Chapter 5
THE PIERCING HOWLS of the wolves replaced the hooting of an owl, ripping me from sleep. The shadow wolf was making its move at last.
I sprang up and stared into the forest depths. The howls sounded far away, from the direction of the original camp. Smoke was rising into the air, glowing an angry red. They had started a fire, either with the lightning wolves’ abilities or maybe a fire-breathing kind I didn’t know about.
“What are they after?”
The howling was interspersed with shrill screams. The shadow wolf was directing its pack to attack the children. Maybe I was wrong about it targeting me, and it had been observing me merely to ensure I wouldn’t hinder its raid on the other camp. I felt a small spark of relief right before I noticed the children’s screams were gradually coming closer.
“Wait...is it trying to use the other kids to take out the traps around our camp?”
The reason the wolves hadn’t set this place on fire was to avoid it interfering with the shadow wolf’s abilities. It wasn’t long until the children came to our wall of traps, driven out by the wolves and the flames. Their presence set off clapper after clapper. I saw a large tail raise lazily from the corner of my panicked vision. Her golden eyes opened slowly, filled with a drowsy rage.
“They’re dead.”
The next moment, an oppressive essence filled the air. I guess that was how strongly she felt about her sleep being interrupted.
“They’re—”
She kicked off the ground with all her might. I tried to tell her that our attackers were wolves, not children, but she had the velocity of a cannonball, and there was no way she could hear me with how fast she moved.
A few seconds later, I heard beasts yelping, and I realized I had worried for nothing. It did unsettle me to be without my most reliable fighting partner, though.
I pulled some wood from the dying fire and used it to light a makeshift torch I had prepared. It was a simple way to counter the shadow wolf. As powerful as its attacks were, it was easy to defend against. I hung an awl onto the hook I had sewn inside my clothing and got ready to intercept the raid.
I wasn’t looking to burn down the whole forest, but I should be able to get away with lighting all the points I had prepared within the camp. That would rid the shadow wolf of any place to hide. I had also stretched as many wires as I could through the camp’s center. The dragon girl had torn through a few of them, but most of them were still up.
More growls.
“Here they come... What?!”
My preparations perfected, I was lying in wait for the wolves when four of them—wind types—came leaping into the camp. They were a threat, all right, but what caught me off guard was that they each held something in their jaws. Not people, that wouldn’t have scared me like this.
I swung my knife at them, but they ignored my strikes and tossed the items in their mouths into the camp. They landed right in front of me and my torch with a thud. The objects—the salmon—hit their heads on the ground before regaining consciousness. After flailing around for a bit, they suddenly started spraying water everywhere. The wolves hadn’t brought water, but creatures capable of shooting water. They were here to put out the fires and take away my light!
“They’re way too smart!” I spat. Their scheme was so sly and crafty that I was inclined to think they were being directed by a human disguised under a wolf pelt.
The torches couldn’t hold up against the flooding and lost their light. Darkness started to encroach on the camp. Thanks to my knife, they were down two wind wolves. The survivors vanished into the forest without taking their revenge.