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Chapter Fifteen - Death on Ice

The scent of blood burned my nostrils but I could not move. In front of me lay a reptilian, his hoods have fallen off and he was trying to stop the blood spilling from his neck. It came out in large gushes; each gush getting weaker and poured down the open wound to soak in the snow. The snow crystals melted, but most was absorbed by the snow turning it to a dark red color.

There was nothing the reptilian could do to stop the blood from spilling and he knew that. In his eyes, I could see fear, as his life grew duller. I could almost see his life disappearing through those alien eyes. The duller his life became, the more fear was expressed until there was no more life to express that fear.

In my paw was the blade that ended his life. I glanced at it, the dagger from the swift fox being held backward, parallel to my forearm. It had small traces of blood on it but most of it already slipped off the blade.

I had killed one of the reptilians that had tried to kill me previously. I had defended myself from the evil that I could sense in these creatures. I didn't know whether I should be proud of what I have done, or terrified.

Still contemplating over the fact that I am capable of defending myself from the overzealous reptilians, I was not focused on what was around me. When a large wolf paw placed itself over mine, which was still holding the dagger, it startled me.

Alec knelt down next to me and he was panting heavily. A sword blade had caught him under his arm, slicing deep into his ribs. It was bleeding heavily and soaking his fur down his side. Around his neck was a tight wire that had cut through his fur and even into his flesh but it did not bleed like the neck wound of the reptilian I stood over.

"I..." Alec started, but he sounded as if he was completely out of breath. "I cannot... protect you... anymore."

What was he talking about? Of course he could. There were a dozen dead reptilians around us to prove that! It was true that Alec did not defeat them all himself, as the dead and dying of many other guards of Sirmiq scattered around proved, but Alec had still defended me against the band of reptilians.

Many were still alive, but they were too weak to move from fatal wounds. Their life would fade like just as I watched the reptilian's life fade.

But Alec has always protected me. He could not die; he always survived his wounds!

Alec seemed to read my thoughts because gave a light smirk. I could see that his teeth were stained with blood. He did not even sustain a wound there, so why was he bleeding in his muzzle?

"Go to... Sirmiq," he said with labored breath. His paw tightened on my shoulder. I realized then that he was not kneeling to be eye-level with me but because he lacked the strength to stand. He had one paw on my shoulder to support himself, and the other paw was holding his wound.

"No," I practically whispered. "Alec. You are coming with me."

"I'm sorry... Snowy," Alec responded. His head dropped to stare at the snow because he was seemingly too weak to look me in the eyes. "We all... have forgotten... we became corrupted... I'm sorry... for the cities... the guards... what you have had to suffer."

"Alec, stop it!" I cried out this time. My vision was blurring though tears as I yelled at the wounded wolf. I blinked furiously trying to clear my vision but it would not help. "We have to go. There's going to be more of them! Let's go!"

"Do not worry..." Alec said, with that stupid smirk again. He summoned enough strength to look me in the eyes. "I am not afraid... to die... I hope you will... remind us what it is... to live again."

I stared at Alec with wide eyes. I hated that he was smirking at a time like this. Why was he smiling?!

"Now go!" he said again, immediately coughing afterwards with red droplets splattering from his muzzle.

"No!" I screamed back at him. "Not without you!"

Alec's paw on my shoulder put more pressure on me as he pushed himself to stand up. It was obviously causing him a lot of pain but he tried not show it. His other paw had picked up his fallen sword as he stumbled to stand on his hindpaws. Taking a step back, Alec took an offensive stance towards me.

"Go Snowy," he said this time with a threatening firmness. His stupid smile had disappeared and he now looked at me with an incredibly serious tone. "Go now or I will finish what the Enes started!"

My tears disappeared as I looked up at the tall wolf realizing what he meant. I took a step back away from the wolf. My body had started to shake. The wolf that had fought so fiercely to protect me now threatened to kill me! I would not believe him if it was not for the look in his eyes.

"Go NOWW!" he screamed and took an aggressive step toward me.

My body moved on its own. I turned from him, and ran as fast as I could on the path toward the city of Sirmiq.

Why would he threaten me like that? What is he thinking? Using my speed, I put as much distance between Alec and myself as quickly as I could.

I heard a sword fall back to the ground followed by a much heavier body falling into the blood-soaked snow but I did not turn to look back. I knew it my gut that I would never see Alec again.

Why was this happening to me? What is going on? What do the reptilians want?

