The Wolf, The Doe and The Mage

Love

The soft rasp of my tongue sounded in my ears as I licked at a healing wound on my foot. It had been about seven sunrises since the attack on the Village - I had followed the Young Mage and saved her from the giant stag. I had been cut over the leg by one of its antlers, though the wound had nearly healed. Ever since then the Mage had left food out for me, of which I was very grateful for, as I could not hunt for myself.
I raised my head as I heard her clattering through the undergrowth. I sniffed the air; she was carrying a bowl of roasted hare and salmon. I licked my lips and trotted toward her. Peeping through a bush, I saw her place the steaming bowl down in the clearing near to her house. She didnt look up towards me, though I knew she knew I was there. I slid out of the shrubbery and onto the shorter grass. She glanced up and met my eyes for a moment - my heart jumped with joy at the sight of her dark eyes. Their deep intelligence always reminded me of the doe...
She spoke, "Last night's leftovers. I think you'll like it." She paused as I trotted over, my tail wagging slightly. She sat down and continued speaking, "I would love to know your name - though I doubt I could pronounce it. I'm no good at barking."
I bowed my head and started eating the hare. No point in answering; she wouldn't understand me anyway. There was a brief pause as I chewed the meat. I could sense that she was uncomfortable, though I wasn't sure why. I glanced up at her after eating a few morsels of the meat, to see her eyes were closed grimly.
"I can't wait any longer." She started. I pricked my ears, my tail waving anxiously.
"Each of the books I've stolen are all missing something; they say to refer to the complete manual. That's what I was trying to steal." She opened her eyes and gazed at me with determination, "But I couldn't get it. I dont know how to do the spell." She placed up at the sun, "But I have to try."
I felt a strange sensation in my stomach. I felt tired, dispite resting recently.
"You can't come. You cant get hurt again." Her words were fading.
Too late, I bent down and smelt the food she had given me: an unfamiliar tang caught in my nose.
My legs were weak, my brain fuzzy. I wanted to cry out, but I couldn't. I was so tired, so tired...
"I'm sorry." I could only just make out the Mage's words before I fell to the floor, the world going dark around me.

Darkness span around me as I ran through the moonlit forest. Shadows of huge monsters and cold claws loomed around me. From the stillness of the air, I heard a silent cry, so quiet and high-pitched I could barely make it out. I ran towards it, glimpsing half-known faces in the leaves.
"Koiress..." a voice whispered.
I tried to speak, but the words dried up in my throat. I kept running.
"Koiress." the voice said, louder.
I stopped running as I saw a silhouetted figure before me. A woman, taller than the Mage, and more mature. Her short hair swayed over her shoulders; her back was turned towards me.
She turned, a horrified look in her dark eyes. It was then that I noticed the huge shape behind her, cruel silver teeth glistening.
"KOIRESS!"
My eyes snapped open, my breath heavy. It took me a few moments to calm down after the vivid dream. Suddenly, my mind was racing.
The Mage.
I scrambled to my feet and glanced up at the sun. It was midday, and I had blacked out at sunrise.
I rushed forward, knocking over the bowl of food, and sprinted to the house. It wasn't that far - once I had reached the front door, I stuck my nose into the stone tiles of the pathway, searching for a scent trail. I found it easily - it led down the hill. I hastily followed it, my nose to the ground. It led me down a winding trail, towards a thick part of the forest. Then the trail veered sharply off the path and into dense shrubbery. I pushed through bushes and leaves, approaching a small cliff. I pushed through a prickly bramble bush and was flung before the clifface. Before me was a dark cave that split through the cliffs like a jagged scar. The trail led inside, and from inside the gaping cave I could faintly hear the Mage's firm voice chanting incantations. Hesitantly, I slid inside; the cave swallowed me whole. I was plunged into darkness - the sound of the breeze had ceased, the air gone deathly still. It was eerily quiet. Drips and echoing footsteps clattered softly, accompanied by the distant sound of the Mage chanting. The air smelt cloggy and damp, the darkness filling my ears and nose, choking my breath. Every inch of me screamed to turn back, but I forced myself to follow the sound of her voice deeper into the cave, like a lullaby tempting me into a nightmare. My pawsteps echoed off the walls as I twisted and turned through narrow tunnels. Before long I could see a faint light, the air beginning to thin out, the sound of her voice getting louder. I turned a corner into a large space. It was dimly lit by a flickering lamp, and in the middle stood the Mage, with her back towards me. She was still chanting, waving her hands elegantly along to her words. The tips of her fingers were sparking and spitting with dark blacks and greys, like the sky during a thunderstorm. What seemed to be a dark fog coated the floor, like a black carpet. I was about to leap forward and bark at her to stop when she stopped chanting and put her hands to her sides. I was too late - the spell was complete.

I could hear my heart beating loudly in my ears as something rose out of the rock; human skeletons with charred black bones that let off billowing black smoke. There were two of them, one slightly taller than the other. They lifted out of the rock slowly, as if they were being born from the dark carpet. They glowed with darkness, somehow lighting up the cave and darkening it, all at once. Once they were fully uncovered, they floated a few inches off the ground in unison. The ground stopped smoking, and as I gazed at the skeletons, I thought I saw two ghosts drifting along the edge of their figures - a man and a woman.
There was a loud clatter as they landed on the stone floor, their bones shaking as they came to life.
There was a pause as the two skeletons looked at the Mage - from their empty eye sockets I couldn't tell if it was a curious gaze or a penetrating stare. The cave echoed with drips, and I didn't realize I was holding my breath.
Slowly, with caution, the female skeleton took two strides forwards until she was eye-to-eye with the Mage. Another long, bone-chilling silence.
Her voice shaking, the Young Mage began to speak, here voice echoing around the cave. "Mother? Is that you?"
Silence.
Then, with frightening precision, the skeleton threw a punch at the Mage's nose. She fell to the floor, clutching her face.
"No!" I barked, bounding forwards.
With an elegant pounce, I leaped over her and hit the skeleton square in the chest with my front paws. This sent it flying backwards, and it clattered to the floor in a pile of bones. I turned to the other skeleton, who was now stumbling toward me in outrage. It lifted its hand and outstretched its fingers, as if it were to hold a ball, and a dark orb of darkness appeared in its hollow palm. He threw it towards me, and it hit me in the side, knocking the breath out of me and sending a jolt of agony through me. I fell back and slid across the cave, hitting the far wall with force enough to make a horrible cracking sound. I felt a rib snap, and saw the world spinning before me. Through the pain, I could just make out the Mage throwing her own spells at the skeleton, and then the undead creature fall to a pile of charred ashes at the floor. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears, trying to suppress crying out loud as another wave of agony fell upon me.
"Its you!" I realized that the Mage was above me, looking over me. Her voice sounded as if it were a million miles away, "You're hurt!"
I felt a spark of strength ignite in me as I saw her dark eyes.
"Dont worry, Young Mage. I'll be okay." I wheezed, more to myself than to her. The world darkened, and I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness, "Stay strong, little one."