Ulva

Chapter 9 - Fire Fight

Over the next few days, Ceyla's training continued. Gradually, the speed at which she could change in and out of her wolf form was almost the same as the others', and it took far less concentration than it had the first time. She was adjusting to the feeling of knowing that somewhere inside her soul at all times was a wolf, waiting to be set free.

Her senses, even in her human form, seemed heightened, though it could have just been her imagination. Naturally, as a wolf she could hear and smell so much more, but it seemed to be the same as her human self. She could pinpoint exactly where a sound was coming from; the direction of the source, as well as the distance, was easy for her to pick up on. And if Magnar was cooking waffles in the cluttered kitchen, she knew about it.

She missed her home, family and friends, though. The others said she'd get used to it, but she wanted to know everyone was okay. She wanted them to know she was safe. But they believed her dead, and if she returned with Ulva eyes they'd make her dead. For now, she reluctantly felt that it was best to leave them.

The pillar of smoke in the distance was a constant reminder of the politics of this world. The Alpha's power was great enough to start a forest fire – what if he were to cause a tidal wave, or a hurricane? He could wipe out the entire island by accident. It was worrying to her. The Alpha was dying, and his death would either lead to a peaceful succession or a desperate fight for power. She hoped it was the former.

The four of them had heard over the radio that the fire in the forest was in a hard to reach spot and could not be extinguished. However, officials claimed that so long as the wind didn't pick up, the fire wouldn't spread and would end up being put out naturally when the drought came to an end, though no one could predict when that would be.

Tired of sitting around dwelling on everything that was worrying her, Ceyla decided to get some fresh air. As soon as she stepped outside, the temperature hit her. She could practically smell the heat; it was thick and oppressive. She turned into her wolf form and ran down the beach briefly, going down a little shaded path when she reached the woods.

Once there, she slowed down, it had become her favourite place to explore. To her left, she could see the sea, crystal blue and sparkling in the harsh sunlight. On her right were trees. They were closely packed together, their layers of bright green leaves shielding the path from the sun, leaving the area cool and peaceful. Underfoot, twigs and rocks littered the dirt path. This was not an area many people went to.

The crisp sea air cleared her mind. She considered stopping for a bit, but decided against it. She wanted to see the fire.

She ran up the hill - an easy journey on her agile paws – dodging the trees easily as she ran. She could smell the smoke as she got closer. It wasn't unpleasant, as the fuel keeping the fire going was fresh trees and shrubs. The woody scent was familiar and safe.

As she drew closer, she could feel the heat of it more, and hear the crackling sound of fire. Normally, it would be a pleasant sound, but the sheer size of the flames was far from comforting. They towered above the trees, sending smoke billowing into the sky.

A new noise hit her ears, and she turned instinctively towards out. Out of the trees a hundred metres away appeared three wolves.

There were two grey ones and one brown. The first, the larger grey, walked in front, while the others flanked it at either side. They moved in this formation towards the fire, inspecting the damage around it. Ceyla wondered if they were friendly, but decided against finding out. Instead, she backed further into the shrubbery and kept downwind.

In her mind, she felt that Aiden had changed back near the cottage. She sent him an image of the scene in front of her, of the three wolves exploring the fire. Magnar had taught her how to show the others images, which was very useful for determining locations. She felt Aiden leave and come back, Magnar with him. Bella followed suit soon after.

'Show me the main one,' Magnar said to her. She did so. A quiet curse was muttered by him.

'What is it?' Ceyla and Aiden asked in unison. They could feel Magnar's tension and it was unnerving. He was usually very stoic and controlled.

'Ceyla, you need to get out of there. These wolves are not your friends.'

Trying to remain calm despite the agitation she'd felt from Magnar, she slipped back even further, until the wolves were out of sight. Then she turned to run back down the hill. As she was running, she felt the wind pick up. It was blowing back the way she came. Magnar cursed again when he realised what had happened. The wind was blowing Ceyla's scent directly to the other wolves, and, because the flames and smoke were both behind her, it wasn't going to be masked in the slightest.

'Be quick.' was all she was told. Her friends couldn't help her now.

Spurred on by the sounds of the wolves behind beginning to come down, she sped up, pushing her legs as fast as they could go back to the path. She landed on the dirt track heavily, turning sharply to run to the beach. She could see the cottage, and the others stood outside it. When she came into view, Magnar told them to all run away as a pack. His thoughts were clouded with a sense of dread.

Ceyla followed them, catching up as soon as she could. Together, they ran from the beach, over rocks and sand and dirt. Behind them, constantly, were the three wolves from the fire. Suddenly, Magnar turned sharply, running into the cover of some trees and out onto a road. The four of them crossed it and ran beside it for several minutes, until Ceyla began to recognise her surroundings.

'We're going back to the city?' she asked in surprise.

'It's the easiest way to lose them.'

The trees began to give way to houses, which gave way to small shops, and suddenly they burst of the street and into the centre of town. Screams erupted. It was likely that people were panicked by the attacks – the sight of four wolves running as fast as they could was alarming, not to mention the three that came quickly behind them.

'Split up!' came the order. They did instantly, darting down a different road each. The three behind hesitated, before picking a target and going for them. Aiden was the only one unpursued. Behind Ceyla was the big grey wolf, seemingly the leader.

Bella lost her hunter almost instantly. Here small size and agile speed allowed her to confuse him by running down a few alleys, zig-zagging across streets. She ended up in a residential area, but she kept running. She couldn't risk the wolf picking up her scent and finding her again.

Magnar did not have such an easy time of it. He tried evading his pursuer in the same way, but they were pretty much matched in terms of speed. Instead, he climbed up on top of one of the buildings and jumped from roof to roof, the brown wolf close behind him. It was getting closer.

He spotted a relatively flat roof and ran for it. Mere seconds after he landed on it, the other wolf got there too. The two wolves went head to head, circling each other and snarling aggressively. It was Magnar who made the first attack. The other wolf barely got a bite in before Magnar had overpowered him, pushing him closer to the edge. He tried to escape, but Magnar lunged for his neck, making him shrink back. When he did, it was easy for Magnar to give a sharp push, sending him falling from the rooftop to the cobbled street below.

Against Magnar's expectations, the other wolf got to his feet quickly. He limped as quickly as he could down the street and away. Shortly afterwards, the grey one that had hunted Bella ran past too. With horror, Magnar realised which direction they were heading in. The leader had called them back to him. All three were going after Ceyla.

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