To Cheat Death

Chapter nine

I was about to discreetly follow the suspicious wolf, when I heard an affronted shriek below me.

Circling back, I saw a few kids messing around in one of the rare open places between cabins.

A girls who looked to be in her tweens, and two older boys who looked about fourteen.

Her brown hair was frazzled and her face red with an angry flush.
"Give it back!" She yelled again.

I flew closer.

One of the boys responded, "You can always get an other talisman you know. It's not hard."
He swung a beaded necklace with a claw at the end around in his fist, taunting.

"Jorden, I swear I will tell my mother!" She shook her fist at him.

"Awww gonna run to mommy are we?" He smirked. Then said to the second boy,
"Maybe we should just shift and leave her too it."

While he was talking, she lunged at him trying to snatch the necklace back.

He yanked it out of her grasping hands and tossed it to the other boy.

"Please, please give it back." Her face started to crumple. She was close to tears.

Alecc walked around the corner of the building.
"What's all the ruckus?" He said, looking accusingly at the boys.

The girls face cleared and her tears hardened in triumph.
Pointing a vengeful finger she said,
"They took my grandfather's talIsman and won't give it back."

He turned his hard gaze upon the boy how held the necklace, just as Zacc appeared from around the corner of the cabin.

"That's not true! Emily's lying, it's-"

Alecc silenced Jorden with a look.
"Eric give Emily the talisman. Now."

The second boy hesitantly held out the necklace to the girl. She snatched it away, nodded respectfully at Alecc, and ran from sight.
The boys started to leave. Eager to get away from the embarrassment.

"Eric and Jorden report to David every afternoon for the next week."
Alecc started to walk away.

Eric turned back,
"Alecc,"he said nervously.
"What for?"

Alecc looked at him innocently.
"To help dig out the new latrine of course."

"You can't do that! We were just haven a little fun!" Jorden angrily shrieked.

For the first time, Alecc turned the full force of his glare on Jodon.
Jordon looked as if he wanted to sink into the earth and disappear.

"I am not an alpha wer to control your thoughts." He said coldly.
"But I will be your alpha. And if you don't change your attitude you won't get on a raiding party until your an old man."

The defiant look never left Jordens face but he did seem to get a shade paler.
The boys turned and fled in the same direction the girl did.

Zacc shook his head.
"You're too harsh with them. They were just teasing."

Alecc raised an eyebrow.

"Alright alright." Zacc said.
"So maybe they deserved it. But I remember you stealing that tray of cookies from Hazel when you were their age. And you didn't even get caught. So don't even try to pretend you were more mature."

"You dared me! And got half the spoils! And I was way more mature then them! Three years ago, I could nearly run this camp by myself." Alecc threw his hands up.
"They just need to grow up."

"Not everyone has to grow up as fast as you, Alecc." He said quietly.

"Well I wish they would. It'd make my job a lot easier."

From my vantage point, I noticed a man walk too causally toward my tent. Alecc and Zacc meandered toward my tent but much slower. They didn't see anyone else. The man reached my tent and seemed to drop something. Then quick as a flash he Changed into a wolf and ran away as fast as he could.

With a start I realized it was the same wolf that suspiciously ran into the woods.

"Wait a second. What are we asking again?" Zacc said.

Glancing around I didn't see anyone besides Alecc and Zacc. There backs were both turned. I flew to the ground and Changed back.

Alecc started, "We-"

"Wait!" I panicked.
"Get away from the tents!"

They both turned with shocked expressions. Zacc glanced from me to the tent to me again.

Alecc cautiously stepped back toward me.
"We wanted to ask you-"

"No time!" I interrupted. Running forward, I grabbed their arms and pulled them back toward the cabins.
"Is there anyone in those tents?"

Exchanging bewildered expressions, they humored me.
"I wouldn't think so." Said Alecc.

After I dragged them to behind the cabin, I peered around the corner.

"Nothing is happening." I said in a sing song voice.

Alecc stepped forward,
"I assure you the tent you were at is perfectly safe, now if we could-"

Light engulfed my tent. Heat hit us a second later. I jumped back.
The crackling noises of a fire slashed through the air. The oily smell was so strong my human could smell it faintly.

Zacc jumped up next to me and looked. His mouth dropped.
"Alecc, we have a problem."

Alecc was still looking at me suspiciously. He wasn't glaring but he wasn't smiling either.

I threw my hands up. Copying the gesture he made earlier,
"I didn't start my own tent on fire." I snapped

"My goodness." Zacc mumbled.
"Wowwww." He was still staring at the flames.

"I thought my cousin asked you to stay in your tent. We're you spying on us?" He folded his arms.

"Do you realise she just saved our lives? We would have been dead. dead. dead." Said Zacc not moving his gaze.

"What were you doing? You weren't behind us a second ago."

I avoided his gaze. What could I say?
"I was trying to find an outhouse." I blurted.

My face became hot. Did I really just say that?

In an instant, both of their faces were beet red. Alecc coughed, his accusing expression covered by a blush.

"Well it was a good thing you left. Otherwise..." Zacc gulped.

Looking at my tent, I gulped too.

All the tents had collapsed away from mine, scorched black. Even the cabin walls turned toward the tents were black.

And where my tent was, just a pile of glowing embers remained. Everything around and in the tent was practically vaporized. It was even worse than my house.

Then it hit me.
"Oh no." I gasped.

Alecc, who had followed me to look, and Zacc both started.

They turned wide eyes toward me.

"My booookk!!! It's gone forever!!"

Zacc threw back his head and laughed.