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33

"Done," Shekka-Kai said, slapping a Wolf's ear leaf down on Wardo's arm in a manner that looked almost intentionally painful, but if their fearless new Chieftain felt any pain, he didn't show it. He just sat there with that massive grin of his and flexed his fingers.

"Thank you, Shekka," he said, and Dorin sighed a silent sigh of relief. If they were done here, it meant he could finally go back to his tent and collapse in bed. Today had been one of the longest, most tiring days of his life, and he just wanted it to end.

"I'm done with your arm, Chieftain, but I'm not done with you," Shekka said, spittle hanging from her bared fangs.

Oh blessed Cora please, no more...

"What was that Shekka? Maybe I misheard you, what with this massive cut in my ear you barely even looked at!"

"Your ear is fine, it's your head I'm worried about!" Shekka said and flicked him right in the forehead.

"Ow! You crazy bitch! What was that for!?"

"You put my son in that horrible cage, out in the snow!"

"So? That whiny little bastard had it coming."

"We had a deal, Wardo! Remember!? I get what I want and you get what you want."

Dorin was getting that edgy feeling again, that edgy feeling that always warned him of danger. It was the feeling he had gotten when Ander went berserk, and it was the feeling he was getting now, watching these two argue. If he didn't get out of here right now, he might hear something he was never meant to hear, and that would only end in disaster. "Excuse me, Chieftain, Shekka-Kai, but I think I'll take my leave now," he said and started to get up.

"You stay right there, Dorin." Wardo said. "I may still have need of you."

Dorin stopped mid-rise, eyeing the situation carefully. There was definitely something going on here. If Wardo didn't want to be alone with Shekka-Kai, then why not simply call in Hyker and Ivio? They were standing right outside the entrance. But he knew better than to question. "Yes, Chieftain," he said and sat back down on the bedding next to the Cora effigy, lightly rubbing his arm. Shekka-Kai had done a good job patching him up, but it still burnt like fire, and his wrist was swollen so badly he could barely move it without excruciating pain. And this was supposed to be one of the most glorious days of his life...

Wardo steepled his fingers underneath his chin and turned back to Shekka-Kai. "You need not worry, Shekka. I remember our little accord perfectly well. But something you need to understand is that the only way you will get what you want is through me, and I can only deliver if I remain Chieftain, something your son seems intent on destroying."

"Hezzi is stupid, I'll admit that, but I've talked to him. He won't try anything like that again."

"I wish I could believe you, Shekka, really I do, but there's already been an attempt on my life and the sun has yet to reach noon on my first day as Chieftain. Do you see the problem? Do you understand the position that puts me in?"

"I don't care about your petty politics, I demand you release Hezzi from that filthy cage right now!"

Wardo raised his eyebrows so comically high they almost seemed to slide up over the top of his head. "You don't care about politics? Well, you certainly could've fooled me, Shekka, after what you've done..."

Shekka-Kai's eyes were like sour milk, which made it difficult to tell where she was looking most of the time, but Dorin would have sworn she was looking directly at him right now. He could feel her gaze crawling all over his face like an invisible spider.

This is why Wardo wanted me to stay. He's got something on her, of that there is no doubt.

Shekka's eyes flicked back to Wardo, and when she spoke again, she did it in a much softer, but no less urgent, tone. "You are just as guilty as I am, Wardo. Don't pretend otherwise even for a second. You might be able to fool your people, but the Cora can see right through you, and so can I."

Wardo shrugged. "Maybe you're right. We've both got our hands dirty, but that's no reason to add even more to the filth. Tell you what, let's make another deal. A business venture, so to speak."

Shekka narrowed her eyes. "I'm listening."

"You want to get Hezzi out of that cage. I understand completely, you're his mother, he's your son, evidently you love each other very much, I get it. As for me, I have to punish him for going against my authority. I have to, Shekka. I have no choice in the matter. I don't want him sitting in some circle with his little friends in the middle of the night, scheming and plotting my downfall as they sharpen their daggers."

"He won't! I'll see to it he won't!"

