The Dance of Wolves
CHAPTER 17: Amal

I was worried that Aksal would be reluctant to complete the marking ceremony after I told him what could happen. I’m blessed that he is a ‘go-with-the-flow’ type of person. I loved hearing him talk and initiate a conversation. As his senses heighten, he’ll be able to see much more of the Fae world, but the downside is they will be able to see him right back. Demi and I just need to keep him safe until he can better recognize friend from foe.

I’m still elated from this morning, though now that I’ve touched him and he’s touched me I crave him even more. Our soul bond is getting stronger.

I try to live in this moment and not think too deeply about the future, but I dread the difference in our life spans. I stopped aging at eighteen and that was ten years ago. How much more uncomfortable will he be standing beside me and looking old enough to be my father or grandfather? How could Demi and I go on after losing Alma and Aksal to death?

Demi’s steps falter as we consider this. I have an urge to shift so I can hold Aksal in my arms and taste his lips.

Alma runs past us, I shift and call out for her to wait. Aksal shifts in mid-run and turns to see what’s amiss before his momentum brings him to a stop.

“Aksal, look out!” I warned him too late. He ran face-first into an Urazuli. I wish I could mind-link with him now. He must be terrified. The Urazuli are 10 foot tall, lanky-armed giants with shaggy hair and glowing red eyes and from a distance, they could be mistaken for a grizzly.

“Just relax, he or she won’t hurt you. Urazuli love to hug cute, cuddly things, they’re gentle creatures.”

Aksal stops fighting and sinks into the embrace. His once flailing arms reach around to pat it on the back. The Fae lets him go and waves goodbye to us as he goes about his way.

“Are you okay?” I feel anxious as I run my hands down his sides checking for bruises or scrapes.

“My heart hurts. As a grown man, it stings to be called cute and cuddly.”

Pfft! It starts as a snort but becomes a full-bellied laugh; I needed this moment let go of all my tension. Aksal stares at me unblinkingly with a look of wonder on his face.

“I thought you were handsome before you laughed, now I realize you’re breathtaking.” As soon as he said it, his face turned red. “Shit. I didn’t mean to say that out loud.” Demi chuckles as Aksal chides Alma for taking over.

I reach out to lift his chin. “Well, I’m glad you did.” I lean down for a kiss. He wraps his arms around my neck and pulls me in closer to deepen it. It excites me that he likes kissing as much as I do.

“Amal, I was wondering what type of Fae are you mixed with?”

“My biological father was one of the Keepers of the Boscage: For the love of the Goddess–do not call them elves, they lost the lawsuit against Tolkien for trademark infringement. " Aksal snorted at my attempt to joke. "The Boscage prefer to live peacefully in the deep forest where their realm crosses over with ours. They possess strong magic abilities tied to nature, such as manipulating nature via wind, earth, fire, water, and metal. And as you can guess, they are also powerful in creating illusions and glamours, performing healing arts, and so on. The Boscage are divided into Winter and Summer Courts and ruled by twin queens, respectively. My father belongs to the Winter Court.”

“Have you met him?”

“No, and given the circumstances of my birth, I have no desire to meet him. Ever.” I didn’t mean for my voice to come out so cold, but this was a touchy subject for me.

“So, uh, what about Demi? Do you feel like he is always restless and seems to want to search for something? Perhaps even now, after he’s found Alma?”

What a strangely worded question. “Not really, Demi has always been focused on fighting to protect more so than his other instincts. I replace we’re most connected when I tap into strong feelings like rage or hate. It never felt like he was searching for something, not even a mate.”

Demi doesn’t have anything to add or clarify, so I leave my answer at that.

“The Winterqueen, you mentioned… is it someone named Lilibeth by any chance? Did Demi already replace the crown princess, Kitsa?”

I cringe and I feel Demi gasp inside my head. I grasp Aksal’s shoulders, “Where did you hear that name? Calling her aloud could draw unwanted attention from the Winter Court and you’re not ready to see them with your newfound senses yet.”

“S-sorry. I didn’t know. Didn’t I tell you before? I’ve had dreams–more like visions of Alma from the past. She doesn’t remember them but I think I’m seeing what happened to her in other lifetimes. In a past life, Demi was a shifter and Alma was his mate. He was tasked with searching for someone by Li- I mean the Winterqueen.”

