FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Kel woke when Khan got up. As usual, the big arctic wolf was barely audible in his movements, but over the last few days, the young black wolf had grown accustomed to his ways.

Out here in the hinterlands, he was barely recognisable as the erotic force he was back at the training facility. Kel had been warned about Khan by all and sundry...usually in the same breath as the fur or furre involved tried to seduce him into THEIR bed. It was incomprehensible. Was there no such thing as loyalty in this land? The Grand Masters back home had warned about that when he announced his intention to explore the lands beyond Kiy. No one had been happy about his decision, but as usual, he'd made up his own mind and no one argued once he made he made the official announcement. It was not the Kiyan way.

It was one of two rites of passage a young Kiyan might undertake: submission to a Grand Master for 3 months...or to spend a year beyond the borders of the homeland. Kel had chosen the latter.

Back home, the kind of relationship Kel wanted was not possible.Furs mated with furres, not with other furs. His sexuality had caused him some heartache while growing up, and when he failed to change himself, he'd thrown his full weight and attention behind the advanced training program offered by the local masters. It was designed to change the flaw in him that wanted something so unnatural.

This too failed, and when his improbable love for a friend became too much to bear, he left to seek a quick death in a foreign land.

Instead, he found a land where he could be himself...and against all probability, also somebody who wanted him, who was willing to take him. Yet...there was something inside of him that refused to accept it.

He just wasn't sure what Khan wanted. The alpha was a hunter, a ravager and Kel...well, wasn't. He was nobody's bitch...and Khan only had bitches.

Kel feigned sleep as Khan moved away to sit on a stump. Out here, it was as if he was a completely different person. Back at the training facilityKhan showed no signs of introspection, but out here when he thought Kel didn't see, he sat and stared at the sand, or the stars, or the leaves of a tree, apparently just thinking. Out here, he had people who loved him, like old Molla the innkeeper. He had thoughts and feelings that he shared when Kel asked, and displayed an unexpectedly tender and playful side of him that Kel had never even suspected was there.

He shivered at the memory of Khan's tender paws seeking his hurts, his rough tongue gently licking them clean...and that night when he'd caught Kel by surprise and just played a silly tickling game. What had prompted it, Kel didn't know, but it had done wonders for his spirits. They'd sunk quite low since the battle. He'd never had to kill before, and it gnawed at him.

He dared to open one eye when Khan's scent drifted to him on the evening breeze: hot fear-sweat, despair and pain. Heartache. Khan no doubt had his share of pain, just like Kel did. On an impulse, he rose and padded over to where the alpha sat in repose and laid a soft paw on his shoulder. Khan barked and jerked around, his eyes flashing. Kel yelped and jumped back from the murderous look in Khan's eyes.

The second he recognised Kel, the white wolf's eyed cleared to a look of apology.

"I'm sorry, Kel," he murmured softly and held out a paw toward him

Kel approached warily and took the offered paw in his, didn't resist when Khan drew him gently into his lap.

"I ...had a bit of trouble sleeping," the big wolf continued in a gentle tone of voice, and Kelrelaxed. He let Khan hold him for a while, not daring to speak. This had been happening more and more often lately, Khan seeking opportunities to touch and hold him, and Kel had no idea what it meant. There was no doubt in his mind that Khan would take him to bed if he could - but he hadn't tried. He'd had plenty of opportunities, but he hadn't even hinted that he still wanted to. What did he really want?

Khan was the puzzle that Kel understood least of all. The big wolf had tried everything he could to get Kel in bed back at the training facility, like it was some sort of game he was playing. Kel found that he rather enjoyed it. The attention was flattering, and the game itself was exciting. Khan was nothing if not consistent and predictable in his efforts. They must have worked for him before, but Kel had no intention of getting caught. He didn't want to be somebody's plaything.

Still...he'd be lying if he didn't admit he wished Khan would look at him with something other than pure, animal lust in his eyes. Looking dispassionately at him, Kel had to admit he was quite something: fuzzy white fur that fluffed out at the slightest suggestion of a breeze, that tangled when he slept and snarled when the air turned muggy. Stocky, muscular body with bunched, hard muscle artfully hidden by his fuzzy fur...No doubt it was the fur that added to his bulk more than pure muscle. Stubby, powerful limbs and a classically elegant head completed the picture. There was no doubt that Khan was an attractive male, especially when he levelled those darkly luminous eyes at you, his thin black lips quirked into a suggestive little leer...

It was the eyes more than anything that drew Kel's attention. Luminous, well-shaped and shining like sapphire...yet they were dead and as empty as a bear's belly at the start of spring.

Why would a male such as Khan be so empty? Kel never could find a reason, and getting close enough to Khan to get the answer directly from him would not be a good idea. So Kel avoided him whenever possible, playing the game, half hoping, half fearing that the big, sexy wolf would lose interest. But he did not.

And now here they were, together...and yet Kel sensed a chasm between them, one that he was not sure he wanted to cross. The risk was just too great, and for what potential reward? Khan's had lovers beyond counting.

Does he see me that way too? Kel wondered. Am I just another toy, a diversion? Do I want him to look at me differently? It was an unanswerable question. He wanted a mate, it was true, but could Khan be that mate? He just didn't know.

At one time he'd thought Siba would be that mate...but it hadn't happened. Siba liked females. He was also a bit...domineering, a bit too quick to step in and take charge, to protect what he perceived to be the weaker fur, an aspect that both attracted and repulsed Kel. He had his own strength, didn't he? But some part of him had enjoyed it, letting Siba take charge of things. It had been that way through all their years growing up together and it would have been that way had they been mated...And, he finally admitted to himself, I would have hated it.

