darkness rising ( complete )

March of the Wolves

Evie, Hunter, Jay, Carlos, and Lonnie arrived at a farm the next hour. Evie was examining the carcass of a dead cow. It lay, ripped open in the lawn, blood splattering the snow. It's tongue hung out of it's mouth and it's eyes were a glazed over grey. 

"They came and slaughtered half my livestock," said the farmer. "I never saw it coming."

"You are sure it was wolves?" said Carlos, pacing. He did that when he was thinking. 

"Not entirely," said the farmer. "But I don't know what else it could be."

"I think I know what Carlos is trying to say," said Lonnie. "These scratches are too big for wolf claws. And they're deep. If they were from a wolf, there would be teeth marks, not claws."

"What else could it be?" asked Jay. "A giant lizard?"

"Yes!" said Carlos. "Jay, that's it!" 

"I'm confused," said Jay.

"Remember we saw those dragon footprints back right before we were captured by Raven?" Carlos asked, his heart racing with excitement.

"Yeah," said Jay.

"What if it's dragons attacking the animals?" Carlos smiled proudly.

"Dragons?" asked Hunter. "There haven't been dragons in Anvia for hundreds of years."

"Explain that to Mal," said Evie after a while of silence. "She can turn into one. I like where you are going Carlos. What puzzles me is that they didn't eat the animals, they just killed them."

"Maybe they were on a diet," said Lonnie sarcastically.

"They're killing for sport," said Carlos. He walked over to the cow and grimaced. "That thing stinks."

"You don't think Raven has a dragon on her side, do you?" Lonnie asked.

"That is a possibility," said Hunter. "If Raven can create warriors and wolves, she can probably create a dragon."

"What if it's like Mal?" asked Jay. "And Raven is the dragon."

Hunter shook his head. "No. Raven does not have the ability to change her form. She can only create, she cannot change."

Evie looked at the farmer. "At least now we know what is happening. Try to keep your animals in the barn at night."

The farmer nodded. He bowed to the kings and queen and left. Evie sighed and turned to Hunter. "We should head back. If Mal were here, she would know about Raven."

"Why'd she run off?" Carlos asked Hunter.

"She was following her heart," said Lonnie sarcastically. "Duh."

"Do you ever speak normally?" Carlos asked. "Not in sarcasm?"

"No," said Lonnie. "Deal with it."

Evie rolled her eyes. "It doesn't matter why she left, what matters is when she's going to come back."

"She will come when the dragon roars," said Hunter, looking off into the distance.

"Why does he do that?" asked Jay. "Says something prophetic and them glares into the distance."

"Smoldering intensity," said Hunter.

"What?" asked Carlos.

"Staring into the distance like I do is called smoldering intensity."

"Cool," said Lonnie. "Maybe if I do that after a math problem, the teacher wouldn't fail me."

"I don't think it works that way," said Jay.