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“Red-Eye?” asked Saita.
“Wolven, lots. Raw. Angry.”
“Wolven are extinct, Red-Eye.” Said Fledge as he took his hand back. “Their lines were bred out with the Vulpine.”
“No. These aren’t Vulpine-Wolven mixtures. These are Wolven, but untethered.”
“What do you mean, Red-Eye?” asked Saita.
Just then, Rubar’s ears flicked back, and his head twisted in the same direction as Red-Eyes. Except, he didn’t seem surprised, but rather fearful.
“Corridors. Now.” He hissed.
“Wait, hold on…”
Before Fledge could argue, Rubar dropped to all fours, gripped Fledge’s shoulder in his jaws, and threw him onto his back. Then he bolted. Saita knew exactly where this was going and stepped back with her hands up.
“I can get on myself.”
Red-Eye grinned and lowered himself so Saita could climb on to sit behind his shoulder blades. Once she was settled, he ran after the other the rest of their party.
“So, want to explain that?”
“Wolven, remnants that were trapped in the corridors when Mistress gave her orders. Likely starved or insane.”
“So, they’re hunting?”
“Likely you, yes.”
“Me, why?”
“Mistress’s last order was to go. It was open to interpretation, but most of the packs went to collect energy. These may be doing the same. Who knows how long they have been trapped in corridors that have been changing and being fixed.”
“Can’t we…”
“You can’t fix everything.” Snapped the Wolven. “We need to stay ahead of them for now.”
Saita didn’t like having her life dictated to her, but she was now in a world where she was not in control anymore. She resigned herself to being taken to where they needed to be. Red-Eye seemed to have no problem following the Vulpine through the corridors. All Saita saw was a blur of greys interrupted by vibrant colours. She didn’t understand any of it.
Rubar eventually slid to a halt and used a set of wicked claws to slice through the space before him. He was gritting his jaw and muttering under his breath.
“What is going on!” muttered Fledge as he picked himself up from where he had fallen from the Vulpine.
“Mad pack.” Muttered the Vulpine. “Come on, come on, come on, come on!”
He whined and paced around the tear.
“What’s a mad pack?” demanded Fledge.
“No time to explain, we need to run.”
Red-Eye helped Saita down. He could taste Rubar’s panic. He readied himself for a fight. Saita followed suit. While Fledge had been trained to fight, he had never been pulled into a situation where it was needed. A lot of the training his mother had given him had fallen to the wayside. He internally chastised himself for thinking of his mother once more and joined Rubar’s side.
“What do you need from me?”
“Power. Lots. Now.” Panted the Vulpine as he placed his paws on either side of the tear and started pulling.
Saita didn’t have time to contribute as what Red-Eye and Rubar had sensed was upon them. It was a pack of eight Wolven, starved, crazed, and missing most of their fur. Some had mechanical parts, but where these connected to flesh, blood oozed.
The pack seemed to fan out, sniffing the air. One, the smallest and most ragged of the group stepped forward, then climbed to its hind feet. While not as tall and powerful as Rubar and Red-Eye, there was something sinister about the creature. It almost looked undead.
“Mistress.” It whined.
Revolution at its voice rippled through Saita. It wasn’t talking to her but Kay.
“Mistress, you’re trapped.” It continued as it flexed its claws, much like a cat.
Red-Eye growled and stepped before the other Wolven.
“Pup.” Said the Wolven, drawing out each letter as if savouring it. “You need to free our Mistress.”
“You’re free. There is no Mistress.” He barked.
“She is right there. Free her, so we may run once more.”
“Who are you?”
“Pup, listen to elders. Mistress begs to be free.”
“Is he talking about me or Kay?” Asked Saita.
It was as if a spell was broken, and the small Wolven launched itself at her. Just at that moment, a clawed hand lifted her from her feet and threw her through the tear in time. Rubar was powerful and Saita found herself slamming against a wall hard enough for her lungs to expel all her breath.
Not even a second later, Fledge stepped through. It took longer for the Wolven and Vulpine to follow. However, they were both covered in what seemed to be slashes. As soon as Red-Eye was through the tear he snapped at it. There was a loud popping sound and then there was silence.
Red-Eye then spat a tooth and growled at where the tear had been. He looked furious and all his fur stood on end. Rubar was nursing a bite wound on his arm, but Red-Eye mostly looked unscathed.
“This is bad.” He muttered.
“Red-Eye?”
Saita rubbed the back of her head, trying to stem the pounding that was starting there.
“Saita, Mistress, those Wolven, they hold the power I had before. They want to release Kay.”
I can’t be released.
“She can’t be released. She’s dead, she’s been dead for centuries now.”
“They don’t think that way. They see you as her vessel and killing you will allow her to exist once more.”
Stupid mutts.
“They have your scent.” Red-Eye turned to Fledge, feeling that he wanted to argue. “Not energy, her scent. They must have woken as soon as she stepped into the corridors. I had no idea there were packs still within the corridors. I was sure Mistress had released all of them.”
“It’s the Mad Pack and they have been around since the fall of the Fell Dragon. They’d wake occasionally to eat, and the attacks were brutal. I was sure they were wiped out a century ago.”
Saita laughed and shook her head. “Even now, Kay’s actions haunt me. God damn it. What do we do?”
“We stay out of their way.” Said Red-Eye. “We don’t fight them head-on. They can do as I did.”
“Aren’t they also dependent on Kay’s power? Shouldn’t they be…”
“Saita, they aren’t Kay’s pack.” Red-Eye dropped to all fours to pace nervously. “She took control of a lot of us during her first reign, but she was insane. Her mind was warped by the time trapped in her prison. The control module was damaged when I fought her as a Champion. It was difficult for the cage to both keep her trapped and assign all the Wolven to her. There were packs that were still aligned to the Dragon before her.”
The control module. Saita had read through the notes that Sellious had left long after Kay had died. She remembered that there was supposed to be another piece of the system added along with the section that wrapped along her spine. The module was supposed to make the Champion more compliant with the orders of its handlers.
Kay had been a leashed Champion, where Saita had not been. In the end, Shareik had advised the Dekai doctors to not add it to her body when she had agreed to have the final piece added. The warmth of fury started in her belly when she thought about Sellious.
“I knew it!” exclaimed a voice.
Saita snapped her head to the side as soon as the voice had spoken. Living life up in the mountains had made the skills she had worked so hard on in her youth dull. She hadn’t even tried to look around the room yet or gauge where they were. She had grown too accustomed to being alone and having the power to ward off most unpleasantries.
Red-Eye rounded on the person, pouncing and snapping his jaw mere inches from the intruder’s face.
“Saita!”
For those of you who have never heard of Fell Dragon you can find Book 1 here, Book 2 here, Book 3 here, and Book 4 here, Book 5 here, Book 6 here, Book 7 here, and Book 8 here
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. I love discussing my books!
As the series continues, it will combine with another book series I wrote. To avoid confusion about what is happening, introductory chapters will be introduced separately so that you don't have to be lost. However, these chapters will contain spoilers. You can find these chapters here:
Races Explained
Banishment
Royal Guard
Saasha’s Direct Family
Saith Characters Recap
Human Characters Recap
Alternate Timeline Brucel
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Part 14>>You are Here>>Part 16
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