Chapter 8: Lies and Landslides

As the day gave way to the evening, Bruno and Ebony cautiously made their way through the forest. They hadn't seen Marco all afternoon, since Diego had gathered them together. Nita had returned a while ago, but Marco had yet to make his reappearance. In a pack, that normally meant they weren't coming home.

And while they were now in the herd, old fears die hard. They decided to search for him.

"Anything?" Ebony asked, eyes scanning the trees.

"Nothing." Bruno replied.

Worried, Ebony thought about suggesting they travel to another part of the island, when Bruno became still.

"Wait." He whispered excitedly. "I've got tracks!"

Creeping over, Ebony examined the markings left in the mud, and sighed in relief. The paw prints belonged to her brother. She'd recognise them anywhere.

As they followed the tracks, Ebony realised they were getting closer to the ocean. She could smell the sea salt on the air.

"Bruno! Ebony!" A voice called. "Get out of here!"

Turning, Ebony saw her brother imprisoned within the tangled roots of a tree.

"Marco?" Cautiously, she and Bruno approached, listening for the sounds of anyone watching.

"What happened?" She asked her brother, noticing the claw marks on his back.

"Get back to the herd." Marco whispered fiercely. "You have to warn them."

"Of what, buddy?" Bruno asked as he examined the cage, trying to find a weak point.

"Kyron's here."

A snarl grew at the back of Ebony's throat.

"Well, that answers the question of how you got in the tree." Bruno said drily.

"What does he want?" Ebony hissed.

"What he's always wanted: To be leader of the pack." Marco looked pointedly at his sister. "This time he's getting Nita to help him do it."

"Nita?" Bruno's eyes widened.

"And she doesn't even know it." Marco confirmed. "You have to get back and-"

Whoomph!

Bruno found himself flat on his back, glaring into the eyes of Chitza, while Ebony had Kyron's paws pushing her into the ground.

"Quite a family reunion isn't it?" Chitza smiled at the disgust on Bruno's face.

"Ebony." Kryon smiled. "Last I saw you, you were floating on an ice burg. I'm so glad you made it here safely."

Ebony snarled fiercely, struggling to free herself.

"Let her go, Kyron!" Marco yelled, charging at the walls of his cell, trying to break free.

"Last I saw you," Ebony growled. "You pushed me."

"Well, it was either the ice burg, or my teeth." Kyron explained mildly. "And given the tidal wave, I thought the ice burg was the logical option."

"You used me!" Ebony yelled.

"Are you still holding a grudge about that? I use everybody." Kyron's voice was nonchalant. "If you don't do what I need you to, there's no point in keeping you."

"You hear that, Chitza?" Bruno smirked into his captor's face. "Kyron will even leave you for dead if you don't do what he says. What kind of mate would do that, huh?"

Chitza simply pressed harder on Bruno's throat.

In one swift movement, Ebony managed to get out from under Kyron. Distracted, Chitza lessoned her grip on Bruno, allowing him space to push her away.

Kyron pounced, but only grabbed air. Ebony jumped, pushing off the wall of Marco's cell to leap over the group. Landing nimbly, Ebony raced into the forest.

"Run Ebony!" Marco yelled.

Bruno tried to follow, but was taken down by both Kyron and Chitza.

"Get the girl!" Kyron roared. Chitza plunged into the trees. Kyron knocked Bruno unconscious before following his mate.

Heart pounding, Ebony raced for the herd clearing. She knew that if she could just reach the herd, she would be safe. There was no way that Kyron and Chitza could take on three mammoths and nine sabres on their own.

Kyron and Chitza were following, but their quarry had got a decent head start.

All too soon, they began to get closer to the herd clearing, and while Ebony pushed herself harder, Kyron signalled to Chitza to slow down.

"Why are we stopping?" Chitza demanded. "We could've reached her!"

"Not before she had got close enough for the herd to hear." Kyron answered through gritted teeth. "We have no chance defeating the sabres on their home ground."

"But Ebony will tell them everything!"

"Exactly." Kyron said bluntly. "All that means is that our plan will have to be put in motion earlier than we thought."

~..~..~..~

The herd were relaxing around Sid's latest bonfire when Ebony burst into the clearing like she was running for her life.

"Ebony!" Ellie exclaimed in concern. "What happened?"

Ebony looked fearfully over her shoulder for a moment, before sighing with relief. "They didn't follow me."

"Who?" Diego asked.

"Marco and Bruno have been captured." She panted.

"What?" Carmen asked in shock.

"Kyron and his mate, Chitza." Ebony continued. "They've captured Bruno and Marco."

"Are these the new sabres that Nita met?" Diego asked.

All eyes turned to Nita, who appeared to be frozen.

