.” I intend to keep that promise. This is an extra special shout out to my seventh grade science teacher, Mr. Carani. He taught us more than the function of ribosomes; he taught us general life lessons like how study habits affect your future education, don’t be a fool and make thoughtless—and dangerous!—decisions, and love nature. That last lesson stuck in my mind, and now loving the natural world around me is a part of who I am that I’m proud of. I do not know what life I would be living if I did not stop to watch the sunset fade through the trees. Seriously, Mr. Carani, this book wouldn’t exist without your inspiring me to write about the forests surrounding the Maple Clan meadow. I could go on and on about all the people who have helped me on this journey, but then the acknowledgements would be as long as the actual story! My apologies to anyone I didn’t mention; I am still so grateful for your . Once again, thank you to everyone!