Rogue Wolf

Chapter Nine - A Gaze Cold as Death

The massive bear paused for a moment, his enormous head tilted, his expression puzzled. A spark of recognition lit up his eyes as he realized who he was looking at.

"Sleek?! What are you doing here?"

I got even more quizzical looks from all the other wolves, from both Root's Pack and Caedes alike. Apparently it wasn't every day that a wolf and a bear knew each other personally. At least not in this part of Aurea. But we're in the middle of an action scene here, so I'll explain this at a later time. I'd hate to interrupt the flow of a good battle. Even though I kind of already have. My apologies.

Ragged's confident, malicious grin melted off his face. His eyes went wide, and I saw in them, for just a moment, a look of pure fear. He knew full well that a bear might be too much for his Pack to handle. And this wasn't just a bear. Pavor was big even in bear terms. For a reason I wasn't quite sure of, he was far bigger than I thought possible. I knew that the tides had just turned in our favor. The shocked and fearful look in Ragged's green eyes was proof of that. I would have taken pleasure in seeing his confused, surprised countenance, but I think all of us were looking pretty dumbfounded at that moment.

The wolves were shocked at Pavor's sudden appearance, but the next thing that happened stunned them even more. I swear a few jaws hit the dirt as the huge grizzly's companion stepped up beside him.

There was a horse standing next to Pavor. A small horse whose head barely reached his shoulder. She was beautiful, with a black coat that gleamed like polished obsidian, and hooves as smooth and rounded as a well worn river rock. Her long, glossy black mane obscured half of her face, flowing like a waterfall down the side of her neck, her tail rippling towards the ground, where the tip dragged along behind her. There were just a few things that were odd about her. For one, her ears were huge, large ovals that tapered to a point at the end. Her back above her shoulderes also seemed very strange, as if the tops of her bone were sharp and angular, though it quite possibly was simply her long mane swept across her back. And her eye didn't seem to reflect any light at all. It was like a hollow pit from which light never escaped. There was just a feeling of...offness that surrounded her, permeating the air like the smell of a fresh kill. It was a feeling I couldn't describe. It made me want to run and hide, but I also found myself unable to move. I could tell that this mysterious stranger had that effect on everybody. Only Pavor seemed unfazed.

So, not only were the wolves taken aback by the sudden arrival of a gigantic brown bear, but also by the appearance of a downright unsettling mare right beside him. Her presence was enough to make even me shudder. It seemed as if time had stalled, and we sat there in ageless years as everybody tried to process what was going on. However, such thoughts were cut short as a furious bellow broke the eerie silence.

I jumped, anticipating Pavor's imminent attack. But he hadn't uttered a sound. It was the mare. In a heartbeat, she was upon the Caedes wolves. One might think a peaceful, plant-eating creature like a horse wouldn't be half as threatening as an entire pack of trained killer carnivores. But I will tell you this...I was far more afraid of this mare than any wolf. She flew into battle like a hurricane. Her hind legs kicked out viciously, catching more than one startled wolf and hurling them into the air with a terrible crunch. Several wolves came crashing back down to the ground and never moved again. Yelps of terror and squeals of pain filled the air faster than a downpour. The horse reared, her forelegs churning the air before lashing out at nearby wolves. She was bigger than any wolf, and far, far stronger. I could see her muscles rippling beneath her short coat of fur. It was like a dark sea churning and roiling as something monstrous came rushing to the surface. The sheer force of her blows cut flesh and broke bone. She was a wrathful entity, with all the ferocity of a torrential storm. But she also fought with a grace that left the stunned onlookers in awe. She leapt about with the fluidity of wind and water. The black mare slammed her hooves back onto the ground, barely missing a wolf who had just barely managed to roll out of her way. The canine took off into the woods, yelping in terror. In just a few seconds, she had sent at least six wolves running for their lives. It was solid proof that beautiful things can often be deadly.

As soon as Pavor joined her, whatever waning hope of victory that Caedes might have had was lost. He was even bigger and stronger than his companion, his huge paws slamming wolves out of his way with a single swipe. His powerful jaws snapped at empty air vacated by fleeing wolves. His dark brown eyes were full of rage, and his jaws gaped to let loose more than a few loud, intimidating roars. It was hardly necessary, though, as every single wolf but one had fled by now. The only one that remained was Ragged. His green eyes blazed, and he was glaring right at me. He spoke no words, but I knew exactly what that look meant.

This isn't over, brother.

Without so much as acknowledging the presence of the horse or the bear, Ragged turned and walked away. The last I saw of him was his reddish tail held high behind him, as if he hadn't lost this battle at all.

I had no idea why Ragged had suddenly become so interested in me. But I couldn't think about that at the moment. I had more important things to worry about. Though, in hindsight, that was probably the thing I needed to worry about most back then. But I had other things on my mind. The only thing that mattered to me was making sure everybody was okay.

It took me a moment to realize that the horse had been looking straight at me this entire time. As I turned away from where Ragged had vanished, our eyes met. Well, my two eyes and her one. Looking into her dark, hollow eye was like staring into the mouth of a huge cave, not knowing what lay inside, but knowing that you probably didn't want to find out. I shuddered, and I'll admit that I was scared of this strange creature. For her gaze was as empty and cold as the grave.