Stubborn, headstrong, self-reliant, proud and wilful. Those were the words his masters used to describe him. They were true, but they still caused rebellion to bloom darkly in his heart.That's the way I am, and I'm not going to change! He grinned. That particular refrain had crossed his lips quite often when a Master criticised him. Balance, boy! They said. They'd also called him out on other matters: he was too empathic, too emotional, too guarded...always too much of everything! Goddess, he'd bitten back so many words back then.

Point was, Siba taking charge all the time would have grated on his nerves, would have rubbed them raw. He would have bitten back his words, following the advice of a Master to seek the flaw in himself that resented good advice and refused to obey any will but his own. Yet he'd wanted Siba to be in charge.

Just not in charge of everything. You may lead me, but you can never own me, never dictate to my heart!

And there it was! Such a simple thing: Lead me, but never own me. Respect me, don't dictate to me. That was the reason he could never find peace in his own land. That was why he found Khan attractive. In spite of being senior in position and in years, the older wolf had never looked down on him. When he criticised, he gave detailed explanations for his reasoning, and allowed Kel to give his own reasons for his actions, even when he disagreed with them. With Khan, he could discuss things and really learn something.

But it was more than that. Khan understands! He lives it too, just like I do. It was true: Khan used his mind to get what his heart wanted, not what his head told him he could...or should want. The dictates of the outside world had never mattered to Khan as far as Kel could tell. His heart told him what was right and true, and he followed that, no matter what anybody else said. To find such a soul-deep similarity with somebody after so long...

He glanced up at the older wolf and was surprised to find him staring intently at him. Kel blushed, inexplicably embarrassed at the penetrating gaze Khan levelled at him. The older wolf grinned. For some reason, Kel's heart leapt when he saw it; his own lips stretched into an answering grin. Khan responded with a chuckle, and soon they were both laughing.

Held tightly in Khan's arms and laughing with him for no good reason, for the first time since leaving home, Kel felt good, really good. The comfort, acceptance and security he found in Khan's embrace was unlike anything he'd ever encountered. Khan Fuzzywolf was suddenly, and for a single moment of clarity, the only thing in the world that had any meaning for Kel. His closeness answered a need he hadn't known he had. His heart pounded, and when Khan licked his nose softly, his mind surrendered to the yearnings of his heart.

I am here with him. He is touching me...holding me like he might a lover, a mate...do I want him to? Do I want it to be him? And from deep within him, an answer came from a heart that had known all along: yes!

Trembling slightly and paralysed, he barely noticed when Khan swept him up and after a few steps, deposited him back in his rumpled blankets before settling himself down next to Kel. For a wild instant, Kel hoped he might take him right then...but he didn'tInstead, he covered the young black wolf in blankets and tucked him in, then drew his own bedding over him and only then did he consent to holding Kel against him.

Kel trembled. What was wrong with him? With both of them? Surely Khan must realise what had happened? Surely he must have caught the scent of Kel's sudden desire...if it was at all possible that he'd missed the more physical evidence. He blushed.

Desire was nothing new for him, but the fierceness of his need had overwhelmed him, the sudden desire to have Khan lie with him, skin to skin, to have him brush his paw lightly over his belly and down to his sheath...He shivered and tried in vain to suppress those thoughts. The speed with which his body had overridden his careful control frightened him.

At this point in time, he wasn't sure he had the capacity to distinguish between love and pure, animal lust. He wanted Khan. He desired him. His heart said yes! His mind said...maybe. He knew what his people would say. He didn't know what Khan wanted...

Sleep took its time in coming that night.

Next to Kel, Khan too struggled to sleep for exactly the same reason. The scent of Kel's arousal and the sight of his wolfhood straining against his tight-fitting pants nearly drove him wild with desire. It took a supreme effort of will not to take him right then...but the look of fear in Kel's eyes, the confusion and the tension in his young body...All of that told Khan to wait. Ah, but it was hard! Gods, it was hard!

He chuckled, and looked down at himself, his own throbbing member painful with lust.

Why would Kel be so fearful of attention? There was a battle in him, a battle that Khan had no idea how to diffuse. That he wanted it was beyond doubt, but at the same time, there was this strange hesitation, this fear that kept him from acting on what he felt. Why he would feel that way, Khan didn't understand. What he did know was that taking Kel now would damage any chance he had of having him as a mate.

Like Kel, he spent the night in silent torment.

Late the following day, roughly halfway through the swamp and close to the edge of the mountains bordering it, they came across the Shack. Some time ago, old Molla had established the Shack as a place for Messengers to dry out and rest. In Khan's opinion, it was a godsent necessity rather than a luxury. The muggy swamp air and near-constant rain made travelling through this part of the swamp most unpleasant.

This late in the season, the temperature also plummeted. Heat by day, cold by night and everything constantly wet ensured that either wolf had any desire to linger here in this place.

The trail that led to the shack was covered in moss and slime and offered little traction for scrabbling paws. Vanis, the lone reptilian member of the Messengers had made Mo's Shack his home several years previously and had never felt the need to improve it. Like Khan, the gecko had once been a mercenary, but now he served the Messengers in a different capacity.

His medicines were legendary for their efficacy...and he had this way with swamp-fish and spices that made any visit worthwhile, although few dared ask exactly how he managed to make it all edible. Vanis himself never touched it, preferring his food raw and swallowed whole.

Khan smiled. This was always his favourite part of the whole 'initiation run'. A visit to Vanis was an eye-opener to any new runner. The shack stood on sturdy stilts directly over the swamp water with a hang bridge connecting the front porch to the narrow pathway on dry - well, in a manner of speaking - ground. Round the back, a second, larger porch had been added. Here, Vanis spent hours molesting the various swamp denizens that went into the preparation of his odious medical concoctions - as well as his marvellous stews.

A second hang bridge led deeper into the swamp and was lost in the mist. Back there, Vanis had built a second shack where he conducted all sorts of experiments. Khan had seen it once. Row upon row of sparkling clean glassware and other curious implements lined neatly constructed cabinets against the walls and several tables stood in precisely arranged patterns. Very clean and neat; the precise antithesis of the interior of his home.

