The Silver Dagger

After

Red wolves and black wolves fought side by side against smaller, sleeker brown ones while behind them lines of soldiers marched across barren, grassy fields. The soldiers wore metal skirts that reminded her of Roman soldiers. The picture changed. Hundreds of wolves in human form danced around open fires, sharing cups and horns of ale while a huge moon shone above them. Some of them had hair so red it looked like it was on fire when they passed in front of the real fires. A large woman with a full head of wild hair oversaw it all. The silver dagger nestled in the crevice between her abundant breasts. The picture changed to another time with another female bearer of the silver dagger, then again and again until finally she came to the time when the black wolves had killed the red wolf. She was still alive, but the black wolves had begun their attack. The red wolf looked up. For a moment, their eyes met and Aiyana could see the fighting wolves reflected in the red wolf's yellow eyes. The red wolf blinked and her eyes dropped to Aiyana's chest. She blinked again and turned her head. Aiyana followed her gaze to the white wolf she'd seen before. The white wolf wasn't attacking, only observing, but she looked smug. There was something around her neck. The instant Aiyana thought about it, her vision focused and she could see it - the wolf's head. Abruptly, she was falling backwards. She landed on her back with a gasp. 

 "Aiyana?"

She opened her eyes. The light above Nate's head made his hair look like a golden halo. Nate sat back a little with a happy sigh. "You're awake, finally. How do you feel?"

"Mmm." Feel? Confused. She was indoors, in one of the medical beds on the farm. Right, she'd been shot and her head had split in two. Her head didn't hurt anymore - not badly anyway, but her chest ached.

"Morning, sunshine." Cliff gave her a dimpled smile from the other bed in room about six feet away.

"You're awake!" Ow. Breathing hurt.

"Yep. A lightning strike will do that."

"Lightning?"

"During the storm last night, the lightning got really close," Nate explained. "It sounded like it hit the house."

"How are you feeling?" she asked Cliff.

He grimaced. "Like I got beat up by a pack of wolves or a basketball team. Actually, more like an all-wolf football team. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, I think." She turned to Nate and realized for the first time that he was holding her hand. "What happened? Did I get shot?"

"Yeah, with a silver bullet, but you know that necklace I gave you? The bullet hit the wolf. It saved you. You still have a big bruise but that's better than what it could have been."

"Was the necklace destroyed?"

"Well, it doesn't look like a wolf anymore, but I'm sure I can find another like it."

She squeezed his hand. "That's all right. I'm just glad you're safe."

He leaned over and pressed his lips against her forehead, then put his forehead and his nose against hers. "I'm glad you're safe too. Don't ever get shot again. I thought I was going to lose you."

She couldn't remember ever feeling so loved. She would have kissed him if she hadn't just woken up with her mouth feeling all gross and sticky. He kissed her cheek then pulled away. "I promised Dr. Patel I'd wake her as soon as you woke up. I'll be right back, okay?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I'm glad you're all right too," Cliff said quietly as Nate disappeared into the hallway.

She rolled her head to the side to look at him. "Ditto. Did Doc get all the silver out of your system?"

"He thinks they've got most of it now. He said you saved my life."