Chapter 12 Jay: No pressure--Okay, a little bit of pressure

Chapter 12 Jay; No pressure--okay, a little bit of pressure.

Okay.  I look across the valley. The light is quickly growing dimmer, but my wolf vision sees just fine. If we keep on going straight, we should meet a river. We can either---Good grief! Whats burning?

I whirl around and sniff the air. The smell of smoke sends my hackles rising. I race down the slope back towards where I had left Ylvana and Pine to rest.

At camp, Ylvana is in human form, sitting in front of a fire with what looks like a rabbit she had caught roasting on a spit. Pine is curled up against the warmth of the fire. I'm glad they're safe, but the light of this fire stands out in the evening light, and the smell of smoke is extremely obvious. 

"Guy's, I really don't think lighting a fire is a good idea," I say.

Ylvana looks up at me. Her blond hair glows slightly red in the firelight.

"What am I suppose to do? Eat the rabbit raw?" she says.

"Well, yeah. That's exactly what you're suppose to do. This fire can be seen from all around. It's really not safe," I say.

"I'm being careful," Ylvana stands up, and walks over to a pile of branches and breaks one over her knee. "A lot of the wood is wet, so it's a little smokey. But the fire is small." She leans the sticks against the other's in the fire. "Plus, the canopy breaks up the smoke. I've kept my eye on it, so I won't start a forest fire. I won't let the it go all night. When rabbit is roasted. I'll put the it out, and no one will know we were here."

I follow the trail of grey smoke with my eyes. Ylvana does know what she is doing. But still, lighting a fire is basically putting up a huge sign saying 'Here I am! Want a s'more?' If my father and his men are anywhere nearby . . .

"What are you doing?" Luna screeches. She lands in front of Ylvana with her feather's puffed up.

"Relax, I've got this all under control," Ana says calmly.

"Put the fire out right now, young lady! Before someone see's it," Luna snaps. 

Ana wants to argue, but there is no arguing with this feisty owl.  "Fine."

Oh sure, I say something--she ignores me. But when Luna says something . . .

She takes the roasted rabbit off the spit, then kicks a bunch of dirt over the fire to put it out. I am thankful Luna has shown up when she did. I really don't want to have to meet my father or any one his men. Dispite being in this dangerous wilderness, I like the time alone.

Ylvana sits down cross-legged, and begins picking pieces of meat off the rabbit.

"So, you've never eaten raw meat?" I sit on my haunches across from her.

She pulls her silver cloak tighter around her shoulder's for warmth. "The idea of parasites kind of freak me out. I'd rather have cooked meat."

"Well, I've been eating raw meat for years, and I'm parasite free."

She shrugs. "You're a wolf, I'm a human. Human's aren't immune to the same thing's wolves are."

Man, this is frustrating! If only she knew. If only I could tell her about her true strengths without revealing the fact I am a shifter too. When I watched her escape from my father, it seemed like she could easily harness her wolf powers. Now I understand her humanness is infringing on her wolf instincts. Back home in the Sutherlands, I spent any day I could get away from my father as I wolf. I taught myself how to hunt and live in the wild. Ana didn't have the same privilege as I did to learn her own strengths.

Suddenly, Ylvana goes stiff. Her eyes dilate and focus on the violet sky. I lift my head up and sniff the air. Of course: the Fenrir Warriors were closing in. 

Ylvana shifts back into wolf, and we start running. Her blue eyes are wide. I have only seen that expression when she had faced my father. Her fear for the Fenrir Warriors is deeper than I can imagine. I can't t tell if I feel pity or guilt for that.

I spot a hollowed log, and steer the group into it. Ana and Pine crawl as far back as they can and cower in the darkness. I peak out the opening of the log.

All around I hear the raspy call of Crow's. Warrior's on the back of Pegai slowly soar over the trees, scanning for us. They know we are here.

Ylvana is trapped. I can call the Warriors over and bring her in. But then I think about how terrified she is, and how she's trying so hard to hide it. What am I thinking? Helping her would be an act of treason. If I am not hung, I'd be banished for such a crime.

"You two wait here. I'll distract them. When they leave, keep going straight and don't stop 'till you see the river. I'll meet you there," I say.

"They could kill you," Ylvana says. Her blue eyes are hard, but I can hear the hint of worry in her words.  She is worried over me. My stomach seems to tie itself a not.

"Thanks for reminding me," I smile bitterly.

"Just be careful," she snaps.

I nod, and dash out of the log.