Khan smiled and kept his mouth shut as he led Kel toward the Shack with its invitingly smoking chimney. His tummy rumbled in anticipation. They rounded a corner and there it was!

"Who would live here?" Kel exclaimed when the shack came into view. He blushed. "I mean...who would live here?"

Khan grinned and watched his surprise with some pleasure. Gods, he was beautiful! Just adorable! Khan smiled broadly and bowed courtier style, from the waist, and indicated the entrance.

"Welcome to the humble abode of Vanis, sneakiest of sneakers, and the best cook of whatever-it-is this side of yours truly. Super-scientistand the only Scaly in the Service. It's his mission in life to study this place...and to make it safe for the rest of us to travel through. There's not a disease in this swamp that he cannot cure, given sufficient time. Good friend too."

He led the way toward the bridge, leaving Kel no choice but to follow. When he reached the bridge, he bellowed toward the strange house. "Vanis! Open your stupid door! Can't you see there are weary travellers just dying for a taste of your soup?" With that, he pounded across the bridge. Kel followed cringingly while Khan hammered on the door. There was no answer. Khan waited a decent amount of time, then called again.

"Vanis? C'mon lizard-face! It's not THAT cold. Move that snaky ass of yours!" When he still got no answer, he shrugged and turned to Kel.

"The old boy must be out on his island. Either that, or he's out hunting. Either way, he'll be back soon." Turning back to the door, he pushed against it and nodded with relief when it opened without resistance.

"He leaves his door open when he's out?" Kel asked, eyes wide.

Khan nodded. "Usually yes. He doesn't keep anything of value in here. Just his pots and his bedding. Which is always available to anybody who asks. He never did have any use for locks."

They entered, Khan in the lead. Inside, a fire burned cheerily in the fireplace, entertaining a happily bubbling pot on a tripod. Rumpled blankets lay strewn all over the place, mixed indiscriminately with equally rumpled rugs. In one corner stood what looked like an abandoned bird's nest, but large enough to fit a furry body. It was lined with feathers and a mismatch of torn blankets and leaves and other soft things. Khan shuddered. Even after all these years, Vanis still flatly refused to use a proper bed. Still, back there a ways was the entry to the guest room. It was the only place in the whole house that was always kept scrupulously clean. Vanis himself might not much care for neatness, but he didn't expect his guests to share his fascination with dirt, something Khan was intensely grateful for. He was tired of the dirt and sleeping next to Kel on a real, soft bed...ahhhh no!

Better not think of that. The mere thought tugged at his wolfhood, and Vanis would be merciless once he sensed it. It was one of his favourite pastimes, making fun of Khan's rampant libido. Molla embarrassing him was one thing, but Vanis was something else. They were in different leagues entirely, although the teasing was no less affectionate. It was just that the Gecko's sense of humour could best be described as...odd. Not to mention crude. He sighed happily and looked around. Kel was still outside, staring intently at something on the far side of the bridge and down the trail.

"Kel!" he called. "Come on, love! It's cold out!" Oh gods...

The moment the word left his muzzle he regretted it.

Kel jerked around, surprise writ large in his luminous eyes. Surprise and...just maybe, a hint of joy? Of hope? Khan shook his head as Kel came inside and closed the door behind him. The pup's expression was thoughtful, far away.

Khan shook himself, grateful for Kel's distraction.

"Listen, I'm going out to fetch Vanis. I see his back door is also unlocked. Means he's out there in his lab. The old fool sometimes forgets he has food on the fire when his mind latches on to something. He even forgets that this cold is not good for him. Make yourself at home. I'll be back soon."

Kel nodded distractedly and absentmindedly began cleaning up the messy room.

Khan smiled and watched him affectionately for a while. It was so like his young love to automatically applying himself to one problem while handling another. Khan had noticed that whenever Kel needed time to think, his paws searched for something to do.

He chuckled. Well, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have Vanis ream him for packing his stuff away. Vanis had a SYSTEM...or so he always insisted.

He turned away and left, closing the door behind him, and trudged his way carefully over the rotting timber of the bridge toward Vanis's island retreat.

Kel watched from the single window in the back of the shack until Khan disappeared in the mist, then resumed cleaning up the messy room. Simple physical labour helped him to relax and focus his mind on other, more pressing problems.If it wasn't so cold out, he'd do a training routine. The fluid movement of his body never failed to release his mind from the mundane world, and Goddess knew he needed to focus.

There was something strange going on here, something on the breeze...the scent of death, a feeling of cold that had nothing to do with the temperature. It had been tugging on his mind ever since entering the swamp. There was something...a presence...an awareness of evil...not of darkness, but the complete absence of anything good. Something that craved chaos, control...something with an insatiable need, a hunger that could result only in suffering.

Kel's heart wrenched inside him. Whatever it was was hopelessly insane. It was driven beyond hope, beyond even despair until it was only a slavering thing forever looking to satisfy a hunger that could never be sated.Its overpowering will was all it had left, and it fed on its own rage and hatred, forever looking for release that it no longer even understood. A spirit-being, tormented and torn to shreds, had made its home here, and its presence infected every creature, every stone in the swamp.

Was this the reason Khan feared the swamp? Ever since they left Molla's inn, Khan seemed withdrawn, jumpy, worried. He'd certainly been reluctant to enter the swamp. His forced cheer proclaimed far louder than words that something was wrong; evasion and deception were not skills that that Khan was an adept of. The very fact that he had tried worried Kel more than anything. Worse, it had hurt.

Why would Khan not tell him the reason the swamp frightened him? It certainly frightened Kel! And if there was a reason to be afraid, then he certainly had the right to be told. He was in the swamp too. His own life was also threatened.