I could not find any answers to my questions. The more I thought on it the more I felt confused. I was an orphan, with nobody to look out for me and with no importance in this world at all. My entire life had been a struggle to survive. I could not understand why my meager existence brought about so much destruction and ruin around me. I was left with a sense of dread and confusion, and it would not leave me. I could not find the answers no matter what I thought up as possibilities.

Confused and with tears falling from my eyes, all I could do was run from it all. Run from all the destruction. If I stopped running, it would find me again and more blood would be spilled, and I knew eventually it would be my own blood. Propelled by my desire to escape, I could not doing anything but to continue running; even long after I could no longer smell the scene of the ambush, even after my lungs started to burn, even after my legs started to ache.

My plans to reunite with Midnight were slain back with the guards that were sent to return to Sirmiq. I was not attacked by just one assassin, not by just half a dozen either, this time it was nearly an entire squadron of warriors, and the guards that were protecting me were now all dead. How did this happen? We were in the middle of the forest!

It was all that snow leopard's fault!

Less than a full day ago, everyone was still alive and there was no threat of an attack in the air. Only the worry of the weather.

"I don't like the look of those clouds," was the phrase that distracted Alec.

Alec was doing his best to train me to defend myself. I couldn't say it was going well considering I was lying panting in the mud and he was standing over me with a dull sword drawn.

Glancing up at the sky, I followed Alec's gaze and saw through the trees that there was a wall of dark clouds on the horizon. Considering how the wind pulled at the top of the trees, it was moving in our direction and fast.

"It'll pass overnight," Alec muttered and turned his attention back to me. "Get up." I did as ordered but Alec was relentless and attacked me again. Armed with my dagger, I did not even bother to attempt a parry and simply tried to evade his attacks. I jumped to the side to avoid one attack, but Alec had predicted it and caught behind me knee. My leg was thrown out from underneath me and I fell backwards to the ground with a hard thud and a new bruise.

"A blade cannot cut you if it does not touch you," Alec said staring down at me. It was another one of his training quotes that he's been telling me. "If I miss by a meter or by the width of a hair, you still go unhurt. You do not need to evade by jumping a back half a meter. Judge the distance and evade the best you can to not give me any more advantages."

Bruise after bruise, and cut after cut, Alec did his best to train me even the more I got injured.

"Don't stand still. Keep your hindpaws moving."

"Don't become fixated on your weapon. Counterattack with your claws or teeth if you can."

"You don't need to be afraid to get close. You can only cut me if you're close enough to use your dagger."

"Never hesitate."

Despite all the pain, I was motivated to listen to Alec. If I ever had a chance to learn to defend myself, then it would be through Alec's teachings; I doubt any of the other guards around the camp would agree to use their time to train me. Though he didn't need to be so rough! Each bruise and cut underneath my fur burned and exhausted my body and by the time the clouds were near upon us, I was beaten and exhausted. Resting near the fire there was not much I can do but to try to ignore the pain. Alec had been trying to train me for a few days now but no matter what I did I could not hit him.

"We'll continue tomorrow night," Alec said while he sat down next to me. "You are doing well Snowy. If you keep practicing all your life then you'll no longer have to fear the Enes from attacking you."

Despite his confidence, I had my doubts that what I had learned would help me against the reptilian assassins that have attacked me before.

Regardless of my exhausted and bruised body, I took confidence in knowing that I was learning to defend myself. I was also finally on the move again to reunite with Midnight. This knowledge made me feel a new emotion that I had rarely felt before: hope. It is what motivated me to endure Alec's brutal training.

Before the other guards and I had the chance to sleep, the storm had arrived. It started with the trees groaning as the strong winds seemed to be attempting to pull them from the ground. I could feel the wind even down sheltered beneath the trees. Before long the snow had arrived in a great fury, blowing and falling so thick that I could not see the guards on the other side of the camp, even with the campfire still burning.

There was no relief from it either as snow stuck to everything, even us. It was falling in such quantities that it quickly built up around us. At the rate the snow was building up around the trunk of the trees, it wouldn't be long until more snow than I was tall fell.

The temperature dropped rapidly with the storm and we could all feel it through our fur. The adults started to huddle in their cloaks and tried to stay near the fire but if they got any closer then they would catch fire themselves.

My dense fur helped with the temperature but I could still feel the cold so I wrapped my tail around myself and folded my arms crossed my chest. Sitting against one of the tree trunks, opposite side of the direction of the wind, I tried my best to fall asleep.

