Chapter 6
"Old mother Hubbard went to the cupboard…" Srilocke was still muttering. Sdry'tx looked over at the slavering Hispo.
"Shut up." He barked. Srilocke looked up at him, a hideous grin spreading across his muzzle. A thin trail of drool began to run from his mouth. Sdry'tx knew that the Theurge was totally insane, and that children's nursery rhymes were the only thing that would keep him relatively calm. Of course, he needed to be quiet, and he definitely didn't need to be calm. Tyrnor was in Crinos, the mute's favorite form. His arms were folded across his chest as they watched the scene below. Sdry'tx gave out the call of the whippoorwill, and was answered by four identical calls. Everyone was in position. The idiots below were too wrapped up in what they were doing to notice.
Xasnk came up behind Sdry'tx and draped her arms around his neck. "We get to start now?"
"Very soon." He said, looking down at the scene below. What seemed to be the whole Sept of this caern was gathered around two fighting Garou. They were both large, black furred brutes, each wielding a klaive. One's was much larger than the others, and used it with much more expertise. The other fought with fury, almost desperation. It was an interesting fight, but one that wouldn't last much longer.
Sdry'tx shifted to Crinos, and pulled out his own large axe. He howled the Symphony of the Abyss and began the charge. His pack followed, Tyrnor, and Xasnk beside him, Srilocke at his heels, and it took a moment for Prihmn to remember what they were doing. He heard the other Black Spiral packs howling as well, all charging down into the Gaians caern. They had been sure to quietly kill anyone that had been on watch, so there was no way they could know of their presence before now.
The strike was fast. Sdry'tx and his pack were on them, before most knew what was going on. Howls erupted from all around them, as Garou changed, and Dancers attacked. Sdry'tx drove his talons through a werewolf's chest, splintering his ribs, and emerging from it's back. Sdry'tx didn't even slow down, as the wolf slid from his arm, he drove another one into the ground, his fangs clamped on it's skull. Sdry'tx kept running, driving through to the two Garou that had been fighting. He launched himself over the few Garou standing in his way, and landed on the smaller of the two.
The look in his face was priceless, as Sdry'tx grabbed his throat and tore. The blood ran down his chest, and he staggered back, choking up gouts of blood. Suddenly a cowardly blow from behind hit Sdry'tx, knocking him off his feet. Sdry'tx scrambled to his feet, and spun to face the other fighter, bearing down on him with his massive sword. He darted under the swing, spinning around behind the black wolf. The other proved to be good, and jumped forward before Sdry'tx could counter. He spun quickly, the sword aimed at Sdry'tx's precious head, which he barely managed to duck. Sdry'tx ran up under the sword's reach, and ran his claws into the other Garou's side. Before he could get a good grip on anything, his opponent hooked his paw underneath his leg, and slammed him on the head with his fist. Stars exploded in Sdry'tx's vision, as he fell to the ground. Through the haze he saw the large klaive coming down at him. He tried to scramble away, but the klaive connected with his chest. The wound was not as bad as it could have been, but it still hurt like hell.
Sdry'tx rolled out of the way of a second strike, and stumbled to his feet. His head was clearing, so he could focus better. He concentrated for a brief instant, and called upon his Father's protection. His skin grew tough, leathery, and black, and the next blow simply scraped off his hide. Sdry'tx grinned at his attacker, and called up another Gift. The other Garou dodged the gout of burning, bile Sdry'tx vomited at him, giving Sdry'tx the chance to disappear into the battle that was raging around them.
Then, the howl was given, signaling the raid was complete. He ran through all the defenders, back to the trees. He saw whatever Dancers that had made it out carried, or herded the kinfolk they had captured. Sdry'tx turned. He saw probably a dozen of his brethrens bodies littering the ground, and only four of the Gaians. Five of them stood in the front, watching the Dancers vanish into the woods quicker than they could pursue. Sdry'tx's opponent, two large white ones each bearing bloodied klaives, a deep gray brute, and a small brown wolf. Somehow, Sdry'tx knew he would see them again, as he looked into his foes eyes.
***
"Damn it!" Night Eye roared. He spun around fuming. "Someone tell me what the hell just happened?"
Aaron walked up, holding his left arm, blood running through his fingers, staining his white coat. "The Dancers retreated."
Night Eye glared at him for a moment, before finally hissing, "I noticed." He began to shout again. "Where the hell were the watchers?! Why the fuck didn't we know about them?!"
"They could have been killed before they were able to warn us." Aaron paused. "They took our kinfolk."
Night Eye looked around at the fallen Garou. "How many did we loose?"
"Almost all of them. They got Elsa too. No way to tell for sure exactly how many, and if they did kill our watchers, we lost probably twelve Garou."
"And Nikolai." Night Eye looked at the fallen Lord, his blood soaking the ground around him. Night Eye turned to the rest of the sept, "As of now, I claim leadership, as is my right. Any complaints, you can shove them up your ass, we are at war, you all know the litany. I want any capable Garou to come with me. We are going to get our kinfolk back." Night Eye stopped, and looked at Nikolai's two packmates, Alex Spine-Striker and Steven Dark-Seer. They both avoided his icy glare. "And you two." They both flinched. "You are now my personal bitches. You will either swear your loyalty to me now, or you had better not be here when I return."
***
The Black Spiral Dancers herded their stolen kin trough the rocky mountain paths toward their delivery point. Sdry'tx smiled, Asraszi would be pleased. Everything had gone well so far, and the stupid kin didn't make much of a fuss. Sure, the women cried, and the men tried to comfort them, while assuring they would try to protect them, but they all knew they were doomed. He looked over to Srilocke, who had found an amusement. The demented wolf carried a small child on his back, mush to the despair of the mother. Sdry'tx had tried to calm her, by telling her he would only eat the child when he got bored with it, but that didn't do much to stop the woman's hysterics. Srilocke seemed content, letting the young one ride on his back, while he trotted along, chanting his usual nursery rhymes.
Xasnk had also found a playmate. She walked with a boy, probably no more than fourteen, and had her hands all over him. She was literally draped on him, whispering in his ear, running her tongue along his neck, sliding her hands up his shirt. The boy did his best to ignore her, but it had to be a difficult task. All the other Dancers kept their hands off the captives, under Sdry'tx's direct orders, and Tyrnor, huge, silent, and menacing, kept both the kin and Dancers in line.
They soon drove the kin to a hidden Pentex facility, just two miles from their hive. The base was small, just three buildings, storage, a small lab, and a troop bunker. Sdry'tx ordered the kin to be placed within the warehouse while they waited for Asraszi to show up. It wasn't until they were almost inside that Sdry'tx noticed something was amiss. There was a pair of legs sticking out from behind some crates next to the building. He walked around them to find one of the Pentex goons, or what was left of him. The body looked like it had been eaten, and there should have been much more blood, considering the condition of the body. As Sdry'tx leaned closer to get a better look, the window on the warehouse above him shattered as an indistinct pale form burst through.
The thing slammed him to the ground, burying his face in the corpse he had been examining. Sdry'tx heard similar events happening to his Dancers, howls, screams, roars, and the sound of bodies hitting the ground. This was the first time Sdry'tx could remember being caught in an ambush, and he wasn't too happy. He rolled over and leapt to his feet, ready to face his assailant.