He glanced at the door Khan had left through. It was so transparently obvious. Khan was out there not just to look for his friend, but also to once again face his fear...and he'd left Kel at the safest place he could think of. That protectiveness was something new, something Khan had never done before...and something that made Kel want to shout with joy...as well as rage.

He'd proven himself. There was no need for Khan to protect him...indeed, by going out there alone he proved that his judgement was shot: one simply did NOT go out into an unknown situation when one had a partner, especially if said partner didn't know what they were up against. The whole situation just felt wrong to Kel. What Khan faced was obviously anold fear...but considering what Kel felt about this place, he wasn't so sure that it was unjustified. There was definitely something here, something menacing and hostile to...to life itself!

Khan should have told him...should have trusted him! Khan's lack of trust in him hurt. It hurt unexpectedly badly.

Kel sat back and watched the flames flickering under the pot, rose to stir the stew and pottered about aimlessly, straightening rugs, folding blankets. The evil he felt pressed down heavily on him. Finally, when his brooding and the pervading sense of doom grew too much, he sought sanctuary in ritual. Communing with the gods never failed to refresh his soul.

He sat down cross-legged on the floor and touched the blue crystal that Khan had had set in his collar. Instantly its energy flowed through him, strengthening him.Years of practice let him slip into his trance quickly and without undue difficulty. Drawing heavily on the crystal, he threw up a personal barrier;a protective shield of energy to keep evil at bay, a place where he could commune with the gods.

It took an unexpectedly long time for him to establish contact with his guide, an ancient goddess once worshipped by a race of humans that had long since moved on. Kel had found her while searching for his first guide. The tranquillity of her spirit was a balm to his own turbulent soul, and the path she walked never failed to inspire: Benzai-Ten, protector-spirit of her people...of anybody who chose to honour her.

Kel cast his call forth into sacred space and waited for her to respond. It took a while and he was beginning to tire before he felt the gentle brush of her awareness enter the sphere of energy he'd created. Kel smiled and opened his eyes...and there she was, sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him, as real as any other object in the room.

She smiled her greeting, and Kel lowered his eyes and ears with respect and exhaustion.

Exotically slanted eyes regarded him frankly, concern shining in their black depths as she reached out one hand and tilted his head up to meet her gaze. Once more Kel was struck by her alienness. Her features were human, yet not. Strange. Stranger still that a human goddess should accept furry worship, yet she did. Her acceptance meant a lot to the young fur. Her lips quirked to a smile, as if reading his thoughts.

Kel relaxed.

"That's better, " she said, and Kel smiled. As always, her perceptions were spot on.

"You look tired, young wolf, " she continued, sympathy brimming in her eyes.

He nodded. "I am. This place...there is evil here. I...felt the need for sanctuary." He blushed at the half-truth and the goddess laughed and touched his muzzle. Of course she could see the other reason for his call.

"Ah, dear Kelen! There is evil here yes, and it will bring you much grief. But this evil you can handle. Your power is sufficient. That hulk of a wolf you run with knows enough to get you through...if you work together."

She tilted her head mischievously to one side and grinned wickedly.

"But you already know that. Don't worry. You'll do fine! What you really called me for was some advice about that Fuzzywolf, yes?"

She laughed when he blushed, but sobered quickly. More seriously, she continued.

"Kel...he must tell you. You must get him to tell you what he knows about this place. It is but one part of a much larger puzzle, but one which will be instrumental to...something else. Without it, you will never survive...and the future will be bleak."

She regarded him levelly, and her eyes softened.

"Kel...it will be hard for you...and for him. Especially for him. You cannot know the demons he faces. He will need you. Much sooner than you think. The threat you face is also far greater than you know, greater than one mad spirit and a few of Khan's demons. If I could, I'd tell you more, but even for one such as I much of the future remains clouded. Occasionally though...a person may be born with such strength of purpose that the way narrows to only a few possibilities, and spirits such as I may act to secure the future we most want to see."

Kel drew breath to speak, but she forestalled him by commandingly holding up one hand, demanding silence. Kel obeyed, and subsided.

"Other spirits will do the same, try and push events down a certain tine in the fork, and others will resist, often by killing those who are important to a certain future occurring. I tell you this because you have a part to play in it. Your actions will help to secure a future for your kind."

Kel shook his head confusedly.

"But...what future? If there are so many tines the future can go to...how can you know which of them will be the right one for us? How far can you travel down the path? How...." He swallowed hard. "I mean...if you want one future and another seeks some other outcome...then...what do you require of us? You've never told me what you wanted of me."

He flushed, ears plastered to his head with embarrassment.

For the first time since he encountered her, the goddess lowered her eyes in sadness. When she looked at him again, pain clouded her eyes, and etched her face with deep lines.

"I will you tell you a secret: I have wandered far down the paths of the future, and in very few of them do your kind exist. In fewer still do you live in peace with humanity. I found maybe a dozen in which this peace was lasting, and only one that did not achieve this peace without the loss of billions of lives, and the sacrifice of millions of souls. Only one future in which Islewigh did not prevail at some point. One of the futures I saw showed Islewigh's dominance endure forever. That path lies before us now. If you do not survive, and if some others fail, we will face a future in which Islewigh will come to dominate not only this world, but the whole of creation. However, if it can be averted now, then at least there is a chance it can be defeated later."

Kel stared at her in horror. The implications were more than his mind could cope with. He...and a few others were all that stood in the way of Islewigh forever controlling the fate of the universe? The goddess also implied that sacrifices would need to be made...and that he, Kel, would be one of those from whom it would be extracted!

He looked her straight in the eye, and saw the truth reflected there: loss will be yours, and pain and horror. He saw the regret there...and the steely determination to do what was needed, whatever the cost. His heart clenched within him as dread certainly settled over him. He yipped and jerked around, but froze as the goddess seized his paw in her hand and held him rooted to the floor.