"Of course you will, because if I don't stay Chieftain, everything you've soiled your hands for will be for naught, and you'll never ever get what you so desperately need. Do you see now, Shekka? Do you see how I'm looking out for your best interests? Do you see how I'm trying my hardest to uphold my end of the bargain?"

Shekka growled, but didn't say anything back. To Dorin, it felt like he was watching an arm-wrestling match, with each fighter pushing against the other as hard as they could, but instead of muscle, they were using their minds.

Wardo tapped his fingers against each other and looked Shekka dead in the eye. "I can see you're still not quite happy with the situation. Once again, I understand completely, so how about I offer you a compromise?" He held up one finger. "One night. Just one night. That's all I ask for. Let me keep Hezzi in that cage for one night, and I can guarantee you once he's had a chance to thaw out, he won't be having any cute ideas about stealing my title for quite a while. I can still get my message across, and you will get your precious little drisa back first thing tomorrow morning. But, in order to balance things out, I'll have to keep Dan locked up much, much longer. I don't want my people to think I'm weak, and he is the brother of the one who just tried to kill me. I need to make an example of him."

"I don't give a damn about Danado."

"Then do we have an accord?"

"Just one night?"

"Just one night." Wardo smiled and stuck out his hand.

Shekka spat all over his outstretched fingers, erasing his smile in an instant. "I will not shake your hand," she said. "But fine. We have an agreement."

"Lovely."

She made to walk away, then turned back. "One last thing, Wardo. If you do anything to endanger the life of my son, I will kill you."

"Quite," Wardo said and wiped his hand on his pants. "Just give that boy of yours a good talking to and we can all avoid such... unpleasantness."

Shekka-Kai gave Wardo one last dose of the evil eye, then stormed outside, no doubt to give Hezzi the good news.

Dorin released all the breath he had pent up subconsciously over the past few minutes, relieved to not have heard anything too incriminating. He didn't want to turn into some loose end down the line, a loose end that would inevitably meet up with certain 'unpleasantness'.

"You all right over there, Dorin?"

"Yes, Chieftain. Just a little tired."

"Well that's too bad, 'cause I've got more work for you."

"Chieftain?"

"Ivio! Hyker! Get in here! I wanna talk to you."

The entrance flapped open and Ivio and Hyker poked their heads inside. "Yes, Chieftain?"

"What's Shekka doing?"

Hyker's head disappeared, then reappeared again. "She's talking to Hezzi."

"Good, that should be far enough. Get in here, and close that flap behind you."

They did as they were told, and as they all crowded around inside this tent that smelled of death, blood and medicine, that edgy feeling started to work its way up Dorin's spine again, as if someone was slowly dragging the tip of a dagger across his back.

"Yes, Chieftain? You want to see us? Something we can do?" Ivio enquired, twitching up a storm. His fingers, his ears, even his eyes were all twitchy. And he didn't just shift his weight from foot to foot, he jumped from foot to foot like a child incapable of keeping his water in.

"I like your enthusiasm, Ivio, but keep your voice down. That Shekka has ears like a rabbit."

Ivio nodded his head about ten times and then stood perfectly still, almost vibrating in place he was so excited.

"I've got a special job for you two. Very important, and very secret. Can you handle it?"

Ivio nodded his head again, and Wardo smiled.

"Good. Due to a small error on the guard schedule (that I have yet to draw up) there's going to be a little gap in security. Tonight, after midnight, there will be no Wolves in any of the watchtowers, and none patrolling the paths or the walkways. You will have one hour to do exactly as I say. First, go to the weapon racks in the training grounds and take two spears, one for each of you. Make sure no one sees you. Then, go to the cage underneath the Cora statue, to where Hezzi and Danado will be sleeping."

Dorin's stomach did a summersault in his chest as he realised what their new Chieftain was getting at.

"Chieftain..." Ivio said, his eyes as wide as pottery lids. "Are you saying we get to...?"

"Yes, Ivio. You are going to sneak up to that cage, real quiet, and then, as Hezzi and Danado lie sleeping, you are going to run them through."

Ivio clapped his hands over his muzzle and squealed in delight, trying his very best not to explode with happiness. "I get to kill Danado!? I get to have revenge on the Wolf who tripped me!?"

