I think it’s just an old twisted tale.
If I did get the virus, I hope I take out as many of those black-robed beta vermin as I can.
I roll and rise to my knees, almost pitching myself sideways off the rock when I hear a snort.
I whip around, gasping as I struggle to find my balance. I’ve never seen a wolf before, but I think this is what it is. On my knees, the creature, even bound to the stone by ropes and ropes of chain, still stands taller than me. I think he could open his mouth and swallow my head.
His fur is black with crimson tips, like someone bled on him, and his eyes are the same murderous red, glowing with an inner fire. I sway, and hisintense glare tracks my movements. One huge paw shifts as much as it can, dragging furrows in the stone.
What am I looking at? Why is my head spinning?
I can almost feel my mother’s hands on my shoulders, her smile warming us both. She leans down, the smell of peach filling the air. Her whisper is full of amusement and a seriousness that makes my eyes fill with tears.
“A gift from the gods,”she whispers. My mother’s words don’t make sense.
I close my eyes, trying to keep that lingering feel of her with me.
If my mother died, then she died in agony, in the Culling Ground, chased, hunted, and afraid. No one has seen her here. Not for years.
I shouldn’t have left her,I think as the wave of grief threatens to wash me away.
Why am I thinking about her now?
Opening my eyes doesn’t make the wolf disappear. Maybe he can kill them all. I lunge towards him full of reckless fury. I ignore his warning growl, grabbing the chains, pulling them easily from his body and dropping them off the rock. The sound of them falling as they crash to the ground is like tinkling music. Each coil thrown away offers him his freedom.
“I don’t know who you are,” I say quietly, “but we all deserve a chance.”
I pull the last one, struggling with it, and, with a click, it falls away. The wolf stands up, and I get to see its massive size.
It’s as tall as me, longer than a horse, and its paws could crush my chest easily.
Another sound has me turning. The gate is opening. I curse and look around, but there’s nowhere to hide. I slam into him and shove him. Itoccurs to me in the back of my mind that I should not be throwing myself at a dangerous creature.
“Run while you can,” I hiss.
I leap for the roof, catching the gutter with my fingertips. That massive black wolf leaps over me, clearing it easily. He turns and looks back at me. Our eyes lock.
Something there…like I should know who he is. Like the story my mother told me, it is sitting just at the back of my mind, hidden. Who is he?
I slip off the roof, falling into the garden. I land hard and smash my head on the ground.
I hope he eats us all, I think in stunned pain as the dark creeps across my vision.
I wake up with an aching head and gingerly roll until I’m sitting up. Judging by the chill in my limbs, I’ve been here for a while. My stomach roils, and I sit there, dizzy, waiting for it to pass.
I half expected that I’d be in irons, already halfway down to my own private hell in the citadel.
Strangely, when I turn my head from side to side, I find that not only can I move okay, but that I’m alone.
I haven’t been discovered.
My skin crawls, but despite the niggling feeling, I push myself up onto my feet and do a quick check of my body.
Nothing is broken other than the pain and lump on the back of my head, and my shoulder’s hurting a little but not bad. It would appear I’ve come out unscathed.
The wolf flashes in my mind, and I go perfectly still, then whip around. The chains are on the ground, coiled up like serpents. Cricket’s chirp and then go still. The quiet of the night seems suddenly oppressive, and I decide to get out while I can.
The wolf can handle himself, I’m sure.