“Just...don’t call out the true name of any Fae recklessly. Names hold power and like demons, it angers them to be summoned and used.”

I look around, we are in another clearing, exposed, all my senses are on high alert. If we push ourselves, we may be able to make it to my pack’s territory in time. The treaty we have prevents Fae with any ill intentions on our lands.

“Aksal, let’s try to make it back before nightfall.” Demi is howling at us to get moving.

“What’s the rush, it’s still only late fall. Shouldn’t the Summerqueen be in power now?”

“Yes and no. The Winter Court rules the night as well as the season. Now, we really need to shift and run.” Once again I hear something like the mewling of a cat and I think about the mountain lion we heard earlier this morning. Though it’s true the Wampus cats don’t eat other predators, they are often enlisted to punish those abusing the name of the Winterqueen. I shift before Aksal can ask me any more questions.

We run flat out for another hour and a half, covering more than sixty miles and break at a small pond.

“I don’t sense any danger nearby. I’m sure you’re probably hungry by now--” I catch the scent of a wild boar on the breeze and turn in that direction. Alma smells it too and stalks off that way. Its squeal of surprise was cut off quickly; it is a good, clean kill. Once Alma l has her fill, I shift to Demi and take our share of the meat. Alma shifts back to Aksal to wash and drink back at the pond.

“A-amal! Uh, I think I need help!” I react as soon as I hear Aksal’s panicked voice.

Was it so fast I missed it? No, that can’t be. It must be powerful enough to cloak its scent. As I get closer to the pond, my dread grows and my stomach feels like I took a kick to the gut. It’s a Piasa.

There is no outrunning this creature. All we can do is face it head on. There is only one of its kind and it’s older than the moon. It could kill on a whim or spell you into torment.

The Piasa is like the platypus of the Fae, a mishmash of several things. It has the body of a calf and the horns of a deer, but the tail of a serpent; metallic-looking green and black scales all over and clawed, bird-like feet, and golden wings. The mutton-chop beard of a tiger on a man’s heart-shaped face was white with streaks of silver, like tinsel. Its piercing green eyes with a golden slit down the middle, held both knowledge and mischief as it considered Aksal.

“Amal, I’ve never seen something so beautiful, is he or she a hugger too?”

“Do I look like an Urazuli? Why would I want to touch a filthy half-mutt?” Clearly offended, it scolds Aksal. The Piasa’s words sound like a male and female speaking in one voice, in a perfect sync.

“But, I just took a bath?” Aksal looked at it quizzically.

It snorted.

I doubt the fresh blood of our kill still fresh on my face and body is intimidating, but I step in front of Aksal and bow anyway. “Noble Piasa, We apologize if we offended you; my mate here has only recently gained Fae sight and you’re the second one he’s met; he is unpracticed in Fae etiquette.” Inside, Demi is snarling.

“Hmm. Yes, so very unusual.” He circles around Aksal, appraising him. Aksal stands still while I follow its movements, never showing my back. “I’ve seen many wolf shifters before but never one with a wolf of a different gender. I must know how that came to be. Reveal it to me and I will let the insult pass.”

“What? That isn’t fair. I also called you beautiful. Doesn’t the purposeful compliment cancel out the accidental offense?” Oh Aksal, please be silent. I shift to my wolf; Demi and I are prepared to fight if it will open a route to escape for our mate.

“Why, Demetrius, is that you? It’s been what, five of the mortal generations since last we spoke.” The female voice was warm and friendly, but the male voice carried the cold, calculating tone of someone rubbing their hands, itching to do some dirty deed. We growl a warning in reply.

“Such a shame you cannot speak in that form, shifter.” Neither voice seems sorry at all. Before it finishes its sentence I realize I’m frozen in its spell.

It turns back to Aksal. “You, child, won’t you tell me your story?” This time, its feminine voice is coaxing and the masculine one is demanding.

“If you’ll let us go on our way, unharmed, as soon as we are ready; I’ll entertain you with a dream from the past.”