"Of course a winter storm is going to hit us when we're trying to cross to Sirmiq!" complained one of the guards. I could overhear him over the roaring wind but it sounded as if he were a lot further than he really was. "We have such rotten luck!"

"Maybe the storm is why we haven't heard from Sirmiq," another guard suggested.

"I doubt it," replied the first. "It's been a fortnight since we've heard from Sirmiq, this storm probably only hit it a few days ago. More likely bandits along the road."

"Lord Naali said it was probably the bridge collapsed."

"If it was just the bridge then I doubt he'd send a squadron of armed guards! It'd send carpenters instead."

I didn't stay awake for the rest of their conversation as I fell asleep sitting back against the tree.

I remembered standing in the middle of our camp, with the guards asleep around me. Alec was sleeping not far from myself and the others were scattered around wherever they found to be the warmest.

The storm had calmed down, or at least the wind had. The snow was still falling, not in large flakes but certainly in numerous flakes. Snow stuck to the trees and piled high on the branches.

Glancing up at the storm, I saw a pair of familiar stars that glared at me. It was unlike the other times I saw the shadow wolf because these stars seemed to be coming from the storm itself, and gave the impression that the wolf belonging to the stars was significantly larger than those that protected me several weeks ago.

Staring at those eyes I could sense a warning of caution from them. Was it the storm it was warning me of, or something else?

I did not know but I still stared at those starry eyes and stared right back down at me, unwavering and only blinking every now and then. The clouds behind boiled and rolled over each other, but nothing masked those eyes. The wind that blew across the landscape almost sounded like the shadow creature was breathing from the clouds.

I had wanted to ask what it wanted, but the longer I stared up at its eyes, I knew it would not answer me. Everything it was saying was through the expression of its eyes, it's glare. It was not a threatening glare, but a warning glare. Finally the glare looked away from me and the creature swept its gaze across the forest; staring at some distant point far from us for a moment before the eyes blinked again and turned towards the south. I had lost sight of it for a moment, but in the clouds I thought I saw a vague image of its shadowy body walking south with a calm demeanor.

Looking around the camp, I noticed that the fire had died out too. All the guards were half-buried in snow and it would not be long before they were fully buried. Near a tree at the edge of the camp, I saw a lump huddled against the tree and it was buried in snow. The moment I realized I was seeing myself, everything went black.

My eyes cracked open the next morning to realize that I could still not see anything around me. It took me a moment to realize that it was because I was covered in snow. Raising my head I shook it really quick to send snow flakes all around me. My fur had protected me from the snow and cold to the point that I almost felt warm covered in it.

Glancing around before I shook off any more snow I saw several snowy lumps on the ground and realized that the others have been covered in the snow as well. It would seem that we were more than a meter deep in freshly fallen snow; and it was still falling lightly from the sky. No sunlight broke through the cloud cover making it appear as if it was dawn, but I knew it was really later than that.

Movement in one of the lumps of snow caught my attention. Sprouting from the snow was Alec as he shook himself off. He glanced up at the sky before turning his gaze toward me. Alec took his time to get up as he slowly brushed the snow out of his fur.

It was a quiet morning with the snow falling now that the wind had died down from last night. It was quiet enough to be able to hear the sound of something approaching us at a quick speed.

I was not the only one to hear as Alec took notice too. Several other lumps of snow seemed to sense it too as they many quickly started to rise and come out of the snow.

I still did not stand, not wanting to risk letting the heat I trapped within my little snowbank escape. The more I listened though, the more I felt something was terribly wrong. We were in the middle of the forest, and no one travels during a storm like this so who could possibly be heading straight for us?

Through the woods we all watched waiting to see who it was that was approaching us. From the rapid pace of the pawsteps, I knew that whoever it was, was frantic to get to us. Through the trees, we stayed still, listening and watching as the sounds grew increasingly louder. I saw a glimpse of the owner of those pawsteps through the trees but it was only a second later that he had breached our clearing. A young snow leopard, and orphan that had familiar bite marks on his ear, burst into our camp.

The black and white leopard stopped and nearly fell to the ground when he noticed us staring back at him. His eyes were wide, and he was breathing heavily as if he were completely out of breath. No one moved for a moment while all the guards and myself stared at this orphan, that somehow found us where no one should have been able to.

What is he doing out here?

