Chapter 5

With her pinpoint vision, Eneres seated herself the furthest away she could from the pool in the direction she had remembered Kiba running from, eager to watch her plan unfold quite deliciously. In the image, a tank was rushing toward the nemurigusuri plant, apparently chasing two other wolves. It stopped at the plant and opened up its doors, two guards clad in armor jumping out with guns and a taller figure, dressed in even finer armor, striding out yielding a large battle axe and a shield. The two smaller figures pulled back the thick leaves of the nemurigusuri, then looked back and nodded at the tall figure, seemingly finding what they were looking for. The white wolf's body. Suddenly, the two other wolves now attacked the guards, jumping on their heads and biting them with ferocity.

The guards and the tall figure recovered quickly and were shooting at the wolves, but the lupines dodged the bullets easily enough before an Indian rode up on his horse and shot arrows into the necks of the two smaller gunmen. The tall figure lowered his axe, a red dot appearing in the center of the pole. A laser shot from inside it, missing the Indian by mere inches. But suddenly, the armor-clad attackers fell over: not from battle wounds, but from the plant finally taking its toll on them (there is a reason why it is called the "sleeping drug" plant).

A third wolf had now run up with the other two and all of them were looking half-curiously, half-horrified at the plant, for inside they now saw the starved and ragged body of Kiba, lying in the middle of the plant; the most dangerous spot.

Eneres's eyes grew wide with anticipation; this was the moment she had been waiting for.

The Indian ran up, yelling at the wolves (who were yelling at each other for thinking Kiba was dead), probably to tell them to stay back, away from the dreaded plant. He covered his nose with his buckskin sleeve and walked calmly into the bush and pulled Kiba out, hauling him over one shoulder and running away as quickly as possible, the three wolves still staring at him. He put Kiba's bony body on his horse, then turned to talk to the wolves. Eneres decided that this might be important and strained to hear the Indian's strong, but calm voice.

"Your friend's spirit has been taken. I'm sure the Elder can call it back."

"Hurry!" cried the smallest of the wolves.

Showtime, Eneres thought, trotting away from her spot and wading back in the pool to scry on Kiba one last time before she made her escape. To her surprise, Kiba's spirit and Myu were sitting at the edge of the pool together also, and she almost lost her concentration in fright. Kiba was in human form, with black hair and sad blue eyes. Come on, come on, come on! she thought impatiently after letting her hackles lie back down flat.

Suddenly, a breeze flowed through Myu and Kiba's hair, but it picked up to a gale, blowing dirt and sand into their faces. Myu's face looked furious, but she tried to keep it calm. Kiba had closed his eyes and put his hand up to them, trying to block out the dirt that was gusting in his face.

"Stop it," whispered Myu.

"Why, Myu? What's wrong?" asked Kiba, peeping open one eye to look at her.

"It looks like someone's found you," she said sullenly, which Eneres guessed probably tore at the white wolf's heart.

"What do you mean?" said Kiba.

Myu opened her eyes wide, and Eneres laughed at the gesture, because now Myu realized what was going on.

"Eneres!" she screamed, throwing her head back, her magenta eyes filled with hatred and fear.

But the paradise drifted away, and soon Eneres was standing behind Kiba, who was looking completely dumbfounded. Chanting could be heard in the background, and Eneres guessed that it was the Elder the young Indian was talking about.

Myu must have been very desperate to hold onto her prisoners, for now half of the blackness was blended into the fake paradise. "I wanted to be with you forever," she whispered, and Kiba looked entranced, but still a bit down-to-earth (so to speak). "But now," continued Myu, "I know you shouldn't stay. You're right. This place, it isn't Paradise at all."

Eneres scoffed and snarled at Myu's begging: she was trying to lure Kiba out of his trance to his own body by making her own world seem absolutely dreadful (and what woman/caracal should have to live in a dreadful world?). And it looked like it was working.

"It's a place where time stands still," Myu kept going on. "It's a world where time no longer exists. Eventually, you won't remember anything. Or even why you're here."

Eneres sensed hints of triumph and malice in those statements, as Myu described her hell of a paradise. A smile now almost played at the corners of Myu's lips. Kiba was now at a crucial point: if he took one step towards Myu's world, his spirit would be stolen back, and Eneres would be stuck and reasonably punished by Myu. If he took a step backwards, he would lose his footing on the reality that was drawing closer and would fall between the spirit world and his own body. If he stayed exactly where he was, he would return, with Eneres's spirit as some sort of a cling-on (this was Eneres's grand plan – it was humiliating, yet the only way). Eneres decided to take a risk. KIBA, Kiba, Kiba, she whispered in his ear. Come.

"You'll forget; just like I have," finished Myu.

"Why are you doing this?" Kiba asked, and it nearly gave Eneres a heart attack for it was the first time he had spoken.

"Kiba, you have to go." Myu practically spit the words out of her own mouth.

"No, wait!" cried Kiba, and Eneres howled in fury. "Come with me!"

Myu shook her head, that evil smile almost getting a hold of her.

"Myu…" whispered Kiba.

"You and I are more different than you realize," she breathed, her smile finally betraying her, her eyes glinting in an emotion almost like hatred. Eneres swore Myu was looking straight at her. But Myu simply turned and walked away. The carrot in front of the donkey.

"Myu!" yelled Kiba, and he lifted his foot to take a step forward. Eneres snarled demonically, and leaped, grabbing hold of Kiba's shoulder with her glinting teeth, just as the wind and dust picked up again.

Myu's world was closing like an eyelid over an eye. "Good-bye," growled Myu menacingly. "Good-bye, Kiba."

Kiba gasped, and stood open-mouthed at Myu's closing world, then he finally saw the sense, and relaxed his muscles, only to turn around again to find Eneres clamped onto his shoulder. "You," he whispered. "YOU!" He was now just as furious as Myu. He bared his teeth and aimed for Eneres's neck, but Eneres had one more trick up her sleeve. KIBA, Kiba, Kiba, came a voice behind them. KIBA, Kiba, Kiba.

Kiba turned, and now many worlds were closing their eyes around him. Do you know who this one is? asked the voice. Kiba, Kiba, Kiba. Remember.

Eneres almost burst into hate-filled tears at the sound of Cheza's voice as a lunar flower opened up beside them. Kiba's eyes opened wide with realization, and he mumbled, "Cheza," with Myu's world finally faded away, to reveal a sound like claws being scratched upon bark, but it was only the Elder's shake-stick.

Kiba was now breathing normally, and Toboe could finally breathe now, too. Kiba had even opened his eyes a tad. Letting out a deep sigh, Toboe thanked Tor and Fenris silently and profoundly for their graciousness at letting Kiba return. Hige gasped beside him. Opening his eyes, Toboe gasped also. Standing before them, was a pale, silvery, almost transparent image of a beautiful silver she-wolf, with golden-green eyes and the bushiest tail Toboe ever saw.

The Elder looked somewhat stunned also, but quietly said, "Are you a friend or a foe?"

"It depends on what I should be afraid of from you," spoke the image. Her voice was golden, and Toboe could almost feel her breath on his face.

"There is nothing to fear from an old Elder," he smiled. "You are welcome."

The she-wolf seemed to be depending on these words, for a small trickle of relief washed over her face. And then she became more and more life-like, her fur coming into focus, most of her shimmery glow disappearing, and her eyes becoming even more piercing. Then, when it seemed that she could not get any more real, she fainted alongside Kiba.