"No!" her voice snapped, crackling with power. "What is happening now must happen if your kind is to survive!"

"No! No!" Kel cried, struggling to rise, to run to Khan's aid. "Let me go! I must go!" But the goddess would not let him go. Ancient pain wept from her eyes as she held him down, a grief that warred openly with the pain of what her actions were doing to her young worshipper.

Kel struggled violently, his trust in the goddess overridden by an overwhelming need to be with Khan right now, by the certain knowledge that he would not care to live if Khan was dead. He screamed and shouted and wept and cursed the goddess that held him in her power, and eventually she let go.

Weeping, and knowing it was already too late, he stumbled out the back door and onto the rickety bridge. Tears blurred his eyes and he struggled to breathe through grief-stricken sobs. Three...and then four paces brought him face to face with eyes every bit as dead as he'd feared.

Blood lay pooled on the floor inside the shack, darkened and clotted. No amount of scrubbing would ever remove it from where it had soaked into the wood. Bloodied blankets lay strewn everywhere and bottle after bottle stood uncorked on the single remaining table, evidence of their efforts to save Vanis. Now the lizard lay curled up in his messy bed, neatly arranged by gentle paws.

Kel watched sadly as Khan stood forlornly over his dead friend, vainly holding on to a lifeless paw. Dead eyes saw nothing of his surroundings. Shock. Kel knew the signs. A shudder ran through Khan's body as he collapsed to his knees and wept.

There was nothing he could do, no words he could speak to comfort Khan. Truth be told, one was never as alone as when faced with pain. To avoid his own helplessness, Kel ran over his memories of the past several hours.

Four steps out the door, he'd run into Khan as he carried Vanis's bleeding body toward the house. He had no idea how long he'd struggled against Benzai-Ten, except that it was full dark outside when Khan brushed past him and deposited Vanis's lacerated body on the table.

The cuts were deep and expertly delivered to ensure a slow and painful death. One glance was enough to realise that Vanis was beyond help but he'd nevertheless struggled right there beside his distraught partner to try and save his life. There was nothing else to do. The despair in Khan's eyes forced Kel to work just as hard as he could, but inexorably, Vanis's life had ebbed away with every slow beat of his heart, and when, with his last breath, he drew Khan to him and whispered in his ear, the despair turned to insane rage. Smashed tables and chairs offered plain evidence of his pain. Afterward, Khan had driven him from the house with vile imprecations, and proceeded to arrange Vanis's body on the bed, in neat repose. Now he stood there, a lit torch in one hand and a pale, dead paw in the other.

Kel turned away. His own fur was matted with blood and tears, but it hardly registered with him. Instead he saw the wounds the unfortunate gecko had suffered. No sword had made those cuts. They were far too clean, too precisely delivered. Not even a suicidal fur would stand perfectly still to allow himself to be butchered. No, Vanis had put up a fight, judging from the number of small cuts and bruises on his hands and face. Nothing alive could move fast enough to deliver those cuts with such exacting precision, not with the scaly defending himself.

Whatever had killed Vanis, it was neither human nor furry. This meant but one thing. Benzai-Ten had told him that they were up against Islewigh. If that was true, then it meant that the sorcerer-priests of that accursed land had revived the black arts, and wereonce again forging beasts from the shredded souls of living victims. More...that they had sent these creatures into the lands occupied by human and furry alike.

Benzai-Ten was right. They HAD to survive. The Baron had to be warned.

He glanced back inside. Khan too had suffered a number of cuts, and had flatly refused to let Kel tend them. Some were still oozing blood, causing Kel some concern about blood loss. Khan was already in shock. Add battle lust and exhaustion to that and you had trouble. He'd have to watch him very carefully.

Finally, Khan got up and tossed the torch onto the bed, and watched as the fire greedily spread itself over the dried twigs and blankets. Within seconds, the entire bed was engulfed in flame, and within minutes, the fire had spread to one wall. Black smoke rose in clouds, finally driving Khan from the shack.

He came to stand beside Kel and watched. First, the roof caved in, leaving only the skeletal remains of the roof supports. As the walls weakened, these too crumbled. Sparks hissed as they hit the water, until at last, the floor could no longer support the weight of the ashes and collapsed into the water. Great clouds of steam erupted in hissing clouds as the swamp claimed another victim and swallowed its remains into its murky depths. Only the stilts remained, and with no one to care for them, soon they too would rot and fall away, leaving nothing...

Khan watched until the last bit of steam evaporated, and the sounds of the swamp returned to normal. Without a word, he picked up his pack. and set off at a steady lope down the path that would eventually lead them out of the swamp.

Kel felt like crying as Khan sped past him. He didn't look left, or right, and didn't acknowledge his young partner in any way.

Never in his life had Kel felt more alone, abandoned.

It didn't take long for the tension and blood loss to get to Khan. He knew it was a bad idea to run in his condition, and he knew that young Kel deserved a bit more compassion from him, but right at that moment, the only thing he could see was the face of Vanis. Eyes dull with death, his vitality forever locked up in a husk of decay.It was too much to bear. Besides Molla, Vanis was the only person that Khan had ever cared about. Vanis was the brother of his heart...the only other surviving member of his old band. Besides himself, Vanis was the only other who had seen what had happened that night. They were the only two who still remembered young Dehelion.

He glanced at Kel. The pup was in bad shape. He looked exhausted and frantic with worry for his partner. Much like Khan himself, Kel was covered in gore. Yet his eyes remained alert, watching both the trees and his partner with equal attention. Khan dismissed him from his mind...and a moment later, his overwrought mind and body called a halt and he collapsed.