Something was still wrong though, the pawsteps did not stop when the leopard had stopped. Someone was chasing him. The snow leopard also heard the still approaching pawsteps and finally reacted after his shock of finding us. His response to those steps were not settling; he immediately bolted to the middle of the camp as if to take refuge among us. Before anyone could form a thought or question, we learned the reason.

Bursting through the trees were three reptilians, in their traditional heavily bundled clothing. Just as the orphan had reacted, all three stopped and stared at us with surprise. One of the reptilians had a sword drawn, and it did not take any of us any time at all to realize why the snow leopard was running frantically.

I felt my fur bristling at the sight of them. I slowly stood from my snowbank, no longer worried about losing the heat I had preserved. A far greater threat than the cold has arrived. Before a word could be muttered, or a guard move from underneath the snow, the reptilians quickly turned on their hindpaws and fled back the way they came.

The reptilians withdrew, but I knew that the threat was far from gone. The guards knew it to.

"GET UP!!" one of them yelled. All the guards burst out of the snow and quickly scrambled to grab their weapons.

"What is the Enes doing here?!" Alec yelled, drawing his own sword quickly. No one could even answer him before a distant horn call answered instead. It came from behind the trees, stampeding across the snow and invading our camp. It was a threat, one that the adults took seriously.

I pushed myself out of the snow and away from the bank that had built up against the tree. Following the example of the guards I also drew the Velox dagger from its sheath.

"Arm yourselves!"

"How'd they survive the storm?" another asked. Despite all the questions we had, the guards did not hesitate, withdrawing swords and pulling out their bows.

"What did you do?" one guard turned toward the smaller snow leopard. "You led them straight to us!"

The snow leopard seemed terrified as the large guard approached him but he was not given time to respond. An arrow flew into the camp and struck one of the guards who was attempting to string a bow.

So many things happened at once. I watched as the guard struck with the arrow drop his bow with his eyes wide with surprise. The snow leopard turned away from us and continued his flight before the first guard even fell to the ground. The guard clutched at the arrow, but it hit him square in the chest and I knew that it was fatal.

Moments later, heavily clothed reptilians burst through the trees. More than I can count, more than I have seen in my entire life. They instantly attacked whoever was closest to them, and the citizens of Sirmiq did their best to defend themselves.

The whole battle was a blur. I could hardly remember what had happened during it all. Steel clashed, fangs were bared and bloodied, claws tore at armor and clothes alike searching for vulnerable necks. Fur flew in the air with the sounds of hissing, growling, screaming and yelling. Every second that had passed left a new splatter of blood across the freshly fallen snow.

One by one the warriors on both side started to fall after sustaining fatal wounds. Falling to the ground, most tried to stop the bleeding of those wounds but it was all in vain. One of the largest guards, a white bear of great size and strength, never even had the chance to attempt to stop a fatal wound from bleeding out. Being the last guard still in the fight and felling one of the last few reptilians, another reptilian that had previously fallen got up again and impaled the bear through the back. The bear tensed, but the reptilian did not remove his sword until the life force of the bear faded. Removing his sword from the body of the guard, the reptilian allowed his body to fall, lifeless.

I had been ignored the entire fight, possibly because my fur had camouflaged me in the confusion but it did not last long. I stared at the last reptilian with wide eyes, hoping against hope that he would not notice me, or that he would succumb to the wounds he already sustained. It would not be so.

The reptilian was obviously exhausted and his clothes stained with blood, but his murderous alien eyes looked around the bloody scene in search of more blood to spill. Those on the ground that were still dying first drew his attention but he ignored them all seeming to sense that I was still there.

Finally, the reptilian turned his hooded head toward me and limped in my direction. His intent to kill pierced right through me. I could not understand where all the hatred was coming from them. Why were these reptilians trying to kill us? Kill Midnight? Kill me?

The bundled enemy took an advance toward me, and I instinctively took a step back.

"Get back here you brat!" he spat at me from underneath his hood. "Stop moving around."

"Stop it!" I yelled out of frustration. I could not understand where all this hatred was coming. We had not done anything to them! We were just trying to return home, and they attacked us! It is completely incomprehensible. They are... evil. "Stop trying to hurt me!"

The reptilian laughed though it obviously caused him pain. "You have no right to stop me. Look at what you did to my squad! This is all on you bastards. Now come here!"

