The Dance of Wolves

Alma is panicking. Our heart is beating against our chest like it stole something. Her mouth is agape and panting so hard foam coats her muzzle in twisted milk mustache.

We made it to the border, but she had no intention of stopping there; she would have run to death. Again. I forced her to shift and now I’m trying to calm her.

Demi’s body slams into me with such force, I’m thrown up against the old tree. My brain is running on a short circuit; it has to be, because everything around me is moving so slowly and there’s no sound. Demi is fighting three beings I’ve never seen before, except for the eyes, which were as large and round as hockey pucks, and their tapered ears; they could pass for human.

I glance around us, still stunned. I brace my arm against the deep fissures and ridges of the whitish-grey bark. How strange... there are no acorns on the ground and no other oaks nearby, nor saplings sprung up from its deep roots. It is out of place, as if it always existed and the forest grew around it to keep it company. And it’s odd that as ancient as it’s claimed to be, it looks healthy, what with its full canopy of dense, green leaves...in autumn. Curious.

The cries of the wounded, Demi’s fierce snarls and growls rush in to fill the silent vacuum I’m in with sound. Alma was so focused on healing us, she’s calmed down. But, why do I still feel I’m one fry short of a Happy Meal?

The power aura around the queen makes Alpha Khalan’s seem as weak as a dollar store double A battery. She raises a fist crackling in lightning to direct it all at us.

Fuck! …Now, I’m thinking in understatements.

“Demetrius, I have run out of patience. Now, once again I will take your soulmate from your side.”

I’m already choking for air and that is just from the weight of her presence. Her anger is no joke, but seriously, the Winterqueen should just Let. It. Go.

“No! Please don’t hurt him!” Amal shifts, leaving himself open to the remaining warrior as a feint. The guy attacks Amal but he steps aside. Amal throws a punch, the Boscage guard dodges his fist only to be caught by his elbow and falls back. Damn. Amal is so badass, that’s hot.

“W-wait...Kitsa.” This is all I could manage as I struggle to organize my thoughts.

She lowered her fist, though the blue-white sparks still buzz about. “Speak. What of my daughter, Kitsa?”

“She’s...here.”

***

The pressure on my body eases somewhat. I take a long inhale; my head is finally in the game now that I have more oxygen to work with. I notice Amal glamoured clothes for both of us--in matching sets no less, and I appreciate the gesture, even if she can see through it.

“It’s only a hunch, but I believe your daughter is either glamoured to look like a tree or she or someone else transformed her into an oak tree. Many years ago, you charged Demetrius with finding your daughter and reuniting you with her to keep his soul mate safe. I had a vision of that time in a dream and I saw him searching in life after life.. In this lifetime, Demetrius–or Demi is my mate’s wolf spirit and he is no longer searching. To me, that means he already found what he was looking for even if he no longer remembers what it was. Demi and Amal keep coming to this place, to this tree and it makes them feel restful.”

The queen considers my words and narrows her eyes at the tree. The fiery blue sparks no longer play about her fist as she opens her hand and relaxes it on the bark. The queen’s eyes widen in recognition and she whispers a word of power. In moments, the tree vanishes and in its place stands Kitsa, just as I had seen her in the last vision.

Kitsa tries to take a step forward but she wobbles and nearly falls; Amal steadies her in time. Well, it was pretty obvious she hadn’t moved in ages.

“You-you are most kind.” Her voice was hoarse. Of course, she hadn’t spoken in ages either. “Mother!” Kitsa’s eyes fill with tears as she opens her arms wide.

The queen hugs her in a tight embrace. “Little one, I’m so elated to have you back safe! Now, it’s just a matter of dealing with those who forced you into that sorry state.” The lightning is back and she has it focused on Amal this time.

“Mother, stop!” Kitsa puts her hand over her mother’s, like paper to rock in some Fae roshambo game, and extinguishes the fire. “He is innocent in this!”

The queen regards her daughter, “He may be your consort, but I cannot show any mercy. I am the Winterqueen first, my little one.”

“It’s true though. She and Demetrius were just friends and even if Demetrius was guilty back then, it isn’t fair for you to punish his human side…”

Kitsa interrupts, “In any case, he isn’t the one you should be angry with. I let myself be tricked into reaching into the earth for the strength to face you. I wanted to be single for a little longer, independent for a bit longer before marrying Lord Baron. I couldn’t go forward and I couldn’t go back. I was literally and figuratively stuck. I could not transform back, even when the civil wars began, all because the wedding did not take place. So many died because of my selfishness.

“Who tricked you?” The queen asked, astonished.

“I am...under a...geas, I cannot say it.” Kitsa responded stiffly.

I am suddenly enlightened and I address the queen. “Please indulge me for a moment, could you call the Piasa to you?”

Out of curiosity, I think, the queen accepts my request. She mumbles a word and the Piasa materializes in front of us.

“Oh. You survived.” It deadpans in dual voices as it observes the scene.

“Queen Lilibeth, is it true that Fae can not go back on their agreements?”

“Yes, that is correct; going back on our word can unmake us.” She nods.

“Do the Fae have the ability to observe souls in Elysium?”

“I know of no Fae with heavenly sight; that is more common to beings your kind refer to as angels.”

In my periphery, the Piasa’s eyes narrow but it shows no other reaction. “And is it true that the Piasa is one of the Fae?”

Queen Lilibeth grows impatient, “That is correct as well; it even has a Fae title of nobility, but this has nothing to do with the matter at hand.”

“Well, I have a hunch that it was the Piasa who told you that Demetrius was Kitsa’s consort. It was bored with my retelling of the dream visions of the past that I shared--as if it were there–but, I don’t recall ever seeing it in the visions themselves. How did it know so much unless it was involved?”

The Winterqueen bit her lower lip. “Hmm, it was the Piasa who told me this, but the Fae are beholden to the Winter and Summer Courts, treachery of this magnitude could not be committed by any Fae.”

“Well, this Piasa and I had an agreement and it reneged on it. So, how can it truly be called Fae?”

“This shifter lies!” Its feminine voice whispers while the male voice rages. “I agreed to let him and his mate leave unharmed as soon as they were ready after this one–” He points at me with a sharpened claw and finishes, “...entertained me with a story. I did, however, call for you to let you know Demetrius returned because I was under no obligation to protect them from harm when they departed.”

I shake my head. “You were so bored with my first story about the vision I had of Alma, Demetrius’ mate, that I made a second agreement with you. I gave you a more personal story in exchange for a favor that was yours to give and within your power. You were satisfied with what I said and you were even considering making money off of the information, but when I requested my favor in return; you called the queen to hunt us, perhaps even kill us so you wouldn’t have to fulfill your part.”

The queen looks at the Piasa and asks, “What was the favor asked of you?”

“This filthy shifter asked me for my full name so he could call on me to teach him.”

Queen Lilibeth laughs and so does her retinue. Kitsa’s eyes sparkle with dark amusement. “Giving the shifter your name is within your power. Perhaps you should have asked him to detail the favor before agreeing to offer it. Why not take the opportunity now and fulfill the terms of your deal?”

I wait for it to whisper its name in my ear, but the Piasa makes no move. The crickets seem especially loud as it glares at me.

____

A/N The Piasa's voices creep me out, so much for sweet dreams.