Author's Note: Happy New Year everyone, and a late Merry Christmas! I'm hoping to finish getting the remaining chapters revised and uploaded relatively soon, if only because I'm tired of this story sitting around so long, and I've got another story to get up here. Many thanks to all my reviewers! This chapter is for you. ;)

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Part I

Chapter Four

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An hour and a half, and a few health potions, later saw the demon-hunters scaling the mountain ridge over which the great werewolf had passed. Another thirty minutes saw them rather recklessly bounding down the steep, opposite side, and sliding into the timberline with a bit of a crash.

They pursued the wolf effortlessly, seeing as how it hadn't bothered to conceal the path of destruction it made through the trees. They dispatched a few infrequent werewolves that made themselves known along the way; the animals appeared to become more restless and aggressive as the night wore on. One had literally gotten the drop on Kaze, but Izaak, ever watchful, neatly beheaded it with ease.

The majority of the werewolves seemed to have disappeared for the moment, though, and this caused some concern in the minds of the hunters. It was possible that they had not been completely successful in tailing their leader, but impossible to say for sure.

The two eventually reached a point, some distance into the grove, where the trail just…stopped. They surveyed the area warily. The night had taken on a bitter chill, and snow now fell heavily, though the trees provided some protection. Kaze shivered.

Wordlessly, they decided to continue onward, all senses alert for any disturbance in the now too familiar silence. Wind howled somewhere beyond the trees, and branches high above them swayed with its force. Several inches of snow now covered the ground.

A whisper of sound reached Kaze's left ear and she glanced quickly to the side, tensing. Nothing. They continued.

A sudden loud crack caused them both to jump, whirling as a large tree limb fell with a muffled thump onto the forest floor. They eyed it suspiciously.

A whuff of air behind Kaze caused her to whirl around. She saw Izaak flat on his back and moved to help him up, when a large, pale blur slammed into her gut, knocking her over as well. They scrambled to get up.

Just as soon as she did so, however, Kaze's legs were knocked out from under her. She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a set of silver claws slamming into the ground where she had been. She tried to stand, but the monster immediately grabbed her leg and flung her, for the second time that night, at her companion.

He ducked this time, and she managed an awkward flip over his head, righting herself to land less than gracefully behind him. She grunted as her ankle twisted. They faced the danger, only to see that it had vanished again.

A moment later, two sets of roaming eyes quickly spotted a dim, white shape quickly approaching out of the darkness, darting rapidly back and forth. Izaak opened fire, slowly backpedaling to draw even with Kaze. Every shot was successfully dodged, until the beast made a final leap from about thirty feet away. His furred arms and long, wickedly curved claws were extended for rending. A low growl reverberated in his throat and emerald eyes flashed.

A final shot nailed the creature square in the chest and he howled with rage. His momentum still carried him towards the humans, however, and Izaak turned, grabbing Kaze by the arm. "Run. We need to get out of the forest. He's playin' with us," he said with urgency.

The colossal wolf came crashing down behind them, but they didn't stop to check if he still moved. Their legs pounded as hard and as fast as they could make them down the forest trail to an unclear goal at the end. Their breathing started to come in ragged gasps, and Kaze fell slightly behind on her throbbing ankle.

Just up ahead, a fallen tree blocked the path. Kaze watched as Izaak gathered himself and made the leap. As he cleared the tree, a giant form appeared in front of him, and a massive paw swatted him to the side, out of the air. Kaze couldn't see where he landed.

"Izaak!" The werewolf turned its eyes onto her.

Kaze skidded to a halt, stumbled, caught herself, and tried to dart around the side of the wolf. It moved to head her off and brought both sets of claws crashing down onto the tree, pulverizing it into a million splinters. The female demon-hunter's acrobatic training came in handy however. A powerful leap propelled her skyward, and she flipped, landing neatly in a crouch on a low branch. Quickly, she sprung high into the air again to avoid the snapping jaws and sail over the wolf's head.

The werewolf was having none of this nonsense, however. Catlike, an effortless jump and midair twist brought it above and facing the demon-hunter. Kaze felt a weight slam into her back, bearing her into the ground. The werewolf crouched above her, pinning her down. Then it let loose an enraged snarl and snapped its jaws shut on her spine.