His rationality is completely missing! I would not believed he was serious but the reptilian said it with such conviction as if he truly believed that we were at fault for them attacking us. I hated those words that he said, I hated the reptilian that limped toward me. He was not scaring me, not anymore. For the fist time in my life, I was becoming angry, infuriated! There was no reasoning with these assassins that have tried to kill me.

I did something I had never done before; I responded with a growl of anger.

The reptilian noticed and his eyes changed from his evil laughter to one of anger; as if he were offended by my growl. Without wasting anymore time, he lunged at me and swung his sword but I jumped to the side and dodged. I stabbed at him with my dagger, but it only sunk into the cloths of the reptilian's cape. The dagger got stuck but with a strong tug, the cape unravelled and pulled the hood off of the reptilian along with the scarf that was to keep him warm against these temperatures.

The biting cold had a desired effect as the adult reptilian inhaled sharply, as if he really were just stabbled. He leaned over trying to scoop up the clothes that had fallen limp against his body. With his head exposed, and him leaning over, he mistakingly put his vulnerable neck in reach of my dagger. Fueled by anger, I stabbed at him; I would not give this evil creature another chance to hurt me!

Realizing his mistake, the reptilian instinctively flinched away from the attack and jumped back, landing on his tail in the snow. The moment he had jumped back, I sprung off my hindpaws and jumped after him. I landed on top of the reptilian, and without giving him any chance to recover I pushed the blade into his neck and with a sharp jerk, I drew it across his throat.

My paw was instantly drenched in his blood. After that I did not even remember standing up from his body. I simply stared down at those eyes full of fear of his own death. I watched his life force fade, as I had watched the death of the animals that I had hunted with Alec. I had taken another life, and yet I was numb to it. Was this any different than when my trap had killed that animal? Logic told me no it wasn't different, but my emotions were completely different this time. I did not know if I felt any guilt or not for killing this reptilian. Before I had felt terribly guilty for causing the death of the innocent creature before.

This reptilian was not innocent though.

My body had shook violently as I stared at the slain reptilian, lost in my thoughts that I had not even noticed how strongly and erratically my heart was beating. If I was not lost in my thoughts, I could have sworn I could see the fur on my chest twitching with each heartbeat. My paws shook so much that if I didn't have a tight grip on the dagger, it would have shaken loose from my grip.

I still do not know what caused my body to shake some much. Rage? Fear? Shock?... Pride? Or simply the sheer tension of surviving a life or death struggle.

Before I could even hypothesize on my questions, Alec had stood back up. His injuries were severe, but he still had enough strength to threaten me and force me to flee the scene. I had no choice but to obey him, and I left nothing behind but death.

Now all I could do was to run; run forward and never go back. Alec was gone, all the armed guards were slain, there was nothing for me to go back for. A full squadron of trained guards cut down like they were nothing. It was far from the interpretation I had of them before; I had thought they were invincible when I was in the streets of Sirmiq.

It wasn't in vain though since all the Enes were dead as well. The entire squadron that attacked us without warning so early in the morning. They were gone just like the assassin before them, and the two others who were slain by the shadow creatures. I have witnessed so many of their deaths and had hoped to never worry about them again, but now I realized that there would be more. It did not matter how many failed in their attempt to kill me, they will always come for me.

The Enes were motivated to kill. It was not for survival, it was not out of necessity; it was pure desire to kill. I knew now that they would be hunting me down still, and they were coming in larger numbers to kill anyone who got in their way.

If I were to survive, I would have to protect myself. Even the guards of Sirmiq, who have tormented me on the streets of Sirmiq, were powerless to stop the Enes. I realize now that the guards were never a true threat to me, they were nothing compared to this new threat that I now found the need to defend myself against.They were not as threatening as I believed when I was on the streets; not compared to the threat I now faced, the threat that I have defended myself against now.

I had not realized that I was still running as my thoughts consumed me but when I nearly ran into a tree I was suddenly brought back to reality. Nearly tripping of the roots of the tree buried beneath the snow, I stumbled and slowed but I did not stop moving forward. The death and destruction that followed me would catch up if I were to stop. I was going at a slower pace but I did not even allow myself to walk. My lungs burned as they desired fresh oxygen but the heavier I breathed, the more cold air was forced through my nose. My nose was painfully cold that it made my eyes tear up. My paws hurt and my legs burned but I still moved forward despite the pain.

