Bound Evil

Emily maintained eye contact as she placed her nose in the crook of her elbow and took a whiff. The smell of smoke clung to her clothes. To a wolf’s keen sense of smell, it may as well have said ‘Come eat me’.

Alex was convinced the pack would not leave their hunting ground just for a couple of pups. But that didn’t apply to a wolf that had been kicked out. At least that's what this looked like to Emily.

The she-wolf had disobeyed the leader's order – with a little help from Emily– so it was no wonder she had been attacked and exiled.

From what Emily had observed, the she-wolf’s stand had already been shaky. The real question now was what was she here for?

If it was just to get the pups back, then a surprise attack would have worked much better.

But as the pups arrived near the she-wolf's paw, Emily sensed the beast was happy to see them.

They readily collapsed between her large front paws, her cord-like appendages even going down to encircle them protectively, but she looked in no hurry.

A glance up at Emily told her everything she needed to know. This she-wolf had lost everything, it's home, it's family. At this stage, the only thing left was these pups.

“Sorry old girl. I can’t let you take them.”

The she-wold bared her fangs but then lowered her head, snorting at Emily.

“Geez. I get enough attitude from Alex, I don’t need you butting in.”

The beast probably didn’t understand her, but Emily read its intentions loud and clear. She was not impressed with Emily.

The connection Emily’s blood created between them was already almost gone, probably digested by the creature. However, she could still sense the smallest hint of a question coming from the beast.

It wanted to know if the pups would be safe.

“I can’t make that guarantee, Miss Wolfy. Where they’re going, who knows.”

The she-wolf stared at Emily for a long time.

Emily looked down at her hand. Her abilities back on earth had allowed her to create a temporary connection to anything that directly or indirectly consumed her blood. But what she was feeling now was different in some sense. She’d been able to feel another’s emotions before, but this was different, it was almost like they were speaking. Perhaps it was because of the intelligence of the creature, or her new title at work, she didn't know, but she got the sense that the beast didn’t mean her harm.

Sending a shred of power up her arm caused a wad of blood to pool in her palm. Small tendrils stretched from the globul as though it were a living creature. Looking back up, Emily searched the beast's face for the shadow of deceit.

Then shook her head when she realized she was treating it like a human, but it was hard not to when the she-wolf looked up at her with almost human-like eyes.

Suddenly the beast got up from the snow and began to approach the camp, letting the pups trail behind her.

Emily couldn’t help tensing up as the thing got closer. The heavy scent of pine and earth assaulted her nostrils. When the thing was right in front of her it lowered its large head to sniff at the pool of blood squirming in her hand.

Then, with a meaty tongue, the beast lapped up the blood, coating her hand in a layer of saliva. Emily blinked in shock as she felt the connection deepen between them.

The wolf was starving, but not for food like Emily had first expected. No this was for something else, this was for power.

Its family had sent it away, but where most wolves would feel abandoned, she just felt freedom.

All it wanted was the opportunity to grow into something far stronger, and it knew the moment it had tasted Emily's blood that it was possible.

Emily grinned up at the beast.

“Well, aren't you full of surprises?”

Reaching forward Emily sunk her hands into the she-wolf's rough pelt. Its white fur was flecked with grey and as Emily ran her hands up to her flanks Emily got a close look at the map of scars and healed wounds littering her body. She even had some new burns and a dagger wound on her side to add to her collection.

When Emily got to her injured side she inspected it thoroughly. She was no vet but as far as she could tell the she-wolf’s leg had been crushed and had healed wrong.

Looking up Emily noticed the beast looking back at her. Their heads were so close together that a single bite was all it would take to separate Emily's head from her shoulders.

“I don’t have the strength to heal you right now girl; Are you interested in hanging out nearby till then?”

Emily could feel understanding through the link and what came as a hesitant ‘yes’.

“Right, well I can’t keep calling you ‘old girl’. And it just so happens that the honorable ‘Cupcake’ passed just recently. So how do you feel about Cupcake the second?”

The she-wolf shook herself like she didn’t care one way or another, so Emily took that as a yes.

Either way, the pups seemed to like her presence as they moved around her. Emily continued to watch the she-wolf as she played with the pups. When they were tired they coiled back up in large wolf body heat as she encircled them. With the night closing in Emily moved to the tent but left the flap open as she nestled down in the blankets. She kept an eye on the whole scene while she tried to parse out her book.

Near the early hours of the morning, the she-wolf's head lifted from the snow as she looked off in the distance. Getting up she began to pace, ready to leave. Emily found the last of their dried meat rations and pulled out another globul of blood, coating the treat in it.

“See you around Cupcake.”

The beast eyed Emily one last time and snorted, before disappearing amongst the trees.

It wasn’t long before Emily felt Cupcake leave her range entirely.

Emily let out a sigh as soon as she was certain the Rime wolf had left. For hours, the beast had lingered, testing her awareness. She was a predator in every sense, and had Emily shown any weakness, the wolf might not have been satisfied with just those small appetizers.