Or tried to, anyway. Instead, it received only a mouthful of pack and cloak. Eyes narrowed in annoyance, the beast straightened on all fours and shook the bundle of cloth and human back and forth. Kaze gave a frightened yell.

The werewolf began to head off down the path with its quarry in tow, but Izaak had other ideas. Vaulting out of the trees from the side, he landed evenly upon the wolf's back and plunged his broadsword squarely between its shoulder blades. Gripping the hilt, he sent a massive current of lightning energy coursing down its length and straight into the creature.

A high-pitched scream split their eardrums as the wolf reared up, caught in the grip of unforgiving electricity. Kaze was dropped and she rolled to the side, swords ready. The magical assault ended, and the werewolf crumpled to the ground. Izaak gave his sword a savage twist and ripped it back out, causing the beast to twitch violently.

Kaze stepped forward to deliver the final blow. Her blade whistled through the air…and was caught in a powerful, clawed grip. Blood trickled down the sides of the weapon, and the werewolf turned baleful jade eyes upon her. She raised her second sword for another strike, but the first was released and the same claw parried her attack.

The werewolf heaved himself up with his other arm, shaking Izaak off, and advanced upon her. Izaak quickly rushed in to her aid, but with the sweep of a long, powerful tail, he was tossed aside.

Claws flicked in at Kaze, coming faster and faster as the werewolf increased his stride. She successfully blocked these, and launched attacks of her own. He, too, parried, and the battle evolved into a strange parody of double swordplay, each opponent wielding two weapons: silvery, sharpened claws on one side, and shining, razor-edged steel on the other.

Kaze, though, was forced to retreat every step, as the blows came faster and stronger. Still, she kept up, but didn't know how long that would last. She imagined that the only thing that had allowed her to continue so long had been the werewolf's already weakened state. Unexpectedly, she lurched backwards out of the forest, and a gust of wind nearly blinded her with snow. She leapt back a few yards to gain space, but the great wolf was there, raining powerful strikes down upon her, which she was now parrying frantically.

Several more steps backwards brought her to the edge of a precipice; she didn't dare risk a look, but she could suddenly feel the chasm yawning open behind her. Yep, she thought, Now would be a great time for a bit of help! Where the heck is Izaak?

As if hearing her thoughts, a great bolt of electricity, as wide as her fist, impaled the creature. It roared again and broke off its attack, beginning to turn around as silver bullets rained down upon it. Kaze took advantage of this new distraction and drove forward with her blades, forcing the monster back, away from the edge.

Attacked from both sides, the wolf furiously tried to swat its assailants away. As it raised its arms, Kaze dropped her left sword, withdrew a small, green vial, and smashed it into a newly opened wound in the monster's chest, where it shattered, releasing the spell.

Curved, gleaming blades burst from the wolf's back, spinning up into the air. The creature gave a shattered bellow and collapsed onto all fours. Arcing around, the wide splinters of light flew at their target, one by one, striking from the left, right, and left again, until the magic weakened and they fractured into a thousand tiny stars, fading into the surrounding storm.

The wolf remained, huddled in its position, occasional shudders racking its form.

"Kaze." She looked up. Izaak tossed her a large silver dagger from his position on the monster's right. She caught the object easily with her empty left hand. Taking a step forward, she readied the weapon for a blow to end the monster's life, once and for all.

There was no warning. As Kaze took that step, the great werewolf surged forward with incredible speed, low to the ground. He caught her in the midsection with his left shoulder, lifting her up. The jarring impact made her right hand lose its grip on her sword, and it tumbled to the ground with a clang.

Time seemed to slow as powerfully muscled legs propelled them off the cliff, kicking up snow. A second later, they hung suspended in space, glittering ice crystals from the snow flurries and the heavy breath of the werewolf frozen for a moment in time. Izaak watched in astonished horror and he raised a gloved hand, beginning to move towards them.

As suddenly as it had stopped, time started to flow again. Kaze let out a short, startled shout as realization hit…and the two foes plummeted into the vast abyss, vanishing into the darkening white of the storm.

No. Izaak scrambled to the edge and fell onto his knees, heart thudding in his chest. He searched frantically for any sign of his friend in the impenetrable, churning white of the chasm. Nothing. Opposing winds howled in the background. The dropped sword emitted a fading, mournful ring as the blade stilled its vibrations. No!

"KAZE!" There wasn't even an echo as the wind whipped his words away.

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End Part I