A Feytal Encounter

Chapter 1

Adanma crouched between the roots of the Golden Tree, her six-year-old body curling backwards to hide in the darkest shadows. She remembered her mother's frightened face as she pushed Adanma between the cracks.

"Adanma, no matter what, stay. No matter what you see, stay. Promise."

And Adanma was staying, even though she had seen her mother yanked away with a growl. Even though someone's blood had splashed onto her face and into her mouth, tasting like hot copper. Even though the cacophony of screams, howls, and clashing metal made her head ring. She crawled farther down, to the base of the tree. The noise faded to a softer rumble and the damp dirt felt comforting and homey. She could almost pretend there wasn't a massacre happening outside, in her home. The tree welcomed her into its fold. She curled up, holding herself at its center. A warm feeling came over her and she drifted off to sleep.

Bronwyn scowled. Their squadron was heading back to the Capitol after a successful raid. There had been no casualties and only a few minor wounds. They had captured the women and children and murdered the men. It had been an easy success. Now, Bronwyn had gotten wind of an elite Fey agent not far. They wanted to track the agent down and capture it. It could have valuable information about the leader of the resistance. But noooooo. Orders from the Capitol said to come straight back, delivering the slaves was more important. Bronwyn's soldiers watched their general pace angrily in front of them.

"I'm so close! I've pulled off perfect missions! How will we achieve our goal if we always pull back!" Bronwyn stopped, turning to face the soldiers. "Fuck that. I'm the general. I make the decisions. You!" Bronwyn pointed at a stocky, brown woman with bushy hair and a slight mustache.

"You continue to take the captives to the Capitol. Take as many people as you need. The rest of you, come with me. There's only one, it'll be easy. Andrea, take the lead."

A tall, lean woman with two white braids down her back stepped forward and smiled coldly.

"With pleasure, my liege." A shimmering aura blurred Andrea's form for a moment before a huge, long-legged, white wolf snarled out of it. With a howl, the rest of the soldiers followed suit, morphing into massive beasts with dangerous teeth. Bronwyn was the last to shift, making sure the five left with the slaves weren't disobeying and following the pack-desire to shift too. Andrea yipped to let the others know she had caught the scent. Eight wolves bounded after her, with Bronwyn's bulky figure bringing up the rear. Bronwyn smirked to themself. They couldn't wait to rub it in everyone's faces back home.

"Ssssh!" Elton shimmied up a tree. Adanma rolled her eyes, tucking herself behind strategically placed branches. The young ones were nervous. This was the first important mission for some of them. It might be dangerous, but they needed all hands on deck if it was to be successful. There were twenty Fey stationed in the trees. Six were placed on the ground over the distance of a couple kilometers. The plan was to get the wolves to chase the first Fey, who would then climb up a tree and the second would lead the wolves, and so on and so forth, until they reached the clearing where the rest waited. Then, from the trees, the Fey would shoot arrows laced with a hemlock and wolfsbane brew. The arrows would only just graze the thick pelt of the wolves, but enough poison should get into their bloodstream to slow them down and disorient them. Then the Fey would jump on their backs to slit their throats.

It worked beautifully. The second runner surprised the pack. They had correctly misbelieved that there would be just one. But, like the impulsive fools they were, the wolves pressed on, intent to capture at least one Fey. By the time the third runner was going, the wolves were so frenzied that they didn't even notice the switch. When the pack reached the clearing they hurled themselves at the base of the trees, foaming at the mouth and making themselves incredibly easy targets. One arrow went straight down a wolf's throat, killing it instantly. Adamna could hear the younger Fey cheering the shot. The rest of the wolves stumbled and panted as the poison began to work through them.

"Now!" shouted Elton, dropping onto one and stabbing his spear between its shoulder blades. Four of the young ones cornered the white wolf, keeping her jaws far away from then. It only took a few moments for nine wolves to lie dead or dying on the ground. The white wolf groaned and thrashed as it unsteadily shifted from human to woman.

"Keep that one," Adanma instructed. "Tie her up for now. Give her more potion and take her back. Keep her drugged, but alive."

Elton touched Adanma's shoulder.

"There were ten."

"Fuck! Spread out! We missed one! We can't let it get away!"

The young ones whooped and hollered as they sprinted out in organized spokes.

"Here!" shouted Elisha, dragging a smallish body out of the shrubs. Elton rushed to help her, dropping the body by the unconscious white-haired woman.

"It's relatively unharmed. Just the original piercing wound," he sounded confused. Adanma prodded the body with her foot before rolling it over.

"Weird. Tie that one up and take it too."

The young ones complied. They took turns carrying the two bodies until they reached their camp.