Unfortunately for Cupcake, they could read one another and Emily was far stronger than her at the moment.

After collecting her litter of sleeping charges Emily went back to her tent. She didn’t have to wait long when she felt her blood approaching again. She thought it was Cupckae again because it came from the wood beside her, but the connection was all wrong.

Alex arrived in the clearing not long after that, with another person in tow.

Emily recognized Fetu immediately but when she turned to look at Alex, she noticed a distant look in his eyes as he played with the hilt of his weapon.

“Everything okay Alex?” Emily asked cautiously.

It was Fetu who answered first.

“A lot of this happened since you guys left a couple of days ago.”

“Such as?”

“Um, I’m not sure exactly about the cause, but rumors are going around of war on the horizon.”

Emily cocked her head and glanced at Alex who shot her a look that said ‘We’ll talk about it’.

“Okay, so a bit of war is on the way. Why are you here Fetu, did Kael send you?”

Fetu swallowed.

“I volunteered to lead you guys through the smuggling tunnels, it's how we’re gonna get you in without being seen.”

Emily nodded.

“Alright then make yourself useful and help us pack up everything.”

With that, they went to work clearing the camp and soon after, the three of them were trudging through the snow. Though they never left the woods, instead they moved parallel with the keep, curving around until Fetu stopped near two particular trees. They had what looked like a large holly bush over it.

Digging beneath the snow Fetu pulled up that section of the forest floor which she now recognized as a cleverly disguised trapdoor leading down the stone steps.

Fetu was the first down followed by Alex and then Emily. There were sconces on the wall with what looked like glowing mushrooms in them, providing a turquoise glow to the entire passageway.

“Stay close, it's a maze down here for good reason”

Emily briefly wondered if this was some scheme by the man but put that out of her mind when Fetu began tying a rope to himself and Alex followed suit. Emily copied them when she realized Fetu wouldn't proceed until she did.

The trip through the underground maze was more than Emily had first expected. They had to travel in single file but every turn through its dark corridors confused Emily a little more. Explorer was loving this but Emily couldn’t keep up with the many different routes Fetu seemed to be leading them on. It didn’t help that it all looked so similar, the only company was the everpresent smell of topsoil and something nutty. The only way Emily could track anything was the way the sconces were aligned. As time went on grew further and further apart but then Emily could tell they were getting closer to their destination because of the steep decline.

When the lights became more numerous Emily started to notice the walls shifting the grey stone.

Finally, when Fetu got to a particular wall, he pressed a hidden switch, and a section gave inwards. The wall looked no different from the rest, but a final spiraling staircase loops downward into the earth.

Taking it they descended and that was when Emily noticed a large chamber coming into view. From up here she could see what looked like a busy market and the bottom of the staircase would deposit them right amid everything. Several other staircases descended from above, all coming from different parts of the maze. Emily looked over the railing and noticed about a four-story drop below them.

When they reached the bottom, Emily untied herself and followed after Fetu. The Market was just as bustling as the ones she’d seen on the other levels, only a wide array of things stood out to her.

Firstly the main product she saw at almost every stall was weapons. All types of close-quarter and ranged variants were on display. Medicines sat in little trays alongside dried powders, neatly packed into wooden boxes.

Emily spotted someone receiving an identical tattoo to the one she now wore for the keep. All manner of jewelry and bright clothes were on display alongside what looked like a menagerie of birds and beasts in cages.

The wonders here were alluring, but so were the dangers, and the people were far more pushy than Emily cared for.

“You miss, how much for the Rime wolf yougling. I’ll offer you two squares each!”

“Sir what about a trade, with such dangers outside these walls what about a good weapon or two.”

Keep hands were non-existent in this place, but the people seemed to give Fetu a wide birth.

They could have kept their distance because of Fetu’s demeanor and large body but Emily was willing to bet it was the white sash he wore around his bicep. Probably denoting him as part of the wandering fangs and these people seemed to know that.

Either way, Emily didn’t bother to respond to the offers.

When they got the the exit of the market Emily was more than certain she wanted to come back here when she had time.

When they moved out in another of the larger passageways Emily frowned when Explorer

recognized the area. From there they traveled down a few more alleyways and arrived at the alleyway leading to the tavern where the wandering fangs were staying. Before they progressed any further, Fetu called out to them.

"Um, one sec, Emily. I wanted to apologize for what happened between us and offer this as a token to let bygones be bygones."

Looking down as Fetu held out the medallion Ron had stolen when she first got to this world. Glancing up Emily stared coldly into his eyes.

“This doesn't make us even, but it helps”

Emily said as she snatched it from his grasp and turned to continue moving.

Alex was eyeing the medallion but he too turned and they continued forward.

As they progressed, Emily noticed the wooden gates of the surrounding buildings beginning to shake as though being pawed at. Then familiar howls reach up towards the cavernous ceiling as though in greeting.

Blood points: 23