The Piasa nods and the deal is sealed. Aksal gives it the same account he gave me about the owl who became a wolf shifter and lived happily with her mate, but then the retelling becomes dark when the couple anger the Fae. He had not mentioned that part of his vision. Could it be why he slept so restlessly last night?

“Yes, yes, but that is old news.” The Piasa regarded its claws and flexed. The tips glimmered like silver in the dying sunlight. “This bores me.”

Aksal seems unaffected by its tone and unafraid, probably because I didn’t get a chance to warn him properly about how dangerous this being could be. I never expected it to be journeying through the mortal realm. I fight the spell, willing myself to move, shift, do anything. I am powerless. Demi howls in frustration with me.

“I gave you what we agreed upon, a story from the past. If you want something more, you should offer us a favor in return. Don’t you think? It would be fair, right?”

It laughs and the sound echoes through the trees, haunting the forest with a tittering that could damage my sanity if I were human. “You are most amusing, I haven’t had this much fun playing with a mortal toy in…” Its gaze fell to me. “...ages.”

It purses its lips, considering, “Very well, I’ll agree to a favor, provided it is within my power.”

Aksal nods. “If you’ve been alive for so many generations, you may be familiar with the dance of wolves. This is where my story begins…”

Aksal recounts the tale of his birth. The Piasa and I are transfixed, hanging on his every word; I did not know he was stillborn nor that the Fae were the cause of it .

“Hmm, I can see it now.” The Piasa thought out loud, dismissing our presence. “A portion of the vision was not shared with you. Though, in Elysium where souls await rebirth, it is impossible to replace each other amongst the countless wisps of soul energy waiting to be reborn, yet Alma found her Demetrius. But just when they met, his soul was sucked back into the cycle of life. Her spirit must have strayed too far from the light to reach for him and found the light of a dying infant instead.”

The creature seems delighted with its discovery and its voices speak with child-like excitement.

“I see now, she only meant to supplement the flicker of life she saw in you and instead she became the fuel to your fire! Hahaha! I had wondered how the two of them could be reunited despite the curse. Why, I thought the power of the Winterqueen had weakened. Hmm, many would pay dearly for this information.”

“So, you’re satisfied with my story then?”

“Oh, yes, yes.”

“Then, you’ll give me the favor I asked for?” Aksal presses.

“Of course. The Fae do not renege on our bargains, it is against our nature..”

Through this exchange, I worry for Aksal’s safety. My heart is pumping an amazing amount of adrenaline through my veins. On the verge of hyperventilating, I pant taking in so much oxygen. My muscles tense, ready to pounce and tear its throat out. I no longer care about its power; Demi and I are dangerous too when we are of one mind. I imagine this creature’s blood on our tongue, though I cannot move.

“Great! Then please tell me your full name so that I may call you, learn from you and perhaps publish that knowledge. I will, of course, give you credit as a reference.”

The ground trembles underneath our feet and clouds begin to gather, darkening a clear sky. “You damned brat!”

Suddenly, I can move again and Aksal shifts into his wolf beside me. It’s time to go, we speed off again. We have a chance, the border is only forty more miles away. We can get there in less than an hour.

Its enraged voices fall on our backs. “Be grateful for your short little lives! ...Demetrius, I cannot wait to tell Winterqueen Lilibeth you’re back and that the two of you found a way around her curse.”

"Queen Lilibeth, yes, Queen Lilibeth!” Thrice he called her name, summoning her.

The deafening sound of a thunderclap has my ears leaking blood as Demi increases our pace while healing our body.

Something foul is chasing us, but we cannot turn around to look. Gazing upon the Thing that hunts you from Fae lands will only draw it closer. I follow behind Alma to protect our rear and to focus her sights on me should Alma turn around.

I can scarcely feel the ground on the pads of our feet. My body is heated past natural limits. I do not fear death, neither does Demi. No, what we fear is losing the other half of our soul, a future of happiness with our destined companion.

I see the oak tree that marks the border; safety is within our reach. We just need to push forward.

Just a little more! Alma has made it to the ancient oak tree marking the border, but she stops and suddenly shifts.

No! No! Aksal, we cannot stop here! Cross the border, hurry! Without the full marking, I cannot link to his mind.

A fight it is then.