Chapter 2

Dull, erratic thuds echoed throughout the deserted valley, the sound grimly magnified tenfold as it reverberated off of ancient stone. Archaic and majestic, the rock was base to an enormous mountain, its precipitous heights adorned with enormous caps of silvered snow. Its round peak was misted over with dark bands of clouds which irregularly lit up with electric blue, and sharp juts of sleek obsidian thrust out into the night sky, casting shadows on the road below, minuscule in comparison with the towering stone giant.

Although it was dusty from traffic, obvious signs of the road's recent abandonment still marked its black pavement. On one side, where the ground inclined towards the dark summit, there was nary a scrap of plant matter growing on the smooth rock; on the other, trees gracefully dipped down the valley's distant slope, filled the dale with hard green waves, then crept back up the nearest side to distinctly stop where brittle grass met cracked tar.

Encompassed in the mountain's great shadow, a wolf desperately sprinted down the road. Dirty golden fur flailed in all directions as she pounded roughly on the hard pavement, her stocky limbs working like mighty pistons. Her tongue lolled from exhaustion; sweat dripped from her matted fur; her lungs burned like a smoldering fire. Though every part of her screamed to stop, from her throbbing headache to her racing heart, from her dirt-encrusted pelt to her cracked paws, she kept running.

The road frequently flickered in and out of sight as images flashed to overtake reality: a burning town full of fleeing humans; crimson jaws dripping with entrails; cawing scavengers soaring high in a black sky; a blood-soaked moon glowing down on a flaming forest. The she-wolf violently shook her head to clear her mind, though the energy that took caused her to slow pace. Why does the past still haunt me so?

She had no knowledge of the road's origin, it's termination, or what its purpose had been, yet she still pushed on as it curved round the mountain, sloping downwards into the mysterious valley. Dark-leafed trees loomed over her, mocking her hopeless efforts to run. Pointedly, she kept her eyes on the road, trying to block the fear that encroached into her soul and ignore the illusion that the trees were leaning closer to her. All the while, the cloudy sky rumbled with a threatening promise of rain.

A terrible howl floated through the trees: deep, throaty, and fierce. It echoed menacingly around the she-wolf. She desperately glanced behind her into the dark recesses of the forest, but there was nothing to see except black shadows as the road wrapped around a massive boulder, bending out of sight. She forced herself to sprint faster, despite the stinging protests of the cracks in her feet and the inferno of pain that consumed her lungs.

Shapes flitted on the corners of her vision, black silhouettes that weaved between the shadowy trunks, whispering promises and punishments. A dark grimace gradually fell across the she-wolf's features, and fear made her fur prickle. She pushed her body to its very limit, picking up speed. The shapes easily matched her pace. Trying to keep the panic at bay, the golden wolf felt like she was walking through quicksand, as if she wasn't moving at all even though her rhythmic pawfalls throbbed loudly inside her head. She could see the shadows starting to slither towards her, but her vision, blurred by exhaustion, was of no other use as her gaze pierced blankly through the tree cover.

A peal of thunder roared across the sky, rumbling like some caged beast. Lightning scorched down from the heavens. The white ribbon struck the nearby mountainside and instantly, the air exploded with an ear-deafening crack. A whimper ripped from the she-wolf's muzzle as the sound battered her ear drums. More flashes of light consumed her vision as they erupted close to the distant line of pouring rain.

Panting, the ragged she-wolf slowed, dragging pace as her limbs turned into lead weights. She sharply berated herself, then sped up again, shaking her head in determination. The throbbing in her skull all but consumed her hearing, but it suddenly intensified even more as the rhythmic drumming of paws doubled in volume.

The she-wolf wasn't so far gone that she wasn't aware of her situation. Someone, or something, was following in her footsteps: literally. Instinctively, she slowed, lengthening her stride. There was a brief second where another set of paws landed off-beat, but then merged with her rhythm almost immediately.

Then all extra sound ceased. All that the she-wolf could hear was her own ragged breathing, the lollop of her paws. Time itself seemed to slow as she fearfully looked behind her, registered the sight of an enormous black maw open and full of glinting fangs, and felt them snap down onto her muzzle. An excruciating white hot pain lanced up into her skull, storming her brain with one thought: to make it end. Eyes rolling into her head, the added weight to her body caused her to lose stride. She stumbled, tripped over her foreleg, slammed into the pavement, and rolled head over paws, the attacker hanging on with a death grip.

Over and over they tumbled, down the deserted road, every sharp rock stabbing into the she-wolf's pelt, every brush of her attacker's fur against her own causing adrenaline to shoot into her veins. Their plight came to a crashing halt, and then there was silence.

Struggling, the she-wolf tried to inhale, but couldn't. Her attacker had clamped onto her nose so hard that she was seeing stars. She kicked out sharply with her hind legs, writhing around, trying to escape. One of her limbs managed to land a blow on her enemy's side, causing it to audibly huff a mouthful of raunchy smelling air into her eyes. Tears sprung up, and she flopped around with a new fervor. She couldn't handle the tight pain in her lungs any longer; she needed to breathe! Her overwhelming frustration at herself, at her helplessness, fueled her hateful struggle to be free. She kicked and scratched, fighting with all the life left in her.

After a long, pain-filled minute of futile attempts to escape, bit by bit, the she-wolf's legs lost their vigor; slowly, her eyelids drooped lower and lower, and all pain dimmed away into a slight discomfort. She could feel her muscles refusing to respond to all commands. Her head throbbing with the dull pain of death, her vision blackening over as her cells slowly died, she looked past the huge nose close in her vision; past the blurred muzzle, up the black face, into those piercing eyes of a wolf.

Her heart stopped. Shock sapped the last bit of oxygen in her body. Boring into her were crimson eyes, the pupils extremely dilated. As she stared back at them in fear, unable to look away, the black circles widened until they entirely covered the red irises. A rumble emanated from deep within his chest as he stared at the wolf within his jaws, as if he was trying to penetrate to her very soul.

Blue-white light spilled all over the scene. The warm glow of the moon poured onto the world, and as the she-wolf's heavy eyelids closed, she sent a prayer to the wolf goddess Tor.

Oh, Tor, please save me! I know my life hasn't been a worthy one, but please, give me another chance . . .

The male wolf shook his prey once, then the she-wolf felt the pressure release from her muzzle. Air rushed to fill her lungs with a big whoosh, and her head hit the pavement. Tingling filled her entire body over as oxygen flowed through her veins, into every dying cell, revitalizing and renewing.

With much effort, the prone wolf opened her eyes. The illuminated pelt of a black wolf filled her vision, and she registered dark shapes slithering out of the woods around him. With his red eyes glinting, sneering ivory teeth savagely sparkling, the black wolf declared, "Well, well, well. If it isn't Citegrene, at last. The Balkar are at the eternal service of the mighty First Wolf."