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| Jackson |
As the night grew later, and the moon climbed higher into the clear sky, the pack lay in wait.
Jackson hid in the brush with Brando, Rachel, and Wilson. Across the way from them, Wesley hid with Ezhno and Lance. Damon, Lalo, and Leon were fifty feet to the right, and Tokala, Bly, and Sebastien lay fifty feet to the left. Everyone was ready.
It was silent. The thick bed of snow absorbed every sound for miles, and although it made Jackson a little uneasy, he was sure that it was a good thing. If Kane's approaching wolves couldn't hear them, it gave them another advantage. As for detecting the incoming hostiles, the pack had Damon's senses to rely on.
The feeling of euphoria Jackson got when he drank Damon's blood was all but gone, but the spike in his ethos remained. He felt almost eager to clash with his enemies. However, he had to contain himself. Kane's wolves weren't there yet.
He focused on what he could see through the leaves. To his relief, he didn't have a bad feeling about this. But he'd not let his guard down. Anything could happen at any moment.
And that was when Jackson heard the snow crunch.
Jackson tensed up and frantically searched for what made the sound.
There they were. A group of six...eight...twelve dark-furred, scarred wolves. Jackson waited to see if more would appear from behind the rocks, but that seemed to be it. They were led by a rather beefy-looking grey wolf with a clawed-out right eye and scars all over his face, and they were all snarling quietly as if they were talking, but Jackson couldn't understand any of them.
His eyes shifted to the snow where the traps lay hidden. The wolves were getting closer...and with each step they took, Jackson's heart beat a little faster. Any moment now he'd be bursting out of cover and fighting to the death with Kane's wolves. But he was ready. Damon entrusted him to be an asset, and that was exactly what he was going to be.
"Will you stop?!" a muffled, foggy voice suddenly growled.
Jackson frowned and looked at Brando, Rachel, and Wilson, but the three of them were watching the approaching wolves like hawks.
He slowly turned his head to face Kane's group again.
"All I'm saying..." another distorted voice said, but it cut out for a few seconds, and when Jackson heard it again, they said, "...We just all come and...." It cut out again.
Jackson's frown thickened. Someone was talking...but who?
There was no time for him to find out. The one-eyed wolf stepped into one of the hidden traps, and as the rope ensnared his front left paw and pulled him up fifteen feet off the ground, his packmates started panicking.
"Now!" Damon yelled.
On the Alpha's call, Jackson and the pack burst out of cover and charged towards the enemy. In the commotion, three of Kane's wolves triggered more of the traps and were pulled up off their feet and dangled from the branches the ropes were looped around.
The packs clashed. With four wolves writhing and snarling in the air, Damon's group had the advantage. Jackson watched as everyone fought, growling and slashing and biting. Blood sprayed onto the snow, and when two of Kane's wolves fell lifeless, Jackson rushed in and found Wilson.
This time, he wouldn't hold back or let himself feel hesitant. These wolves wanted to kill him and his packmates, so he needed to ensure he held the same intention.
When Wilson smacked his opponent's face with his huge paw, Jackson lunged forward and snapped his jaws around the brown wolf's back leg. The beast yelped and tried kicking him off, but Wilson took advantage of it being distracted and clamped his teeth around its neck. And with a roar and a tug, the giant tiger twisted and pulled the wolf's head from its body.
"Thanks," Wilson said.
Jackson nodded and turned to face the battle.
"You go help Lalo, I'll help Bly," the muto said.
"Okay," Jackson said and then hurried over to Lalo.
The blonde wolf Lalo was facing grabbed the Kappa's muzzle with his teeth, but before he could bite down hard enough to do some real damage, Jackson crashed into him and sent the hostile wolf tumbling across the snow. The wolf rolled over one of the traps, and when he was pulled up to join his four dangling packmates, he whined and tried to break free.
Lalo panted and said, "Thanks, man."
"Jackson!" came Sebastien's voice.
Jackson turned his head and set his eyes on the winged hound. But then the branch that the rope holding the buff, one-eyed wolf was wrapped around snapped, and the beast hit the ground. He immediately went for Sebastien, who snarled and charged at the wolf.
As he ran, the hound called, "Use your fire before the ropes break!"
"Keep one of them alive!" then came Damon's voice.
