Part II

Chapter Three

* * * * *

Izaak, very cautiously and very slowly, stepped over some fallen rubble through a back door into the abandoned old church. It was dark in here after the brightness of the outside, and he quickly moved to the side to avoid being silhouetted against the square of light. He crouched, the fingertips of one gloved hand touching the floor, holding Divine Retribution pointed skyward near his head with the other.

He surveyed the interior. He rested near the wall on his left, while most of the view to the front and to his right side was hidden behind large piles of rubble. The tall, vaulted ceiling had collapsed in some areas, leaving thick wooden beams – full tree trunks – propped at odd angles in the debris. Piles of large, smooth stones and other wooden slats also lay scattered about, creating a virtual maze through the structure. With unpredictable pitfalls, too, no doubt, Izaak thought, as he rocked back on his heels slightly, floorboards creaking. He didn't know if this building had a cellar or anything, but he wasn't looking forward to finding out the quick 'n easy way.

Long shafts of light cut through the darkness, through gaps in the ceiling and small breaks in the walls, illuminating swirling dust motes. A thick layer of the stuff covered everything. He moved his fingers slightly, leaving tracks on the floor. From what he could see of the rest of the room, a light dusting of snow lay over objects exposed to the wind and weather from above. It seemed to be silent, save for the howling of the wind outside.

It had taken Izaak four days, from the time he returned to that small village, to track the white werewolf to this location. Four days! The going had been difficult, scaling the mountains. He had lost the trail a couple times, too, and been forced to beat back werewolves almost every step of the way. And now his patience had just about worn thin.

He forced caution upon himself, however, upon reaching this abandoned outpost. Up until now he had faced the werewolves one, or two at a time if he was extremely unlucky. Seeing the numbers here, though, had given him pause. His magic was waning, he was tired and more than a little worse for wear, and he'd no desire to die this close to his goal. He'd seen his target cross the great expanse of the bridge, and knew it waited just on the other side. But it was a long crossing with no cover, and he didn't want to risk it with so many enemies at his back. So he'd circle around the town, find a place to conceal himself, and take out the werewolves one by one.

Izaak slowly edged forward, all senses straining for the tiniest noise. His eyes darted around the building, and he hesitated at each squeak of the floor. He eased around the rubble blocking most of his initial view, and continued deeper into the structure.

Some sixth sense caused him to look up, just in time to see a dark furry figure drop off a pile of rubble right on top of him, arms outstretched in a deadly bear hug. Izaak pivoted, raising his gun and firing as the gigantic thing hit, knocking him to the ground. A sharp pain suddenly coursed through his skull and stars exploded in front of his eyes. He lay there for a second, stunned, having brained himself on an unlucky stone.

Izaak shook his head to clear it. He caught sight of the heavy monster lying on top of him and panicked, yanking himself backwards with a yell. But it didn't move. He prodded it with the barrel of his weapon. Satisfied, he heaved its weight off of his legs with a grunt and stood, somewhat shakily, patting himself down for injuries. He found none, other then a growing bump on his head. Upon closer inspection of the large exit wound in the wolf's back, he concluded that one of his shots had nailed it in the heart. What luck! Lady Luck hadn't given up on him yet. He heaved a sigh of relief.

The sound of small skittering rocks sent adrenaline pumping again, and he whirled around, gun aimed squarely at this new menace. Not four yards away, a second werewolf stood tall, staring defiantly at him with fiercely burning eyes. Black as night, it bared gleaming teeth and flexed razor sharp claws. Izaak swallowed. Maybe he had thought too soon.

* * * * *

Kaze had quickly dispatched the werewolves roaming outside and through the smaller buildings. Their shouted challenges had made her smile, and the quickness of their movements in battle, and the strength and rage they displayed, sent power and adrenaline coursing through her veins, working her into a frenzy.

Their demise did not take long. For she found she was swifter than them, stronger than them. She plowed through with ease, smiting them with powerful blows, rending them apart with claws of flashing silver. She easily shrugged off any damage done to her.

But it was not enough, the need for wild destruction hardly satisfied so quickly. She wanted to feel the resistance through her muscles as she tore through obstacles in her way.

So when she heard the gunshots, ringing loudly in sensitive ears, she turned eagerly in that direction. It came from the church. Kaze flew across the town center. One effortless leap brought her to the high rooftop, and she dropped silently into the dim interior through a gap. She landed, crouching, beginning a soundless hunt rather than tearing through, because it now pleased and amused her to do so.

Her lips parted in a grin, ears pointed stiffly forward as she maneuvered smoothly on all fours through the rubble, blending into deeper shadows. She felt anticipation at the coming kill. Without a sound, she climbed up a heap of stones and broken beams, and spied, on the other side, a figure with its back turned. She chuckled internally.

Making a small hop she landed at the bottom, rubble tumbling down behind her, and straightened to loom over the human. It spun to face her, raising its weapon.

