I don't own Warriors.
"Wolves?" Darkshadow asked. "You've been talking to wolves?"
"Yes," Sparkfur said, turning his head away from his brother. "Look, I'm going to hunt for a while. We'll talk later, okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Darkshadow replied.
Sparkfur sprinted away from his brother. He felt like the wolves were his business, not Darkshadow's or anyone else. He needed to find out about Secret. Even after she showed him what she was capable of, he felt drawn to her. The wolves would know where she was, if anyone did. Ranger would have told them.
"Freya?" he called out as he reached the Sunning Rocks.
"Back so soon?" she replied.
"Yes. I was just wondering if you knew anything about Secret. I wanted to know if she was safe…" he trailed of as Thor laughed, coming into view.
"If anyone's always going to be safe, it's Ranger and Secret."
Freya shoved Thor away. "Sparkfur," she said gently. "Ranger hasn't told us anything about her, though Gods be dead if he doesn't know. He and Secret have a close relationship, and if Secret asked him to tell you, you would know."
"Oh," Sparkfur said quietly.
Freya shared a long look with her mate, and Thor left. "It's dangerous to love someone like her."
"I don't love her," Sparkfur said quickly. "I just thought of her as a friend. And I wanted to make sure she was okay."
Freya closed her eyes in a moment. "Sparkfur, a blind tortoise could tell you love her. You wouldn't come back here to ask about a friend so quickly. You would wait a little, just to see if she spoke to you
"But she's a dangerous person to love. She might appear harmless, but it's time that you learned that things are never as they appear to be. Your sister, for instance."
"Silentwind?"
"No, Tanglestar. She received her nine lives today."
"Really?" Sparkfur asked feeling a bolt of lightning race through him. He had nearly forgotten about their plan.
"She isn't on your side, anymore, Sparkfur," Freya said gently. "Or, if she is then you aren't on ours."
"But our plan!" Sparkfur wailed. "I can't back out on her!"
"She agreed to help Anelmen fulfill a debt he is owed. She must kill two cats of Blackstar's kin."
"Ravenfang," Sparkfur moaned, his eyes glazing over in terror.
"And one of his mate's kits," Freya said quietly. "One of the kits in your sister's stomach."
"How could she?" Sparkfur said his eyes wide. "How could she?"
"She didn't know they were Silentwind's kits," Freya said. "But I doubt that her answer would have changed even if she did. She's gone to far to come back. She brought a kit back from the Land of No Return, as wolves call it."
"The what?"
"Land of No Return. Its kits that could have existed, but never did. She brought her daughter back, and Anelmen allowed her to." Freya's voice had changed from gentle to repulsive. "Those kits were meant to be there for a reason. Bringing them out changes many things. It changes the course of the future, and that throws the universe out of balance."
"You said it's her kit, but who would the father have been?"
Freya shrugged. "I don't know."
"How did you know about Tanglecl—star getting her lives?"
The white wolf sighed. "You saw me summon Shadowflame. You heard our mythology, and you still ask that question?"
"So you're…witches?" he asked slowly.
"Not witches, just, metaphysical." At Sparkfur's confused face, she elaborated. "We can't do anything like Ranger or Secret, but we can contact the dead, and speak with them. After we are finished grieving the loss of our dead ones, we rejoice. Death is not evil, and we contact those who have passed into it.
"We don't see limitations like you, so we aren't limited to the physical things. We ask for knowledge, and it is given to us. We don't limit ourselves to the ground, so we aren't bound to it."
"So you just ask for something and you get it?"
"Yes. It takes practice, more than many are willing to give. It used to be that every wolf was metaphysical, but now there is only a handful. Many are never given the option to learn, and by the time they find out its too late. They will never be able to learn."
"Could you teach me?"
Freya laughed. "You were raised with limitations. It might be too late. Wolf pups are never raised with limits, even if their parents aren't metaphysical. You were. Watch." She closed her eyes, her mouth shaping over silent words, and she began to rise. She only moved a few inches off the ground before her paws touched the floor again, but Sparkfur was gaping at her.
"I thought you weren't like Ranger or Secret."
"I not," Freya replied, resigning herself to explain again. "They cause everything with their mind, and I ask for the power to be given to me. It may not be given, but I ask."
"I get it. So will you try to teach me?" he asked. "Just try."
"We'll see if you can forget your limits," Freya agreed. "But for me to do that you'll have to come live here. If you only come every few days you won't be able to."
"I'll come," Sparkfur said eagerly. "I'll tell Darkshadow where I'm going, but I'll just disappear for the rest of the clan."
"What about Silentwind?" Freya reminded him.
"Will a few weeks be too late?" he asked, dejected.
"It might be already, but if you will be able to learn, a few weeks won't matter."
"I'll come back," Sparkfur promised. "Darkshadow and I will save Silentwind, and then I'll come and learn."
"Remember what I said," Freya called as he padded toward the entry. "Secret's a dangerous creature to love."