"I-I met Kyron earlier" she admitted. "But I've never met Chitza."

"Kyron is second in command of our pack," Ebony told her. "He manipulates others to do his dirty work while he hides behind lies and pretty words."

Nita frowned. "Chitza may have captured Bruno and Marco, but not Kyron. He's never tried to hurt me."

"That's what he does!" Ebony argued. "He pretends he's your friend, that he sees potential in you, then once you've done what he wants, he gets rid of you!"

"Guys!" Carmen yelled, calling a halt to the argument. "We need to help Marco and Bruno."

"She's right." Shira said firmly. "We have to help our herd first."

"Let's just go break them out now." Jasper suggested, ready to go. "They can't take on all of us at once."

"They'll be expecting it." Ebony shook her head. "And they'll probably kill them if we all go now. We'll have to be discreet with this if we're going to get them out alive."

While the herd began discussing different strategies, no one noticed Nita sneak off.

~..~..~..~

Bruno woke up feeling like a herd of mammoths were dancing inside his skull.

"Welcome back, buddy."

Moaning in protest of his pounding head, he struggled to open his eyes, Bruno saw his best friend sitting opposite him.

"What happened?" Bruno asked, rubbing his head.

"Ebony escaped." Marco summed up with relief. "Problem is, Kyron and Chitza are planning on taking out Diego and Shira tomorrow."

"Well, at least Ebony can give everyone a heads up." Bruno tried to stay optimistic, despite being held prisoner in a tree. "Poor Nita, she's gonna feel terrible about this."

He frowned when he saw the smile on Marco's face.

"What?"

"Nothing" Marco's voice was innocent, before his eyes became downcast.

"Quite a family reunion, wasn't it?" Marco asked drily.

Bruno laughed humourlessly. "Oh, yeah." He agreed. "Auntie Chitza still has a heck of a tackle."

~..~..~..~

Kyron was taking the first watch while Chitza was sleeping, keeping an eye out for anyone approaching.

As the evening darkened, he saw a movement ahead.

"Kyron?" A voice called.

A chuckle escaped his lips as he realised who it was.

"Nita." He purred in greeting. "What brings you here at this time of night?"

Nita emerged cautiously from the trees. The black sabre's coat was so camouflaged against the night, if it weren't for the three quarter moon, she wouldn't be able to see him.

"Where are Bruno and Marco?" She demanded.

"You're getting to the point, now, aren't you?" He laughed.

The small sabre's eyes widened. "So, you really do have them prisoner?"

Kyron's smile became wider. "Well, it would be nice to have a bit of leverage against your herd." He answered calmly.

Nita's heart began to pound as she finally realised how much trouble she was in. Why had she come here alone?

"You lied to me." She mumbled in shock.

"No I didn't." Kyron chuckled. "All I did was ask questions. You're the one who told me everything about your herd. Thank you."

It was like Nita's brain had shut down. She had treated Kyron just as she'd treated Marco, trying to welcome him to the Island. How could she be so stupid?

"I guess that's what comes from being part of a herd, not a pack." Kyron said thoughtfully as he crept closer. "You're so... trusting."

"What are you going to do?" Nita asked numbly.

Kyron smiled. "Divide and conquer. Care to help?"

"No way." Nita spat.

"No matter." Kyron's smile never left his face. "You already have."

He lashed out.

~..~..~..~

Nita woke up, skull pounding, and realised that she was in the same tree root prison cell as Marco and Bruno.

"Hey Nita." Bruno said as he helped her to her feet. "Welcome to the party."

"How did I get in here?" Nita asked, looking around the small prison.

"We're not quite sure, actually." Bruno admitted. "We were all either asleep or unconscious whenever Kyron dumped us in here. We couldn't see how he opened this thing."

"What were you thinking, coming here on your own?" Marco asked.

Nita shook her head, wincing as pain throbbed through her skull. "I have no idea, to be honest." She admitted. "Ebony arrived at the herd clearing, saying that you guys had been captured. And while I was worried about you, I couldn't believe that Kyron had done it."

" Believe it, Kitten." Bruno muttered.

"So, I guess I came to find out the truth." Nita finished weakly.

"Well, you found it." Marco said.

Nita hung her head. Her whole herd was in danger, because she'd been so open to a complete stranger.

"I can't believe he took advantage of me like that." She whispered.

"Welcome to pack life." Marco snarled. "Is it as exciting as you hoped it would be?"

Nita began to shake. Breathing hard, she tried to calm down.

Marco's expression softened. "You're letting him control you, but you do have a choice, Nita." He said earnestly. "You always have a choice, your herd taught me that."

'You're letting him control you'.