Wardo nodded. "I thought you'd like that. Just make sure the both of you do it simultaneously. I don't want one of them to wake up and realise what's going on. If they scream and alert the whole village, you'll both be guilty of murder, and you will receive no help from me. And if either of you think to betray me, I will make sure you suffer before you die. Understand?"

Ivio jumped up and down and clapped his hands, but Hyker seemed more wary.

"We are to execute them without a trial?" he asked. "Forgive me, Chieftain, but I do not believe most Wolves will be accepting of that."

"Well then it's a good thing no one will ever know this was an execution, right?"

"Chieftain?"

"Once those two thorns are dead, I want you to bite and claw and scratch and maul their corpses through the bars as hard as you can. Pay careful attention to the spear wounds. Bite the whole blasted chunk out if you must. I do not want Shekka examining the bodies and finding any evidence of wounds made by anything other than teeth and claws. If you do your jobs right, it will look like Dan and Hezzi had a bit of a... 'falling out' in the middle of the night. Doesn't surprise me, really, after what happened to Lana. Poor Danado must have gone mad with grief. Such a shame... two strapping young Wolves tearing each other apart like that..."

"Oooh! Oooh! Oooh!" Ivio said, wagging his tail back and forth like a pup. "I get it, I get it!"

"One more thing. You can scratch and bite Danado's corpse as much as you want, but do not, I'll say it again, do_not_ scratch Hezzi. Bites only for him. I don't have to explain the reason for this, do I?"

Ivio bit down on his tongue in concentration, his left ear twitching up and down as he searched for the answer in whatever frenzied hive passed for his mind.

Hyker shook his head, sighed in exasperation, and said: "It's because Dorin over there ripped out all of Danado's claws."

Ivio's face brightened right up. "Oh yeah, I was there! I hit him with a stick! Really, really hard!"

"Good, it seems you understand what I expect of you. Can I trust you not to mess it up?"

"Yeh!"

"You're going to carry out my orders exactly as I have laid them out?"

"Yeh yeh!"

"And you'll make absolutely sure that no one sees you?"

"Yeh yeh yeh!!"

"Very good. You may leave."

Ivio spun around and stormed for the exit as if he intended to carry out his orders right that very second. If Hyker hadn't caught him by the shoulder, he would have burst out in broad daylight, in full view of Shekka and any other Wolves who happened to be outside.

"Not so fast, you ignoramus," he said. "We have to wait till midnight."

"I know, I know! I wasn't gonna do anything!"

"Then walk normal!"

"Fine, fine! Let go of me!"

They went outside, still arguing over what constituted a 'normal' walk, and much to Dorin's surprise and confusion, Wardo only laughed.

"Um... Chieftain?" he ventured. "Do you really think it's wise to trust a mission like that to a Wolf like Ivio?"

"Of course. He's absolutely perfect for the job."

"Sai?"

"Don't worry. Hyker will keep him from getting too... 'overenthusiastic'. And even if something does go horribly wrong, Ivio's been like that forever. It will come as no surprise to anyone if he suddenly snaps."

"And then you'll just pin everything on him?" The calm way Wardo was speaking of betraying his followers if worse came to worst wasn't doing much to set Dorin at ease.

"Only if there's no other way. Besides, if he does his job right then it won't come to that."

This Wolf... he's planning everything out in advance. But for what? What is he trying to accomplish? And the thing with Shekka... pretending to show her son mercy when he was actually plotting his murder... And if this was the second deal, then what on earth was the first?

Oh, Dorin... What have you gotten yourself into?

Wardo laced his fingers together and cracked his knuckles. "Aaayup. All that remains now is you, Dorin, my right hand Wolf. I know you're tired and injured but I've got a task for you. No worries, it's a tiny one. No heavy lifting required."

"Yes, Chieftain?"

"I want you to wander the village. Talk to the Wolves, have a bite to eat, do whatever you normally do this time of day. But while you're at it, I want you to keep an eye on Taberah, Sorrin, Renna, and Nilia."

"You suspect they might be up to something?"

