Glinting Silver

Chapter 4

Honestly, I don't remember much of the fight. I think I helped, but what with the horrific wounds already on my neck, shoulders and belly, I couldn't tell. But the next thing I knew I was limping as fast as I could down the wrecked street, a half-breed wolf running at my side and a pack of angry rogues behind us.

Isn't this awesome?! Kim yelled. I snarled, holding my own against the pain in my neck. Gradually, the enraged howls of the rogues faded and vanished. I slowed to a trot, struggling to keep moving. Kim bounced around me, a big smile on her black muzzle.

My torn claws became cracked and chipped fingernails, my shoulder bleeding heavily as it shrank and grew and moved. I fell down heavily, my human legs unable to bear the amount of pain I was in. Dirt crusted the edges of the claw marks on me, sinking through the shredded fabric of my shirt. I sighed, breathing in the dust of the concrete.

Something hit the ground beside me and I rolled my face over to see Kim on her back beside me. She was beaming, a scattering of freckles over her face.

"Your half silver. Your the same age as I am. I am the oldest in the pack." I murmured. If my ribs weren't broken I would have been hyperventilating. This was unheard of, impossible. She beamed, and looked so startlingly familiar my already taken away breath was taken away.

When I was born, I was taken into the pack almost immediately. There was another newborn there, the alpha's daughter. Nobody knew who her mother was, and she disappeared on her first birthday. By the time I became alpha nobody remembered the pup.

"Oh my god." I mumbled, stricken. Kim grinned again. She knew exactly who I was, and she knew that I knew who she was. I rolled over on my back and thumped my head down on the hard packed dirt, red and gold ringlets in a fan around me.

"Where's Bliss and Belle?" I asked almost inaudibly. Kim sat up and looked around. Then she looked down at me.

"We'll find them later. First things first." I followed her gaze to see she was staring at my shredded chest and stomach. The wounds were long and deep, but the bleeding had almost stopped. When I moved and started again. Kim was calm and strangely confident as she wrapped me in bandages.

I winced suddenly and slammed my hands to the side of my head. A horrible ringing sound was smashing my brain to pieces. I heard someone screaming and realised it was me. The ground rose to meet my face, and the ringing grew louder and more piercing. Then it changed. Still loud and piercing but in word-form.

Juniper! Juniper!
June!
Where are you?!
Make it stop!
Aargh!
JUNE!

I stopped screaming and kneeled on the ground with my shoulders hunched and my hands on the sides of my head. I couldn't understand what was happening. The screams grew more and more desperate. They started to sound like Bliss, a terrified Bliss. Then a horrible noise, like a dying hound, filled my ears. Belle.

"I have to get to them. Belle-"

Juniper! It's burning! My blood is on fire!

I winced and exploded into wolf form. I had never put on so much speed before. Beside me, Kim ran but was no where close to matching my speed. She was talking.

Who was that? We need to get there!

Bliss! Bliss! Say something, what happened! I yelped as my bad leg hit the ground and jarred my shoulder. Kim kept talking to Bliss.

Um... Um... Theres more thoughts! Rogue thoughts!

Kim shut up! I snarled. The rogue beside me was quiet and just kept going, swinging her head around to look for the silver wolves. I lifted my head and howled. An answering howl sounded to my right and I skidded and whirled.

Up the hill and down the hill, through concrete buildings and into the forest. Belle's screams grew louder and louder, then suddenly stopped. I howled again, but there was no answer. I howled again, louder and more desperate but still no answer. Kim had her head tilted to one side. She looked at me, and suddenly thoughts filtered into my head.

Juniper has just left. I'm bored. Bliss says not to follow her. She goes to sleep. I start following June's scent. I am too focused, and the other sounds and scents fade. All I can hear is June screaming, and all I can scent is blood. I start running. There is a hiss and the scent of an adder. A horrible pain explodes in my chest and my blood burns. I start screaming for Bliss, and the stoney ground suddenly touches my face. Lights out.

I gasped and stumbled . Kim was looking at me with a calm cool gaze. I would question her on this thing later. Right now, I had to get to Belle

Bliss! Belle! I called frantically. I was answered by a sad yelp from the bottom of the hill. My heart stopped and I ran to the top and look down.

At the bottom of the steep slope lay two wolves. One was strewn out like she had collapsed. Her side was matted with blood and two holes were pierced in her chest. She was clearly not breathing, her eyes blank and staring at nothing. She seemed... lifeless. The other was resting her head on the first's neck, and if it was possible for a wolf to cry, she did.

Bliss looked up at me. She seemed to be taking in my horrific wounds but closed her eyes again anyway. I flailed human arms and tripped, rolling down the hill. Shock makes us human, I remembered. I kept rolling and almost landed on Belle, receiving a warning snarl from Bliss.

"I can help her." Kim said beside me. Bliss full on howled at this and bared her teeth. She's dead you idiot! My sister is dead!

The pack had never trusted rogues before. But this was different. I told Bliss to go human while Kim dug around her pockets. I started telling Bliss what had happened as she phased.

"She's half silver? Are you sure?" Bliss hissed as soon as she could speak.
"Yes!" I whispered back. "She is different. Special. There is something about her...." I trailed off, not wanting to tell Bliss about Kim sending me Belle's memories.

Kim pulled out a blue bottle with a round bottom, a long neck and a little cork on the top. She took out the cork and shuffled to stand at Belle's side. Then she started speaking gibberish.

"Se yaka nu. Doriinasha beta fer." Kim whispered. With trembling hands she laid the bottle so the mouth touched the snake bite. A horrible black liquid dripped and swirled into the bottle.

"Farly to ched wa. Doooo meh take yo" She said again, her eyes crossing as eyelids drooping. Both her hair and Belle's fur stood up straight, and still black liquid poured into the bottle Suddenly she seemed to wake up. She grabbed the bottle and threw it where it smashed against a rock.

She got another bottle, a green one, and started pouring red liquid into the snake bites. Belle didn't even take a breath. Kim swore loudly and looked at me.

"Spare blue bottle, NOW!" She shrieked. I tipped out the contents of her bag and threw the bottle to her and she caught it easily. Yet more black liquid rushed from the snake bites. More nonsense streamed out of Kim's mouth. Gradually the black fluid turned a dark crimson. She put the cork on the bottle and put it back in her bag. Then she took out something in a blue pot and started smearing it on Belle. It was like a cream coloured cake mix.

We sat in a ring around Belle's body, chanting the words that Kim kept repeating. As the sun rose, Belle took a shuddering breath. Bliss was there in an instant, crying and wrapping her arms around Belle.

I stared at Kim, who was quietly putting the bottles away. One word was running through my mind.

Witchcraft.