That comment sparked a memory for Nita. When she was younger, of her first few trips to The Rock as a young cub and she was teased repeatedly. She'd often end up running away, the laughter of the other members following her. One day, she'd left and found escape in a tree, where Peaches had found her.

"Don't pay attention to those idiots, Nita." She said soothingly.

"Why are they so mean to me?" Nita asked tearfully. "It can't be just my size. Luis is small, and they don't tease him."

"They used to." Peaches smiled. "But, they still don't realise how often it's the little guys who have the biggest hearts."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, Luis saved my life once." Peaches put forward gently.

Nita looked at her cousin in surprise. "Really?"

Peaches nodded. "When we ran into that band of pirates a few years ago, Captain Gutt captured me to use against my dad."

"Are these the same pirates that my mum used to sail with?" Nita asked.

Peaches nodded. "Luis stood up and told Gutt to let me go. He had always been scared of danger, always playing it safe. But he stood up to all those pirates to protect me."

"All the pirates laughed at him." Peaches continued. "Even some of the herd couldn't believe that he could do anything. The pirates threw him a dagger to use, but Luis couldn't swing it. He'd never used a weapon before. Al l the pirates laughed at him."

"So, how did he save you, then?" Nita asked, curious.

"He's a mole-hog," Peaches smiled. "He did what mole-hogs do best. He dug under the ice and tunnelled underneath everybody, leaping up from under Gutt, Luis smashed his foot with a chunk of ice, making him let me go."

Nita was impressed.

"My point," Peaches added. "Is that even though the pirates were laughing, and the herd didn't believe he could do anything, Louis did what he did because it was the right thing to do. And he did it his way."

"I've learnt that some people say things to you to force a certain reaction." Peaches admitted. "So if you react the way they expect you to..."

"You're letting them control you." Nita realised.

Peaches nodded. "And do sabres let others control them?"

Nita proudly shook her head. "No way."

Nita could feel herself relax, and eventually her shaking stopped.

She had an idea...

~..~..~..~

"Kyron?"

The black sabre turned to see the tiny sabre gazing hopelessly at him through her tree root prison cell.

"Yes, Kitten?"

Nita took a steadying breath. "All you want is for my mum and dad to be defeated, right? You don't actually want to kill them, you just don't want them to challenge you?"

"Of course." Kyron lied smoothly.

"Nita, he's lying." Bruno told her. "He will kill them."

"Now, Bruno." Kyron stepped closer to the prison to observe his nephew. "You know I'm a sabre of my word."

A growl was the only answer that he received.

"But my sister." Nita continued. "My brother. Sasha, Kane and Zane. None of them are going to be hurt right? Or any of the rest of the herd?"

"I promise not to touch them." Kyron said. After all, if he was going to be pack leader, he'd need a pack to lead. "If you promise to help me."

Nita nodded dejectedly. "Alright." She said. "I'll help you."

"What?" Marco exclaimed in shock.

"What happened to 'herds look out for each other?" Bruno asked incredulously.

"I am looking out for my herd." Nita said firmly. "If it means getting their lives spared, I'll take it."

"Such loyalty." Kyron mocked as he carefully let the little sabre out of the cell. "Your family and your desire to prove yourself were your greatest weaknesses, Nita."

As Kyron turned away, he suddenly felt something slam into him from behind, pinning him to the ground.

He looked up to see Nita, her claws digging into his throat.

"You know what your greatest weakness is, Kyron?" Nita hissed.

"Do tell." Kyron, while surprised, appeared unfazed. He knew this tiny sabre couldn't overpower him.

"You're arrogance." Nita answered coolly as both Marco and Bruno attacked, knocking Kyron unconscious.

Together, they dragged him over to the prison and left him inside.

"Okay, let's go!" Nita ordered. "We still have Chitza to worry about."

They ran through the forest as fast as possible. Thankfully though, it seemed that Chitza hadn't heard them leave.

As they approached the herd clearing, they could hear the worried voices of the herd.

'Guess they've figured out I've gone.' Nita thought, and she began to slow down.

"Nita, what are you doing?" Bruno asked as she came to a stop.

Guilt filled Nita up faster than the ocean filling a sea shell. She had told Kyron everything about her herd, given him all the things he needed.

She had betrayed her family.

True, she hadn't realised it. At the time, she thought she was just being friendly. But it didn't change the fact that she'd done it, regardless.

"I'm sorry." Nita whispered. "I can't."

"Can't what?" Marco asked, puzzled.

"I've betrayed my family, Marco." Nita's voice was faint. "That's what a pack does, right? You said so yourself." She hung her head in shame. "How can I face them now?"

"Nita, from what I've seen, your family will totally forgive you for this." Bruno assured her.