"Possibly. Taberah and Sorrin probably just want to distance themselves from the whole affair, but Renna and Nilia... those two bitches are something else."

"Renna? I can understand your caution against Nilia, but Renna is just a child."

"So is Hezzi, but he nearly made off with your sorry head, didn't he?"

Dorin lowered his head in shame. He may have 'won' the fight, but it wasn't a victory. Not by a long shot. Hezzi had the opportunity to claim victory, but he chose not to. He was convinced of it now. It wasn't weakness, or fear, it was a choice. Maybe that was what all these Wolves had in common. They understood the choice, whereas he did not.

"Don't underestimate them again, Dorin. You'll regret it."

"I won't make the same mistake twice, Chieftain."

"I know you won't. Now get out there and report any strange goings on. If any of those Wolves get together, or hang around the cage, or even sneeze in a funny way, I want to know about it."

"I understand, Chieftain."

Wardo caressed his necklace, dragging his claws along the adorning animal teeth, making them click together.

Get out. Get out now while he's still in a good mood.

Dorin started to get up, but in his haste he forgot all about his injured wrist. When he pushed off the ground, a bolt of pain shot through his arm like a red hot iron rod. He dropped back down on the bedding and sucked in air between his teeth, just barely keeping himself from crying out. He cradled his wrist, hugging it to his chest, and when he looked down at it, all wrapped up in Wolf's ear leaves, he saw a smelly mixture of grease and blood leaking out at the edges.

Wrists bleed. They bleed a lot. He knew. Because he saw it for himself. Even now, with his eyes wide open and his mind clear, he could still see her, lying in the corner of their tent. It looked like she was sleeping, but her eyes were still open.

He had gone to her, but his tiny feet had made the strangest splashing sounds, and when he looked down...

"Dorin? Hey, Dorin? Are you zoning out again? By the Cora, how much blood did you lose?"

Dorin gave his head a brief shake and suddenly he was back in the medicine tent. His heart felt like it was trying to escape his ribcage, and it was difficult to breathe, but there was no blood save for his own. No dead she-wolf staring at him from a dark corner, waiting to be discovered. He was fine. He was perfectly fine.

"Sorry, Chieftain. I just forgot about my wrist for a second. I'll do as you ordered." He made to get up, but hesitated. Was it too soon to ask again? He didn't want to push his luck, but... "Chieftain? Before I go..."

"Yes, Dorin?"

"Forgive me, but do you remember how you said you might know the truth about what really happened that night? With my mother?"

Wardo stopped dragging his claws across the necklace. "Of course I do. Why?"

"I was just wondering. Have you made any progress? I don't mean to hassle you, or sound impatient, but -"

"There might be something, yes."

Dorin perked his good ear and tried to keep calm. "Yes, Chieftain?"

"I've been asking around. Been calling in some favours. The weird thing is I'm getting a lot of different stories from different Wolves. Some of them contradict each other quite badly, so somebody must be lying."

"Who?"

"Now I can't say for sure just yet. I need to dig around some more. But don't you worry, Dorin. I'll get to the bottom of this, you mark my words."

Dorin's face fell and all his hope drained away. "That's exactly what you said last time, Chieftain."

"But don't you see? I'm Chieftain now! The most powerful Wolf in the entire tribe! No one can say no to me anymore. I promise you, Dorin, I will find out what really happened to your mother. You just need to be patient for a little while longer, all right?"

Dorin sighed. "I understand, Chieftain. Thank you very much."

"Good. Now go and carry out your orders. Who knows what those sneaky bastards might be up to?"

Dorin stood up and made for the exit without a word, trying not to think about how three Wolves would be dead by the time the sun rises on Wardo's second day as Chieftain.

"Oh, almost forgot! Dorin?"

Dorin stopped with his hand gripping one of the tent's supports to keep himself from shaking too badly. "Yes, Chieftain?" he asked, trying his very best to keep his voice even.

"There is one more teensy tiny little thing you must do for me..."

Dorin looked back and Wardo was wearing that huge smile again, all teeth, and in the gloom, with a necklace of teeth hanging from his neck, it looked like two sets of monstrous jaws laughing in the darkness, just laughing and laughing...