The Warrior's pegai land in a circle around me, cutting off all possible escapes. I hope my people recognize me, but at the same time, they seemed to hate me more in wolf form. 

Luckily, Bjarke is among them. He dismounts is steed, and smiles at me. 

"Well, look at this boys! It seems the wolves have pulled a trick on us. We were chasing the Princess, and instead we found the Prince. Good to see you still kicking, Jay!" 

I look around the forest one last time to make sure Ylvana isn't anywhere near. I shift, and shake Bjarke's hand.

"Everything's been going well," I tell him.

Bjarke smiles. "I see you've met the princess. She hadn't escaped from you just now, has she?"

"Oh no," I explain. "She doesn't suspect a thing. I told her I'd hold you guys off as she ran to the river."

Some of the men snicker. 

Bjarke grins. "Guess she's not as smart as we originally thought."

I feel suddenly defensive. "She is really smart. I'm just better at lying. She's completely ignorant of her powers."

Bjarke rubs his beard. "Good, good. Best stay that way. You're father has started sending out search parties for the runestones. It'll be a lot easier if we don't have to worry about her." Bjarke looks down at my waist. "Use that knife, yet?"

I reach down and touch the hilt of the blade. "Uh, no." I lump forms in my throat. "But I will."

Bjarke's smile seems to waver. "Jay, I can't help but notice you seem a little off. Are you sure everything's going okay?"

"Just nervous about my first mission, I guess."

If there is a person who can take the place of my father, it is Bjarke. At first, he had simply been my fighting teacher. But over the years we've bonded. I can add him to the short list of people who looked pass the wolf side of me. He became like a second father to me, always there when my real father couldn't; which was more often than not.

"I know how you feel about this business. Doing the right thing isn't always easy. But you're a smart boy, I know you can do this." Bjarke's turns and mounts his Pegasus.

But how am I suppose to know what the right thing is?  I want to ask him, but I can't in the presence of the other warriors. They would either laugh, or call me a traitor.

After saying goodbye, Bjarke's and the other warriors take off.

I shift back into a black wolf, and slowly walk towards the river. 

If I had been conflicted when I started this mission, I was even more conflicted now. I have always felt torn between my own desires and my father's wishes. Now, my time with Ylvana has made it worse. It is no longer a question of whether or not I am a traitor, but if I am a traitor to myself or my people.

I reach the river too soon. Ylvana, Pine, and Luna were waiting for me.

"You really are a bird-brained idiot," Ana storms at me. Not exactly the welcome I expected.

"I got rid of them didn't I?" 

"You could've been killed! Then we'd be stuck out here without a guide!"

"Oh, you were worried about your guide. For a second there I thought you were actually concerned with my personal safety."

"Well," Ana looks caught off guard. "I sort of was."

I smirk. "You like me, come on! You were worried over me!"

She rolls her eyes. "You keep telling yourself that, Bird-Brain."

"So how did you get rid of the Crow's?" Pine asks.

"I just led them on a chase. They saw I wasn't a white wolf, got bored, and went back. We're safe now, they won't come after us."

I was use to lying. I had to lie all the time to my father; and my father was a difficult person to fool. This was the first time a lie felt heavy in my mouth.

"Remember you said that once already," Ana grumbled.

"And this time I mean it," I smile. "We'll be able to sleep in peace."

Ana shifts into human form and takes off her silver cloak. Then, she turns back into a wolf, and tosses the cloak over her back.

"Not with the way the temperature is dropping. If only I could light a fire--"

"No!" Luna and Pine both shout at once.

"I'm kidding!" Ylvana smiles. She curls up into a tight ball in the sands of the river bank with her cloak covering her. "But it is cold," she shivers.

The light grey cloaked almost matched Ylvana's fur perfectly. I walk over to her and curl up into a ball against her. She lifts he head and gives me an odd look.

"Who gave you permission to lay besides me?"

"I'm sorry. Can I sleep here?"

"No," she says.

My ears droop. "Do you want to be warm or not? Pine, can you come over here and possible make this less awkward?"

"That's what I'm here for!" the red fox says, trotting over. He curls up between Ana and I.

"Is this better?" I ask Ana.

"Better than freezing to death, I guess. Are you okay, Luna?" she calls.

"Oh, yes. I'm good up in the tree's. Have a good night!" Luna replies from somewhere I can't really pinpoint.

We start to go to sleep, when a blast of icy wind hits us.

"Hey, Ana? Do you think you're cloak is big enough to share?' I ask.

"Yeah, please!" Pine adds.

Ylvana sighs sleepily. "Go ahead, as long as you leave some for me."

