Vade frantically looked around. “No, we definitely went this way.” He took a few steps, then went preternaturally still. “Get your dagger ready.”
Orelia crouched into a fighting stance, weapon already clutched tight.
“Stay close to me. Something’s nearby,” Vade whispered. “I can feel it.” He kept both daggers at hip level, creeping through the woods on silent feet.
Orelia stayed on his heels, heart drumming as she checked behind them every few seconds. She’d gotten better at moving lightly, and her steps were just as quiet as Vade’s. They wove through a few trees, each step encouraging a faster beat of her pulse. Whatever Vade said he could feel, she could feel it too. The brimming anticipation of a kill. Whether he’d be doing the killing or somethingelsewould, she didn’t know.
A low growl sounded ahead, and they both froze. The warning came from behind a massive boulder tucked between high grasses.
Vade slowly backed away, almost running into her. As they retreated, a massive paw snuck out from behind the boulder. A steel blue wolf slunk out from its hiding spot.
The animal was clearly alive, though its body looked like it was in decay. Milky eyes stared directly at her, belonging to a creature almost her height. The wolf’s flesh was missing from multiple parts of its body, leaving exposed bones on its ribcage, one leg, a shoulder, and half of its face. The bones glowed a reddish orange, but its eyes remained a lifeless white.
Blind, perhaps?she thought.
Every sharp tooth on the right side of its jaw was visible, turning a deep red when it snarled, along with the rest of its exposed skeleton.
“Back up, back up, back up!” she whispered, pulling on Vade’s shirt. “It’s pissed off.”
“No shit,” he said. When he raised his daggers, the wolf dipped its head and snapped its jaws.
Vade cursed as she pushed him behind her. “What in the hells, Orelia?”
The witch sheathed her dagger and showed her empty palms to the wolf. “It’s okay,” she said in a soothing voice. “We’re not here to hurt you.”
The creature’s red bones flickered to orange, then back to red.
Orelia dropped into a squat, lowering her head slightly, showing submission. “Get down,” she whispered.
She felt Vade move behind her, and soon after, the wolf’s skeleton turned yellow.
“See. We won’t hurt you,” she said, making sure to keep her palms exposed and her eyes on the space where the creature’s gigantic claws dug into the ground.
The wolf stuck out its snout and sniffed the air, bones oscillating between yellow and green.
She took one more step back, hoping to ease the creature’s apprehension. If the wolf was anything like her lynx back home, Orelia knew to give it time to warm up to her before approaching.
Only after its bones had stayed solid green for more than a few seconds did she slowly straighten. The wolf cocked its head, and Orelia took a cautious step forward.
“What are you doing?” Vade whisper-yelled.
She stuck out a hand to silence him.
Ghostly eyes went over her shoulder, followed by a nasty snarl that rattled the wolf’s ribs, bones going orange.
“You’re making it mad,” Orelia scorned. “Back off.”
She heard him scoff, but the heaviness of Vade’s presence faded as he put some distance between them.
Orelia took another step forward. “It’s okay.”
The wolf began to pace, never taking its focus off her.Not blind. Its bones went back and forth from yellow to green, but eventually green won out.
After a few curious steps forward and cautious steps back, the wolf approached and sniffed her hand.
A smile burst across her face. She let the strange creature lick her palm, watching its tail wag. Feeling braver than was wise, Orelia slid her other hand to the wolf’s cheek, stroking its surprisingly soft blue fur.
The wolf’s bones changed from green to pink, encouraging her to continue. When she scratched behind its ears, the pink brightened, nearly blinding her.