Shallow tracks were left in my wake but the snow that still fell around me would easily cover them. The snow would also cover the bloody scene behind me. I dared to think that it would give me hope to remain invisible in this forest, but I had thought that before and I was sorely mistaken. That mistake cost the lives of a dozen Sirmiq guards. However the snow still did help in other ways than my discretion since it helped me stay on top of the terrain, so I did not risk tripping over roots that were previously exposed with the volcano melted it all in the forest.

I ascended and descended many hills, jumped from short ridges without losing any speed, dodged trees and startled many wild animals but I did not slow. My mind stayed focused to continue running no matter how much my body protested. I was motivated to run until I could not anymore because I needed to get far enough away in order to have a chance that the destruction and death would never find me again. Hours had passed, and the only thing that made me stop running was the realization that the sky had darken.

Realization that I had run the entire day, I stopped and rested against the trunk of a tree. My heart was beating rapidly that it was painful in my chest and I could hear it in my ears. My nose seemed to be frozen solid and yet my body felt as if it were going to overheat.

For several minutes I rested against the trunk of the tree. My mind was calm, or maybe just numb, to what had transpired. Slowly my heart returned to its normal rhythm and the strange sense of being too cold and too hot at once balanced out. With a calm body, I could finally survey my surroundings.

Without blood pounding in my ears, I could finally hear the silence of the world again. The winter storm muffled the world out here in a way that I had not experienced before. It was a strange sense to feel the peace of the world like that; no busy sense of the cities, no refugee camp, no roaring rivers or booming volcanos... just silence. Not even the animals were out to make their calls because it would waste too much energy. The snow fell without making a sound, so different than the rain, and covered everything in a beautiful white that would sparkle like jewelry in the sunlight.

I could not enjoy the peace for long though since another realization came to me, a whole day has passed and I have yet to eat anything. With Alec had I gotten used to eating at regular intervals, but now I once again was alone without Midnight or Alec to help me find food. I had to keep moving, I had to get to Sirmiq where I could find food.

Still exhausted I started slow by walking in the direction I had ran. I did not know how to get back to Sirmiq but I knew I'd come across the sea at one point, and Sirmiq should be easier to find from the coast then. There was no trail or road to guide, and definitely not adults to guide me either. I had no choice but to hope I'd come across the sea soon.

The darkness that had stopped me from my flight spread quickly across the storm covered sky. Without any means to make a camp either, I might have to find shelter and sleep hungry for the first time since I had nearly perished under starvation and illness. Hunger gnawed at me but I knew I had time before it the pain grew too intense.

Without any light to guide me at least a little, I reluctantly made the decision to rest for the night. I now kept my eyes open in search of any sort of shelter that would make it more comfortable for the night.

In my search for a little bit of shelter, I ascended another hill hoping to find an uprooted tree, or small little cave, or a ridge that I can sleep under. It didn't take me long to find a little ridge but it did not have any ground covering it so snow piled even deeper there where the winds have pushed it. It was not suitable so I continued searching, ascending the hill.

Cresting the hill, I saw something else that caught my attention and distracted me from searching for shelter. Across the sky, on the horizon I saw a strange light. I have seen it before but it had never given me such relief. The edge of the storm failed to cover the horizon, and the moons light was coming and reflecting off the surface of the sea. I was far closer to Sirmiq than I had thought. If I could tolerate the hunger tonight, tomorrow I'd make it back to Sirmiq and be able to find food again.

The day that had started in blood has given me some hope at last. With renewed vitality, I traveled for the sea but kept searching for some shelter. Descending the hill, I had to be careful not to slip in the snow as I have done all day. I nearly slipped and had to catch myself against a trunk of a tree that was over another ridge. When I had prevented myself from falling, I had noticed that this tree was strong that it had yet to fall while it's roots grew over the edge of the ridge, and very little snow had found its way beneath those roots. It would be as good as any shelter I could find for the night in this darkness.

Carefully I lowered myself between the roots and underneath the tree. The roots caught my clothes and I got stuck a couple times but it only took a few seconds before I was curled up under the tree, hidden from the weather, hidden from the world and hidden from the dangers. Tomorrow I would reach Sirmiq, find some food again and continue my quest for Midnight.

Listening to the silent world around me, I slowly allowed my eyes to close and my mind drift off. The hunger pains kept me awake for a little longer, but the exhaustion of having ran all day forced my mind to shut off and plunged me into the realm of dreams.

I did not know how long I slept since it only seemed a few minutes since I felt my eyes open, and my body was agitated. My heart was beating quickly and I was already panting, and I had no idea why. My instincts told me that something horrible has happened I did not know where the sense was coming from.