I grab Ana's silver cloak and pull it over my back, covering Pine in the process. I am surprised how warm it really is. The cloak protects me from the cold, but nothing can save me for what awakes in my sleep. 

I'm dressed in full black, leather armor. I had a sword in one hand. The helmet I wore was not as heavy-duty and elegant as the Crow's Helm, but it was enough to protect me. I was 14, and such a good fighter by then, I barely needed protection. 

Besides me, Galen and Christian had the same armor and weapons. It was customary for young trainee's like us to join in a small battle before our final test. 

My mind was blank. At that young age, I had already learned to lower my head and accept my fate. But my heart still weighed heavy with my task. 

Bjarke led our group. Whenever he glanced at me, he had a gloomy expression. He was the only one who seemed to know the toll fighting was taking on me. 

"Surround the cabins, I want no one escaping!" he yells at his men. When I was young, his authoritative voice was so scary to me. 

I glance back at my friends, all with far-away looks in their eyes. We were all scared; we had never been in a real battle before. But it wasn't the cuts or bruises we were scared of. That day was a turning point for all of us. It was the end of my childhood.

The roofs of the log buildings peaked over the wooden fence. We were far south of Sølvefalske village. Bjarke had calculated we had a solid thirty minutes before Wolf reinforcements would arrive. Thirty minutes to destroy as much as we could. 

"Charge!" Bjarke shouted. My feet automatically started moving. My wolf abilities allowed me to jump the fence n one fluid motion. The other Warrior's shifted into Crow's, and flew over the fence. When they reached the other side, they shifted back into warriors, and charged the Warrior's camp.

By the time the Warrior's realized they were being attacked, we were already in the clearing. his was a their fort; where they stocked up on resources and weapons. Though caught by surprise, it doesn't take the Wolves long to jump into action. 

A Warrior lunges at me with. His white armor was blinding. I maneuver around his swing, and smack him in the face with the hilt of my sword. I wished I could have brought a dagger instead, but my Father insisted I bring a sword. 

I ran passed him, but stop when I hear a sudden shout. I had knocked the man unconscious hard enough that he should have stayed down a while. 

I turn around and see one of my Father's warriors standing over the man. His sword was through the Wolf's white armor. 

He glares up at me. "You ought to learn to do thing's right and finish the job, boy!"

I shiver and run on. None of the warriors believed I would do well in this attack. Most of them wanted to leave me behind. The only reason I was here was Bjarke and my father. 

The point wasn't to kill everyone--it was to take their weapons. That was the plan I was sticking with. Some of my father's men took a little too much joy in killing. 

More Wolves come at me, and I doge them easily. There were no girls in this camp. The Wolves didn't share our idea that women are just as good of fighter's as men are. 

I reach the storage cabin for weapons. Some Warrior's were inside grabbing the weapons, while the rest surrounded the cabin, keeping the Wolves at bay. I joined in next to Christopher. His brown eye's were focused and determined as he fought.  

Out of nowhere, a huge white wolf knocks me over. I hold my blade between it's teeth to keep it from biting me. It lets out a yelp, and goes stiff. Christopher had stabbing it through it's lung cage. I push the body off of me, and get up. 

The other Warrior's burst out of the cabin with bags full of weapons.

"Retreat!" Bjarke orders. I run with the group towards the fence. 

A blade slicing through my path. I have to duck to avoid it. I spin around, ready to fight, and find myself staring into the brown eyes of a boy not much older than I was. He had light hair, and a freckled face. His white armor didn't fit him properly, and he held his sword all wrong. He looked scared, but that didn't stop him from picking a fight with me. 

I tried to back away, but he kept coming at me. I easily blocked his sword. His movement's became more desperate; his slashes more wild. I tried to knock him out, but he dodged my blow. 

Suddenly, he was on my side. He was about to plunge his sword through a kink in my armor. If aimed right, he could easily kill me. I couldn't reach to block him, or slam him with the hilt of my sword. There was only enough time for me to do one thing. 

I flipped my blade and jammed it through his chest plate. The metal was designed to protect you from the slashed of swords. But if a sword had enough power and the right aim, it could slice through it like paper. 

The boy's body goes stiff. He coughs; a horrible, wet sound. I pull my blade back; it was soaked in blood. The boy falls onto his knees, then onto his back. He turns his head towards me. His brown eyes are unfocused, but I know he see's me. He lets out one final breath, and died. 

I jolt awake. Ylvana and Pine are still sleeping besides me. It is the dead of night, and freezing. But that wasn't the reason why I was shaking.