Grey eyes turned toward him as he stepped inside the shack. Just for an instant, the gecko looked toward the door, and three shadows flitted from where they had been hidden. The scaly brown and green mottled muzzle opened to shout a warning, but Khan had already seen the sick horror in the grey depths. He'd seen the warning in the gecko's eyes and his swords were out of their sheaths before the shadows had time to close the distance. Beside him, Dehelian too drew his sword. Kel's quick paws already had his knives poised for throwing. Silvery blades whipped forward. It was too late. They were too late!

Vanis died even as he shouted for Khan to stay away. Three creatures. Three deadly, efficient strokes, and the lizard lay bleeding on the floor.

The shadows disappeared. Khan knew what was coming next. He shouted frantically for Dehelian and Kel to form a circle. They had to have each other's backs. Kel answered his call, his voice calm. In an instant, Khan had the comforting presence of the quick black wolf at his back. Dehelian too answered, but his voice quivered. Excitement always got the better of him. It was his one great flaw as a warrior. Khan barked for him to pay attention.

The shadows circled, their thin blades whirling around them at blinding speed. As one, they rushed at them. Kel's blades flashed out and missed. The shadows were too fast. He turned toward Khan...

Time slowed. A single blade came out of nowhere. There were four of them! Four! Kel!

Too late. The blade drank deeply of the young wolf's blood and his guts spilled from the gash in his belly. His lovely eyes clouded over with pain and horror...and reproach.

Why, Khan? They asked. Why didn't you love me?

But I do love you! He begged, and cradled the dying body of his young love in his arms. Gods, please! Let me die! But instead of him, Dehelian died.

He'd forgotton! He'd forgotten the fox he was supposed to protect. He should have looked after him, should not have let his mind wander...

He howled. Blind rage erased all thought from his mind. Loss and pain burned every thought of survival from his soul. His sword flashed and sliced into flesh and bone, but there was nothing there! Nothing visible! On the ground, Vanis gurgled.

No...no...it didn't happen that way...it didn't...it...couldn't...

The flash of a sword alerted Khan and he ducked, just in time, but not quite fast enough. A sword glanced off his shoulder. He howled and struck out madly but the creatures were gone again, disappeared into thin air. There was no fighting them!

From out of nowhere, a kick struck him in the gut and he collapsed, and several more rained down on his back and ribs. His sword claimed at least one more invisible life, and the one remaining creature fled. Khan tried to rise, his vision red with rage, but he was too weak. He retched violently as his abused stomach rebelled and collapsed. He howled...and back at the shack he heard the enraged shrieks of...Kel?

Goddess no! Kel! Vanis! Oh,gods!

He howled again in pure frustration, and dragged himself to his paws, hauled Vanis onto his shoulder and made his way as best he could toward the hut. Kel...oh no! Kel! He collapsed again and nearly lost Vanis over the edge of the bridge but managed to hold on. When he could no longer walk, he crawled, dragging Vanis behind him. The shrieks from the shack grew more and more frenzied, then changed to sobbing and begging incoherently. What were they doing to him? KEL! Khan tried to call, but found that he didn't have the strength. He bled and must have passed out. When he came to, Vanis was at death's door, and the hut was silent. He gnashed his teeth and hauled Vanis to his shoulder, moments before the door burst outward and there was Kel, his face ravaged by grief. Their eyes met and in an instant, grief turned to joy. Vanis...Oh no...

He jerked awake. Night had fallen, and his shoulder was stiff. Stiff as in almost completely immobile. It was warm and...and there wereno green eyes watching him. Kel...?

He looked around and spotted Kel standing watch at the edge of the clearing. The fire had burned low, and like a good sentry, Kel was facing away from the smouldering embers into the dark, preserving his night vision. Ah, poor pup! This would be his second night awake.

Kel. He'd stood beside him knowing that Vanis would die, set aside his own needs and looked after Khan's...when Khan should have looked after him.

I should have told him...

He sat up and called softly. Kel turned and with eyes all wary, stepped gingerly toward him. Khan winced and held out a paw like he had that first night when Kel came to comfort him. An offering of peace, a silent apology. A tentative smile tugged at the pup's lips and he grinned back. Yes, Kel. I'm back...

Kel took his outstretched paw and, like last time, Khan drew him into his lap and nuzzled him. There was much to be said between them, and even more to be decided. It did not take a genius to figure out that tonight would be a reckoning between them, and suddenly Khan was nervous. If he was going to win his prize, it would have to be now, tonight. But I'm not ready for this, dammit! There was so much more I'd planned to do first...

"Khan...?" Kel murmured tentatively when Khan made no moves, and stirred restlesslyin his arms, worried. Khan tightened his embrace briefly, hugging Kel to him. Heartsick and torn, he steeled himself, and murred softly. It had to come sooner or later. Might as well be now.

"Mmm?" He loosened his grip on Kel, wishing with all his heart that this moment had not come. Maybe it hadn't...maybe...

"Khan...what happened? Back there, I mean. With Vanis?"

...but it had. Khan lowered his ears and drew back his lips, searching for words and knowing that there was nothing he could say that would make them sound in any way rational...or even sane. What he'd seen could not possibly exist, and telling Kel would not make it real. But it was real. He'dseen it twice now. Gods in heaven, he wished he hadn't!

The oppressive silence grew agonising. Kel stirred restlessly in his embrace, trying to meet his eyes, but Khan avoided them. He knew what they'd show: concern, doubt...maybe even pity. For the first time in his life, his courage was insufficient for the task ahead of him.

"Khan...please. Talk to me. I got a good look at those wounds. You and I both know there was no way they were inflicted by anything natural. Not with the defensive wounds he had. Those cuts were too clean, too precisely delivered. You know what it's like in battle. When you're attacked, you strike back anywhere you find an opening, not so precisely, with such finesse. You know what happened, don't you? You saw it before. Ever since we entered the swamp, you've...acted differently." He paused, and stroked Khan's arm where it was wrapped around him.