Forcing myself to calm down, I listened carefully to my surroundings but I did not sense anything other than the usually silence of winter. If I had unconsciously detected something in my sleep, it was not making itself known now. Besides, it felt as if I had a terrible nightmare but I could not remember any shred of dreams from the previous night.

Staying in my temporarily shelter, I did not move while I tried to sort through my emotions and find out what was out of place. I felt sick to my stomach even though I had not eaten in over a day. All I could determine was that I did have a nightmare so strong that my mind refused to bring up memories.

After staying in my curled position for a few minutes, I finally decided that I should get moving. There was a little bit of light coming from the sky and I could determine that the storm was still covering the sky even though no more snow seemed to be falling.

Slowly I successfully ignored the strange feeling that made my fur bristle. With a heavy sigh, I started to move to crawl out but I instantly frozen in place. I thought I had heard snow crunch nearby, under a heavy pawstep, but I was not certain because the moment I stopped moving, I heard nothing else. Was it I just hearing myself move? The threat of that it was something else made me hesitate to test that theory.

I waited for any sign of life near me, any sign of movement or the slightest sound of a breath but nothing but silence was out beyond the roots. Carefully I glanced around to see if it was possible to spot anything that I could not hear. No scent was carried beneath the roots either. Listening and watching carefully, I continued to wait before making the slightest movement.

A new theory entered my mind; if I really did hear any snow crunch, it could have just been snow falling from a tree. An animal could have cleared out its nest, or maybe a small animal had heard me and fled from the scene.

Cautiously, I decided to keep moving from my position trying to make as little noise as possible. It was not easy since in the silence the slightest sound of my own clothes rubbing against my fur seemed to echo across the forest. I waited again, listening to see if there was any reaction to that, but nothing responded from the silence.

Slowly I stuck my head out of from underneath the roots, and the very moment I did I felt a painful and forcible pressure close around the nape of my neck and I was forcefully lifted from beneath the roots. Suspended in the air, I inhaled sharply and was too surprised to react beyond that. I could not even see who it was that had me in their clutches but the lack of sharp claws did not give me any comfort.

"I told you I heard something!" I triumph voice sounded directly from behind me. I still could not see because I was held facing the other direction but the accent in the voice was all that was needed to send ice through my veins.

The gloved claw around my neck twisted painfully, and since I was still in the air I could not help but be turned to face the hooded reptilian with those slitted eyes staring at me with a sickening joyful expression.

"What should I do with it?" he asked, turning his attention toward another reptilian. I saw his partner through the corner of my eye not more than a few meters away.

"You heard the reports," the other responded. He seemed to keep his distance though for whatever reason. "Kill it."

Every muscle in my body tensed at those words. There was such disregard in the other's orders, as if he were shopping at one of the market stalls. I stared at my captor that held me almost a full meter off the ground, still looking at his partner.

"You really think this one is the demon, out---"

"Sokkwi!!" the other tried to warn my captor. His words echoed out across the snow, piercing the silence for who knows how far. Even if he did not interrupt him, his original question about me would have never left his forked tongue.

My captor turned back to me with his eyes wide and filled with shock and surprise. He tried to look down at my paw but it was buried deep in his scarf, holding the dagger that has saved my life once again. I felt the steam of his blood spilling out, and the clothes become soaked with the thick red liquid. The plunge of my dagger had been perfectly accurate, and completely severed one of the reptilians arteries.

In his shock, my captor released me and I could not keep the dagger in my captors neck any longer as it slid out and fell with me to the ground. The moment I hit the ground, I bolted away from the reptilian fleeing from the scene.

"Sokkwi!" I heard the second reptilian scream again. "You little fjandinn arctic brat! You're going to suffer for this!"

I did not dare glance back as I used all my speed to run for the safety of seclusion in the forest. I had thought I would get away but the furious pawsteps of one of the reptilians followed me.

Why is he chasing me and not helping his friend?!

Motivated to spring as fast as I could, I tried to get away from my pursuer. The longer legs of the reptilian closed the distance between us, even despite he was far heavier bundled and weighed down than I was. I made it a several strides but I felt the forceful push of the reptilian as he had caught up to me. It tripped over my paws when I was thrown off balance and rolled in the snow throwing up a furry of flakes.

"You are the demon!" he hissed. I only had time to roll from where I had fallen, and I heard the swing of the sword crash into the snow where I was moments earlier.