He looked at the Alpha, who had just torn the head off his opponent. Then, Jackson scurried through the fight and took cover behind a nearby tree. He left his wolf form and held his hand towards the dangling wolves, but then somebody yelped painfully, and when Jackson saw Bly pinned down by one of Kane's wolves, he tensed up and aimed his hand towards the enemy.
But Damon quickly raced to help her, so Jackson turned his attention back to the four dangling wolves. He focused and created a ball of crimson fire in his hand, and then he threw it at one of them. The wolf went up in flames; it wailed and whined, burning into nothing in no time. Jackson ensnared two others, leaving just one hanging and panicking as his friends disappeared before his eyes.
Jackson stood there, glancing at the fighting packs, and making sure that the wolf Damon asked him to keep alive didn't escape. His packmates took down the remainder of Kane's wolves in a few minutes, and when the last wolf's head was removed, and he returned to his human form, Damon let out a howl of victory. The pack joined in, and the sound sent a chill down Jackson's spine.
They won. The plan worked.
It wasn't entirely over yet though.
"Get him down," Damon said, nodding at the dangling, panicking wolf.
Sebastien spat blue flames at the rope, and when it withered, the wolf fell and landed on the snow with a thump.
The wolf hurried to his paws and tried to flee, but Damon's wolves quickly surrounded him, blocking any chance he had at getting away.
Damon pounced and pinned the wolf down. "You're going to listen to me very carefully," he growled.
With a terrified whine, the wolf tried to break free, but its attempts were useless.
"Your Alpha picked the wrong pack to fuck with," Damon snarled, baring his teeth as he moved his maw into the wolf's line of sight. "You run back to him and tell him that I'm going to kill every single one of his wolves, and when he's all alone, I'll tear him apart one piece at a time until he's begging that I kill him, too. And you tell him...this is war, and he isn't going to win. The Grey Bloods are the last pack he will ever try to destroy."
The wolf whined and writhed, still attempting to get away.
Damon then savagely tore the wolf's left ear off with his teeth, grabbed it by its scruff as it wailed painfully, and then tossed it across the snow. The moment it hit the ground, it hurried to its feet and fled as quickly as it could.
"How long do you think it'll take him to get back to his pack?" Tokala asked Damon.
"Long enough that we'll be far away from here," the Alpha answered. "Well done, everyone," he then said as he headed back towards the cellar. "There will be time for proper celebration once we find somewhere safe. Is everyone okay to travel?"
The pack called their confirmations.
Tokala appeared at Jackson's side. "You've picked up the fire ethos pretty quickly, huh?" he said with a smirk.
Jackson smiled slightly. "Yeah, I guess so."
"You know, with the inimă, your fire could probably kill someone in less than a second."
"Oh...well, I didn't really think of using it," Jackson replied.
"You're keeping it close, though, right? Just in case?" the orange wolf asked.
Jackson nodded and patted the bags he was carrying over his shoulder now that he was no longer in his wolf form.
"Good," Tokala said. "Don't hesitate to use it if you think it's necessary. It's yours to use."
"I know, I just...I guess I'm a little worried about losing control. I think I want to wait until I have better control over my demon ethos before I start using it again. I mean...unless I need to use it...say if another cadejo or something came. I don't know," he said with a sigh.
"Trust your judgement," the Zeta told him.
Jackson smiled again. "I will."
But then Wilson joined him, and Tokala walked off to join Damon.
"I guess it's really started now, then," the tiger said.
"I guess so," Jackson agreed.
The pack stopped outside the cellar and waited while Wesley headed inside to grab Julian, Dustu, and Remus.
Jackson frowned and turned to face Wilson. "Something weird happened just before the fight."
Wilson frowned. "Something weird how?"
"I don't know. I thought I heard someone speaking. But when I looked at you guys...well, I don't think it was either of you."
"What did you hear?"
"Uh...someone said, 'Will you stop?', and then I heard someone else say something like...'All I'm saying is,', but I couldn't hear the rest of it. It was like...fading in and out."
The tiger's frown thickened. "One of Kane's wolves was talking about how they should just all come out here looking for us rather than sending a little group, and then their leader told him to stop."
Jackson felt confused. "What...so...I was hearing them?"
"I don't know, man. Wolf walkers can only understand their pack members or something, right? Only Alphas, Betas, and Zetas or something can understand all wolves," Wilson drawled. Then, he set his eyes on Sebastien. "Hey, Sebastien."