Khan started. Kel had never touched him before...except for that one night, when he'd reached for him, offering comfort. He'd snarled at him then...but that hadn't deterred the pup one little bit. He'd stood his ground, placed his trust in his partner and accepted an evasive explanation. He'd been patient, waiting for him to open up...to return that trust...Gods, I should have told him before now!

"Please, Khan. Talk to me. Don't shut me out!"

Ah Kel! Khan squeezed his eyes shut. The pup was actually pleading with him, begging to be let in. The weight of years settled into his bones, turning them to lead. He sagged under the weight of conflicting needs and years of struggle. With Vanis dead, there was no way to prove his words. He wasn't sure he had the strength to face any more doubt.

And yet...Kel had the right to know...and there was the added weight that shutting him out now would irreparably harm their developing relationship...That was the one thing Khan desperately did not want to happen. He smiled ruefully. Kel had him caught. He sighed and shifted position, dislodging Kel from his lap. The pup yipped with surprise...and hurt; expecting rejection. Ah! So THAT was the problem...! He fears his own feelings! With this new insight into Kel's behaviour, Khan planned his next move...

He drew himself to his knees, and helped Kel up, indicating for him to sit opposite. Eyes wide, Kel did as he was bid. From the corner of one eye, Khan watched him but refused to meet his eyes, and started to talk. Tonight, he would bare his soul in ways that no one had ever seen...not even Molla. Not even Vanis.

"Ten years ago. We were working a war for some city up on the other side of the swamp. They'd sent my company and me out to camp in the swamp. We were to hold ourselves in reserve. Their army was supposedly going to drive the opposing force into the swamp where we were to destroy them."

He laughed harshly. "We told them it wouldn't work. No right-thinking general would lead his force into the swamp if he could possibly help it. He'd rather take his troops to the plains east of Shiva where it would take overwhelming numbers to win a decisive victory. You'd also need overwhelming numbers to force an army into the swamp. So either way...there would be no battle in the swamp. But we were getting paid in gold, so we did as we were told. We made camp in this gods-forsaken place and waited.

"Dehelion...he was a youngster still in training...I...I was assigned as his chaperone, as it were, his big brother. My job was to keep him out of trouble while he was still in training. Back then, there was no shortage of young furs with a taste for adventure...who thought that war was adventurous. Goddess! Such fools. But Dehelion was a quick study. He picked things up remarkably fast..."

"You slept with him." Amused outrage dripped from the pup's voice. Khan glanced up, eyes glinting mischievously. A smile tugged at Kel's lips, helpless amusement at Khan's antics. He took Kel's paw in his, and nodded.

"Yes. I did. More than once. Basically every night for three weeks. He...He was a sweet boy Kel, just two years younger than I at the time. One night, he was out keeping watch. I'd left him by then of course, taken another lover. He never complained, never tried to revive things between us. Anyway, that night, he was keeping watch. The captain warned us about some kind of creature circling the camp, but none of us took him seriously. Animals just didn't do that.

"We assumed it was enemy spies...or our employer checking up on us. Wouldn't have been the first time they did it, and...most of the night had been quiet anyway. We weren't expecting any kind of attack. Why would we? Only an idiot would try attacking in the swamp at night. There was no room to move and only the one path in or out."

He grinned.

"Many of us saw sentry duty as a chance for some romances. I'd traded duties with another, exactly for that reason. Dehelion...we were no longer an item but I figured we could have some fun. I remember...it was a full moon. He looked so pretty there in the moonlight, sitting on a stump, brushing his fur. But then, foxes always look pretty, don't they? I remember thanking him for some small courtesy he'd performed earlier and offered to walk him back, but he declined, joked he didn't need looking after anymore."

Kel stirred uncomfortably at that, and Khan grinned. Oh, the pup was proud! Khan well knew that his pride had been wounded by his earlier protectiveness. Kel didn't like the idea that he might need to be looked after and protected. And of course, he didn't, Khan had to concede. It really had been a bad mistake to leave him behind, and not one he was sure he understood the motive of. Perhaps it was just instinct. Heavens knew he'd acted on that often enough!

"He was just like that, " he continued, still smiling, "...always joking, laughing, making everybody around him feel good. I'd been with him for longer than with anyone before him, but that badger...she was something else! Anyway...

"He reported seeing some sort of animal moving in the undergrowth, just circling. That was the first time I took the reports seriously. I'd trained him myself after all, so I knew he wasn't starting at shadows. He told me that no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to focus on it. I asked him to show me where he'd heard it and he showed me an area maybe twenty feet away. We looked, really looked for some sign but there was nothing, so we assumed it was something small, maybe an otter or a jackal. Something large enough to be a threat would be seen if it came that close, so we assumed we'd simply missed the tracks."

He paused and looked at Kel. The pup sat where Khan had indicated, on his knees with his butt resting on his calves. Ears pricked and alert, he looked the image of a studious youngling focused on what the teacher was saying. There was no hint of disbelief, condemnation or pity; he was simply listening. The trust in his green eyes very nearly undid Khan. Involuntarily, his wolfhood responded to the rush of affection he felt for Kel at that moment. He shifted uncomfortably and continued.

"I told him to report directly to the captain, along with my recommendation that we increase the number of sentries and light fires to keep the animals...whatever they were...at bay. Dehelion agreed instantly and sprinted away, but seconds later he returned. He'd spotted some of the shadow things behind our lines. I went with him. Didn't take long to spot them. They were all around us, beings moving like shadows, flitting here and there, appearing and disappearing at will. It was impossible to track their movements. I knew then that we were in trouble. They kept circling close by, but we could never see them. Just the flashes of their blades in the moonlight. We made a dash for it...but didn't get far. I don't know how they did it, but somehow we kept ending up where we started."