I scrambled back to my hindpaws and turned to face my attacker. I saw him again swing at me and I could not think, only react. I jumped behind a tree, and the sword sank into it, chipping off a shower of bark. Still wit my dagger in my paws, I tried to remember Alec's lessons but Alec never came at me with an intent to kill. I could feel my body shaking as fear started to consume me. What was this stupid dagger against a long sword like that anyway?

The reptilian pulled his blade free from the trunk of the tree with some difficult but it did come loose and he once again became a threat. Had I just lost my opportunity to attack?

With another swing of the sword, I ducked to dodge it and tried to get around another tree but the reptilian seemed to ahve predicted this. Though his sword was not in position, he grabbed me with his other arm and picked me up. I could see the fury in his eyes a split moment before he threw me over the snow and I crashed into a tree. My vision exploded in stars when my head hit the tree, and I fell to the ground completely dazed.

It hurt to try to breathe and my vision would not clear. I looked up trying to see where the reptilian was and to my horror he was right above me, swinging his sword down on me. I knew I had to push myself out of the path of the blade but I also knew it was too late. I closed in my eyes and fear and put all my remaining strength in my limbs to push myself to the side.

I ran into something that was covered in clothes that prevented me from moving and a loud thud echoed from directly above me. Maybe I did dodge it, maybe the blade was too long and hit the tree above me, and I had gotten close enough to run into the reptilian. Regardless I fell back against the tree once again, unsure if I really had escaped fate for just a few seconds longer.

There was something not right though; the reptilian was not that close to me. I couldn't have accidentally pushed myself into him to make him miss. Fearfully, I slowly opened my eyes and saw a relatively short black tail in front of me. It was bristled to its fullest and stood between my assailant and me.

The blade of the reptilian had sank into the wooden shield of the wolf, and the force of the impact and caused for the wolf to practically fall back on top of me. This wolf had risked his life to take the blow that was meant to claim me. As he reeled back from the attack, I wondered if it was in vain because he was in no good position to counterattack. I realized a moment later that he did not need to. The reptilian let out a sharp gasp and scream suddenly, and I saw why from behind the wolf. The head of a spear had sprouted from the reptilian's chest. The spear withdrew and the reptilian fell to the ground, no longer able to move and his life would fade in mere moments.

Standing over the fallen reptilian was an otter, armed with the spear in his paws. He did not glance at me but focused on the wolf.

"That was reckless Conri," the otter said. "Have you not been told how important you are? Come on, we have to go now."

The wolf supported himself on the tree trunk I was pinned against and was able to push himself back up to his hindpaws.

The black wolf turned to look down at me and I stared up at him confused. His ears were splayed back, fangs bared and he was obviously angry but those orange eyes that stared down at me were very familiar. That expression quickly softened as he looked at me. I knew the features of this wolf, I knew the movements of this wolf, I knew his scent and I knew his saturated orange eyes.

"Midnight?" I questioned softly staring awestruck at the wolf. How was it possible he found me in the woods!

The fierce expression he wore moments ago transformed and he seemed to smile slightly. Stupid, why is he smiling right now? We're still in danger!

"It is you Snowy," he said with his tone heavy with relief. In an unexpected move, Midnight practically pounced on me to hug me.

"Oww!" I cried, feeling the bruises from crashing into a tree flare up. "Stop it!" I tried to push him off of me.

"Sorry," Midnight apologized and stepped back from me with a sheepish grin. "I missed you! No one is as good as a listener as you are. They always interrupt me. They're all kind of dumb too, not like you."

Even though he just made my injuries feel worse, his reckless behavior was familiar to me. I knew it was him.

"Not to break up your reunion Conri but you can talk with your friend later," the otter interupted very fimrly. He was obviously upset and I realized that he was much older than the both of us but not yet an adult. "There still might be scouts that heard the same scream we did."

"I knew I'd find you," Midnight said, ignoring the otter. He practically picked me up by the sides of my ribs, causing more pain but helped me to my hindpaws. "I had thought you to be truly lost. We're leaving Sirmiq now though. We cannot stay after all that has happened. Let's go."

I stared up into Midnight's eyes, sensing that he wanted to tell me more. I remember how much he loved to tell his stories. He did not this time though, urged by the otter for us to move on. He grabbed my paw and led me following this strange otter.

"Where we going?" I had asked, not having time to greet my only friend. Other questions plagued my mind before I could greet him. "What has happened to Sirmiq?"