The winged hound made his way over. "What?"
"Tell him," Wilson urged.
"Tell me what?"
Jackson scratched the back of his head. "Well...I think I was catching some conversation between those Kane wolves. But...that's impossible, right? I'm just a Cupitor."
Sebastien sat down. "Well, there's this little thing called True Speech, which only the oldest demons know how to use. I was taught by Lord Caedis—well...more like he kinda stuffed the knowledge into my brain—but those with the blood of someone who possesses True Speech will also inherit the ability. Since you're asmodi, it would make sense that you'd possess it."
"Okay, so what is it?" Wilson questioned.
"The ability to understand and communicate with all Caeleste, save for the Aegis," Sebastien answered.
"Could...that be why I can hear Cadejo?" Jackson asked quietly.
"I don't think so," the hound said. "I can't hear them, and I have fully developed True Speech."
"How does he like...improve the ability?" Wilson questioned.
"He doesn't," Sebastien said, standing up. "True Speech isn't a right, it's a gift. It'll decide itself whether or not Jackson is worthy."
"Let's go," Damon suddenly called. "Jackson, shift."
With a nervous nod, Jackson shifted into his wolf form.
"Here, let me help," Wilson said, helping him make sure his bags were secure.
"Thanks," Jackson said, and then he hurried to catch up with Sebastien. "What do you mean it'll decide if I'm worthy?"
"I mean exactly what I said," Sebastien replied, following the pack through the woods. "It isn't a part of you unless it chooses to be."
"Okay...and how do I prove my worth? How did you prove yours?" he asked curiously.
Sebastien sighed quietly. "Through my loyalty to Lord Caedis."
Jackson frowned and pondered. That made sense since asmodi demons were created by Lord Caedis and the Zenith. But how could he prove his loyalty? The only thing he could think of was getting the job done.
"Okay," he answered. Then, he left Sebastien's side and headed to the front to join Damon. "Hey," he said nervously.
"Is everything okay?" the Alpha asked, glancing at him.
"Yeah, I was just asking Sebastien some demon stuff."
"Anything we need to be worried about?"
"No, he was telling me about something called True Speech."
Damon frowned at him. But he didn't say anything. Concern flickered across his face as he quickly stared ahead again, and it looked like he was on edge.
And then came that feeling. Jackson tensed up as a shiver of trepidation crept down his spine.
Something was coming.
Jackson looked around fearfully, trying to locate what it was. Could it be Kane's wolves? Or was it something else?
"Stay alert," Damon called, keeping his voice hushed.
"What is it?" Remus whispered.
"I don't know," the Alpha replied. "Keep low."
Everyone crouched and followed him through the thick trees.
But with every step they took, Jackson's fear grew. They were getting closer to whatever his instincts were trying to warn him about. "I-I think we should go a different way," he said, looking at Damon.
The Alpha didn't even question him. "All right," he said, turning right.
That didn't make Jackson feel any better, though.
It was following them. Something was following them.
He looked left and right, searching for a glimpse of what it was, but there was nothing but endless white and empty silence. He looked back at Sebastien when Damon did, but the hound shook his head, telling them that he couldn't sense anything.
Cadejo. It had to be cadejo, right?
"D-Damon, I—"
A horrific, gurgling screech cut through the silence, echoing behind.
"What the hell was that?" Dustu panicked, stopping in his tracks.
The rest of the pack slowly came to a halt and stared back the way they'd come.
"Some kind of Caeleste beast?" Wesley suggested.
"That didn't sound like any beast I know," Tokala replied warily.
"Keep moving," Damon called.
Something rushed through the trees a hundred feet away.
The pack backed off and huddled closer as confused, unnerved looks appeared on their faces.
Jackson froze and stared; he didn't get a good look at it, but it moved so fast that he already knew it was dangerous.
And then it appeared again, darting from behind one tree to another.
He saw it this time, and he wished he hadn't.
"Human?" Lalo questioned. "Hunter?"
"Too fast to be human," Sebastien said, "and I can't feel an aura."
"Vampire?" Lance muttered as everyone took a defensive formation.
"I'd feel it," the hound answered.
The creature moved again, getting closer with every reveal of its human-like, lanky body.
And then came the smell.
That rotting, putrid stench.
"Cadejo," Jackson breathed.
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