Khan stopped, lost in memory. The moon was out but hung too low in the sky to be much use as a navigation beacon. The paths in the swamp that their trackers had marked were all clearly visible. There was no reason for getting lost, and yet they had. Both of them had memorised the sequence of beacons, and they'd both unhesitatingly taken the correct path, yet each time they ended up at the stump where Del had been grooming. He always made sure that he had a couple of landmarks of his own, just to be sure but even that had failed him. He knew fear for the first time in his life; real, gut-wrenching fear.

"Khan...?"

Khan took the paw that Kel offered him in his own and stroked the soft fur, watched Kel's wary eyes soften slightly.

"Sorry, love." He squeezed the paw, but kept holding it as he continued.

"I knew then that we would never get out alive. I remember...I was terrified but as the same time so angry, that these creatures, whatever they were, could herd us like animals. At that point...I guess I lost my head a bit. I decided to stand my ground and Dehelion...he opted to join me. I told him to keep close, keep his back to me so we could at least see them coming...but I never did. They were all around us, I have no idea how many. Shadows flicked through the trees and undergrowth. There was no way to focus on just one. I tried my best to find a target, but...I never did. Behind me, Del was trying just as hard. I could smell his fear.

"Finally...I guess we just got too tired...we lost focus. Just for a moment, a single instant. I turned slightly too far, lost sight of Del and he...he turned toward me, maybe to remind me to pay attention, I don't know. I lost sight of him for maybe a second, but it was enough. The next moment, he was gutted from behind, sliced across the belly and stabbed twice in the back. Quick, efficient killing blows that I never even saw coming. I felt his warmth at my back disappear...and the spray of his blood on my fur. He never so much as cried out...never had the chance to. I turned back...but it was too late. They were gone. The shadows were gone as if they'd never been, and there was Del, struggling to rise. I remember his eyes...so wide and so very blue, just staring at me. So strange, so...so vulnerable, as if asking me what the hell had happened? So soft...He...he reached out once and I knelt by his side, tried to look over his wound. His guts lay spilled around his feet. Guess he saw his death in my eyes. He gave me that look...I took him in my arms and he smiled. He smiled. And died. Right there, still looking at me, as if...as if..."

He foundered to a stop, and suddenly Kel was there, right there next to him, skin to skin, holding him tightly. Like a drowning fur, Khan clung to him.

"He loved you, " the pup said, and Khan nodded.

"Yes. Yes, he did. And I never saw it. I never really cared. But his face...the look in his eyes...it haunted me, for years until I understood. Until you made me understand." He relaxed his grip as Kel drew away, his green eyes wide with surprise and fear. Khan smiled reassuringly and let him go. Ah! So I was right! He doesn't believe I could love him. Ah, pup! How wrong you are! Kel retreated back into his pose of intent concentration and Khan continued, telling Kel about the aftermath, his mad dash through the swamp, how he made it back only by chance, how he made his report, time and again, to a dozen different people about what had happened that night, about the death of Dehelion.

So had a score of others like him. Del had not been the only casualty that night. Twenty three others had shared his fate, in exactly the same way: two furs together, one died, and one survived. Terror had swept through the camp when the survivors came stumbling in, some insane with fear and disbelief and sheer horror. Some recovered...most didn't. Desertion became rampant and the Captain took strict action against the remainder...The fool had actually tried to hold them at their posts when so many of their own had died just like that, for no reason, and in such a bizarre fashion. Fighting furs could take anything. Anything except the unknown. They were pragmatic folk: they'd seen it all and never expected to see anything new. There was no death that they did not know intimately, and had spat on countless times, dared to take them; but this...It was one thing to die by the blade, by fire or by arrow, but to be cut down by some unseen force...that was more than many could accept.

In the end, they'd killed the Captain, and the company broke apart, never to reform. Many, like Khan, returned to the ways of the blade, and fought bloody battles, daring death, indulging themselves at every opportunity. Others never touched the sword again. Even Vanis, the untouchable one, the pillar of stability, could not distance himself from it. To him, the swamp became an irresistible lure to which he constantly returned, and eventually made his home. Khan understood his need, and had visited him to help him in his search when he found the courage to do so. So few believed them when they related their tale, and many mercenary companies refused to take on those who had once been known as the Red Devils. And then...then the Baron came, and everything changed.

"Last night...I'd told Vanis so many times to get out of the swamp, that whatever had killed our friends could still be out there, but he refused. I guess in some obscure way he wished he'd been one of the dead ones. Vanis was strong...but of us all, he was the least well-equipped to deal with this. Survivors' guilt, you know. He spent his life studying the swamp and all the ways it could kill you, and beat it every time, when what he really wanted was for it to kill him. I doubt even he knew that this was his goal. It never showed, this black depression of his. All of us...those of us who'd seen the attack and remained sane...tried to get him out, but he refused."

He sighed. "Kel...I'm the last one. The others...they all died, fell in battle, jumped off buildings...or just plain disappeared. With Vanis gone...there is no one else to remember the twenty four furs who died that day. The sad thing is that no one knows why they died...or believed how they died. And now...now Vanis joined them, cut down in the same way the others were...and I was spared a second time. If only I knew why, or what, or how...just something! Why do they emerge now, after all these years? Molla told me that over the last few months, no traffic had made it out of the swamp. People fear disease, but...well, I know it was not. It was them, these shadow beings....Kel? What's wrong?"

The young black wolf looked down, hiding his eyes from Khan. He knew that the big wolf would see his terror. His feelings for the big wolf couldn't be denied. The developing closeness would soon demand its due. He wanted Khan. But there was still another fear...

From where he sat across from Khan, Kel could feel the life pulsing inside the other male. He could see the darkness, and the stifled light that was just beginning to emerge within him. He could see the roiling coils of potential that snaked through his spirit. The goddess's words echoed in his head: "If you work together". One option. One chance. All or nothing.

Trust him or die. Trust him and die.