The Wolf and His Boy

Teaser: AU. A wolf defies the Witch and frees Edmund. As the two travel through Narnia, Edmund discovers humans are not the only denizens of Earth to find Narnia. Narnia/Balto crossover

Chapter Six: The Stone Table

A/N: To Seahorse Feathers: Thanks for the long review and you should find "Tumnus" is once again spelled right. As for dialogue, it is an interesting mix of book, movie, and mine. For the major scenes, I defer to C.S. Lewis and the movie. They are much better writers than I and I can only hope to capture the spirit of their magnificent work. Once I'm finished, I may go back and try to flesh out the Balto adventure in the 'service' of the White Witch. We'll see but thanks for the great suggestions. And to all: Enjoy

That night Balto spent some time simply watching the stars. It gave him time to think. There's no way the Witch would give up Edmund without some kind of advantage. What kind of advantage would Aslan give her? The wolf-dog began to pace. Besides, she said she had to have blood. Killing Edmund means there's an empty throne at Cair Paravel. Why give that up? Balto came to a halt and closed his eyes. She'd give that up for a greater prize. The 'king' of all prizes. Aslan himself. Balto sat back, holding in a whimper. Without Aslan, how can we win? He knew he was right and he hated that. For a long moment, he pondered what he should do. I chose to trust him back when I faced Maugrim. I'll trust him now. He looked toward the great Lion's tent. I just pray you know what you're doing.

Kaltag yawned and curled up, tail sliding over his nose. It was summer but he was used to cold nights and the precautions one took before sleeping. He lifted an ear as Star and Nikki settled in beside him. Balto was already asleep on the other side of the tent. Kaltag relaxed and felt Star's tail thump lightly against his back. The tan dog was too sleepy to retaliate and the dogs went to sleep.

Sometime later, Kaltag heard a noise and jerked awake. He lifted his head, annoyed and then realized that he'd heard footsteps. Uneasy, the sled dog rose. Star stirred and looked up. "Whazzup?"

"I'm not sure," Kaltag whispered. Star blinked and came fully awake. The two dogs crept out of the tent and Kaltag sniffed. "Susan," he hissed. "And Lucy too." The two slunk out of camp, following the errant females. After a few minutes, they heard Aslan's voice ahead.

"You have to trust me. For this must be done."

Kaltag and Star looked at each other, wide-eyed. They jogged forward until they spotted the two girls. Aslan was already out of sight. Before either dog could speak, the two girls were moving. The canines followed them to an overlook and saw a horrid assembly. Fell Creatures of every size and description were gathered around a mount. It looked like an open air assembly of some kind. At the top of the mount was a Stone Table. The two dogs shivered, sensing that this was the Table the Witch had spoken off. The White Witch herself stood behind the Table, holding a knife. Aslan was ascending the stone steps, stride slow and noble.

Susan turned and spotted the sled dogs. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you two leaving and we followed," Kaltag replied.

"What's He doing?" Star whispered, horrified.

The Witch's voice cut off further discussion. "Behold. The great lion." The crowd jeered and a minotaur stepped forward, carrying an axe as long as a wolf. He jabbed it lightly at Aslan and the Lion growled in warning. The minotaur looked back at the Witch and she nodded. The creature lifted its axe and rammed the butt end into the Lion, hurling Aslan to the ground. The crowd began to jeer and taunt the Lion, ignoring the power in the noble cat.

"Why doesn't he fight back?" Lucy whispered, worried.

"Bind him!" the Witch ordered and all manner of monsters rushed to do her bidding. Her voice rose again. "Wait. Let him first be shaved." This was met by a rambunctious cheer and a black dwarf hurried forward. He drew a knife and sliced away a lock of the Lion's Mane, to roars of approval. Up on the hilltop, Kaltag and Star forced themselves not to bark as other creatures rushed to Aslan and began cutting at His mane.

With the mane cut away, the Witch ordered, "Bring him to me." The noise grew louder as Aslan was dragged onto the table. For a few moments the roar grew to a fevered pitch until the Witch threw out an arm and the monsters were silent. Four creatures standing at the corners of the table began to bang their staffs against the ground, increasing their speed slowly. The Witch knelt and they saw her whisper to the Lion. She rose and called to the crowd. "Tonight the Deep Magic will be appeased!" The crowd roared. "But tomorrow, we will take Narnia forever!" The roar grew even louder. She looked down at Aslan and her words were loud enough for the dogs to hear. "In that knowledge, despair and die!" She thrust downward, her dagger stabbing into the Lion. For a moment Aslan's eyes went wide and then, slowly, they closed and Lucy began to cry.

Susan hugged her, crying too. Star and Kaltag whimpered, drawing close to their human companions in a vain effort to offer comfort. Behind them, the cheering was horrid in their ears and the Whitch's shrill voice rose again. "That Great Cat is dead!" The Fell Creatures roared their triumph. The four up on the hilltop watched the crowd depart and wept for the Lion.

Star and Kaltag stayed behind Susan and Lucy as they approached the table. The girls were, by right, Queens of Narnia. The Alaskan dogs hide behind that reason, the real one being that they did not want to see Aslan dead up close first. Lucy ran forward, climbing up the steps and settling next to the Lion. She pulled out her cordial but Susan, still crying, whispered, "It's too late." She climbed up another set of steps and knelt next to the Lion. "He must have known what he was doing."

Kaltag and Star jumped up; Star sitting by Lucy and Kaltag by Susan. They were quiet, unable to find words in their grief. The two girls buried their faces into what was left of Aslan's mane and cried.

A snap brought them all 'round. Mice were perched on the ropes and to Star's surprise, the mice were nibbling away at the rope, cutting Aslan free of the cruel bonds. Susan didn't see that and she cried, "Get away. Get away all of you."

"No," Lucy whispered. "Look." More ropes snapped and came apart. The girls pushed the rope off of Aslan's muzzle as Kaltag and Star tugged away the ropes that the mice had severed.

Susan looked at her companions and whispered, "We have to tell the others."

"We can't just leave him," Lucy protested.

"Lucy there's no time."

Kaltag and Star looked at each other. "We'll go," Star piped up.

"We're faster and, well, you two knew Him better than we did," Kaltag put in.

They did not wait for the Queens to disagree. Instead they rose and leapt off the table, racing away and into the forest. Their news was dire and it had to reach the Kings.

Peter woke rather suddenly as soft yips reached his ears. He seized his sword only to find Kaltag and Star in front of him. In the other bed, Edmund pushed himself up. The dogs looked up at the humans, utterly forlorn. "Aslan," Kaltag managed to croak.

"What?" Peter asked.

Star sniffed. "He's gone. She killed him."

A/N: Tragic. (sniffs, wipes at tears) I thought it was fitting that in Balto/Narnia it would be the sled dogs who bring word of Aslan's death. Next chapter: Beruna Please Read and Review. Note to Jaden: Balto never 'officially' entered Jadis's service, ergo he is not a traitor. How do you betray someone you never had loyalty toward? Whereas, even if Edmund hadn't betrayed all of Narnia, he still betrayed his family