"You were never brought up in a pack." Marco added. "You couldn't have known what Kyron would do."

But Nita shook her head. She couldn't stand herself right now. So how could her family?

Turning, she ran away in another direction.

"Nita!" Marco called. "Come back!"

"Marco!"

Ebony and Carmen burst through the trees, followed by the rest of the herd.

"Oh, you're alright." Ebony hugged her brother and Bruno in relief.

"Where's Nita?" Diego demanded.

Bruno gestured in the direction Nita had run. "She went that way." He reported.

"She felt guilty because she had told Kyron about the herd." Marco added. "She's afraid you won't forgive her."

"That's ridiculous!" Peaches said.

"Listen, Kyron's gonna attack the herd tomorrow." Marco said. "He's gonna try and take out Diego and Shira, and start a new pack."

"Over our dead bodies." Jasper growled.

"That may be the case." Bruno muttered.

"Okay, look." Manny said. "If they're attacking tomorrow, we've got tonight to make a plan. Together, we'll be able to get rid of these two."

"I'll go get Nita." Carmen stated. "She's probably feeling terrible, but she's not safe being out here on her own right now."

"Alright, but come straight back, you understand?" Shira impressed on her daughter.

Carmen nodded and moved off, following her sister.

~..~..~..~

Chitza's sleep was interrupted by claws ripping at her ears.

Jumping up, snarling in pain, she reflexively lashed out, creating distance.

It was Kyron. And he looked livid.

"We have work to do." He growled. "Follow me."

They ran through the forest, along the trail that Nita had taken Kyron along earlier that day, toward the herd clearing. Kyron never said a word, and Chitza knew her mate well enough not to ask.

After a while, they came across the pile of boulders, rock and rubble that they had piled up after locking Marco away. Chitza still didn't know what it was for, but the determined look on her mate's face told her that she was about to find out.

Kyron climbed atop the highest boulder, his keen eyes able to cut through the darkness easily to scan the hillside below.

A cool smile spread across his face.

"Perfect." He whispered.

~..~..~..~

Nita lay down under a tree, not bothering to climb up. How could she face her family, knowing that she had betrayed them? Marco had told her about pack life, and how tough it was, but she hadn't listened, treating Kyron just like another straggler to the Island.

"Nita?"

Nita looked up to see her sister picking her way towards her.

"Hey Carmen." Nita replied glumly.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Carmen came forward and gave her a hug.

"Did Marco and Bruno tell you what happened?" Nita asked.

"Manny, mum and dad are coming up with a plan as we speak." Her sister answered. "But I had to come see if you were alright. Why did you leave?"

"I just betrayed my family, Carmen!" Nita stated the obvious.

"And what, you thought we'd disown you?" Carmen asked.

"I doubt anyone is going to forgive me for this." Nita said shamefully,

"You tried to welcome a newcomer and he took advantage of that." Carmen told her sister firmly. "You couldn't have known."

Nita avoided her sister's gaze, still guilty.

"Come on." Carmen backed up and ran ahead a short distance. "The others are waiting for us." She told her. "Mum and dad are worried sick." She added.

Nita sighed, realising that she had to face her herd at some point. "All right," she steeled herself.

But as Nita began to move, a rumble was felt, and then heard, rippling through the forest and making the ground beneath their feet tremble.

Nita and Carmen both froze, ears and eyes searching for the source of the sound.

The rumbling grew to a thunderous roar, and Nita turned her head towards the sound, eyes widening in fear.

Trees, rocks and boulders tumbled down the side of the hill above their heads, gathering speed and debris as the landslide carved a path down the slope.

"Run!" Nita screamed, turning and sprinting into the forest. But she was only able to make it a short way back into the cover of the trees before she was shaken to a stop as the landslide levelled out on the forest floor.

Coughing dust, Nita scrambled to her feet, trying to make something out from the cloud of dirt rising around her. Turning back the way she came, Nita squinted through the veil of dust, searching for her sister.

"Carmen!"

Only silence. Not even a breeze answered her cry.

"Carmen! Where are you?"

As the dust began to settle, Nita's eyes widened in shock as the mountain of rock, trees and rubble loomed before her out of the haze.

Gazing up the hill side, Nita saw the huge, raw wound in the rock that the landslide had left in its wake.

But where was Carmen?

Terror gripped her heart as she jerked her gaze back to the small mountain of rocks in front of her.

Oh, no.

"CARMEN!" Nita screamed.

Author's note: Okay guys, calm down! Please not hate mail for leaving you on a cliff-hanger! Now, as you can imagine, my next couple of chapters will be about the 'herd vs pack' battle so it may take me while to update, especially as I have to think of a way to free Carmen from the rockslide (come on, did you really think I'd kill her?) Please review!