Kaze almost leapt in for the kill right then, the challenge of its actions not unnoticed. But she paused, a tiny flicker of recognition kindling deep within. Her raging frenzy nearly drowned it out; however, it fought, declaring that she knew the scent, the stance, the blue eyes and wind-tousled hair. A small part of her shouted a name, and she hesitated, confused.

The click of the firearm being cocked drew her attention back to her quarry, and she narrowed her eyes and crouched, preparing to leap into an attack. But the tiny voice shouted with renewed urgency, demanding her attention, and she drew her awareness back to the battle within.

* * * * *

Izaak looked at the werewolf, puzzled himself as to why it hadn't yet attacked. He cocked his gun. That brought a reaction, and it knelt, snarling. Izaak prepared to fire, but again it hesitated. He narrowed his eyes and looked at it closely, noticing the glow of golden eyes and a scrap of red-brown cloth about its neck that fluttered in a draft.

What the…? He glanced back to the eyes. Werewolves didn't have glowing eyes. Reflective, yes, but glowing? The only things that had glowing eyes were demons, some vampires, and… A desperate idea suddenly popped into his head. No! It can't be! His eyes darted down to the creature's left hand, spying a distinctive silver mark in the fur, a familiar mark normally hidden by gloves on familiar, unfurred hands. That confirmed it. By all that's Holy…Kaze!

A surge of conflicting emotions nearly brought him to his knees. Extreme relief and joy that she was alive. A great despair that she was now this fearsome and terrible creature before him. And an overwhelming fear and uncertainty that she would not know who he was. His arm trembled.

Thoughts warred within him. Should I fire upon my own best friend? To protect myself? To end her own nightmare? To keep her from doing something that she would later regret and hate herself for? His gun wavered, even as he fought to hold it steady. No…I…I can't. I can't do it. Not after this! Not after finding her back from the dead! Izaak let his gun drop to his side in despair.

He prepared himself for what he feared was the inevitable, and hoped with all his heart that she would remember none of it.

He closed his eyes, took a shuddering breath, and opened them. The werewolf was still there, still crouched low. But it no longer seemed to have its full attention upon him. It was then that he noticed the flickering in her eyes; she appeared to be having an internal struggle of some sort.

Hope flared up within. Maybe Izaak could still turn this around! He needed to do something that would snap her out of it…in the right direction. He took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. Hopefully this would work…

"Jeez, Kaze!" he drawled, in a confidant and joking tone. "What gives? You leave me hangin' for days, and this is how you finally return to say 'Hi?' All snarls an' growls an' stuff?" He shook his head. "Besides, Little Miss High and Mighty," he mocked. "Aren't ya a little short for a werewolf?"

* * * * *

His exclamation startled her awake. Izaak!! The fury subsided and was forgotten.

She drew herself up, indignantly, curling a lip. "What the heck, Izaak? What kind of a welcome is that?" she demanded.

A huge grin lit up his eyes. He could barely contain his happiness. He waved a hand. "Well, ya are at least a full head shorter than everything else I've seen around here."

It was true. She gaped at him, then found her words and brandished a claw. "I'll have you know that I've got more power in one single claw than…"

Her words trailed off as Izaak threw himself upon her, wrapping strong arms around her in a giant hug. Even with her werewolf given strength, she found it a bit hard to breathe.

"Izaak…"

"I thought you were dead, kiddo. You went off of that mountain with that monster, and I didn't have any hope left. I couldn't even find my way down to look, and I tried."

Kaze's ears drooped, her heart breaking at the distress in his voice. She had never realized. "I'm sorry, Zak…" she whispered, using the shortened form of his name.

"Don't be!" Dark blue eyes met gold. "Don't be sorry for anything; none of it's your fault! If anything, I should have been more careful. I should have watched out for you…"

"Don't be an idiot! It's not your fault either!" Kaze literally growled at her friend. "I am a demon-hunter, Izaak, and I can darn well take care of myself. See? I came back, didn't I? I'm not dead. I'm still me, and it'll take a lot more than a little tumble off a mountain and a big bad wolf to do me in."

Izaak grinned again, eyes shining. "Right." Then he ruffled the fur between her ears, and she couldn't say that it was all that bad. "So what took you so long, anyway?"

"…huh? What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, 'What do I mean?' You've been gone for four days! Well, five actually, counting the time since you fell."

Kaze blinked, surprised. "Uh…five days? You sure?" He nodded. She pondered, uncomfortably. "Well…I'm…not really sure. I know it took me a little over half a day to get here, from wherever I was before that. I don't even know where we are in relation to that first little town." She paused, remembering. "The last thing I remember was waking up, I guess…it must have been the morning right after I fell. I must have been delirious or something, though, because I dreamed that this wolf spoke to me."

Izaak looked at her strangely. "What did it say?"

Kaze shook her head. "It told me about the wolf we're tracking, called it the 'Fallen One' or some such thing. Then it said that I was a werewolf, too. I guess I was bitten sometime during the fall, but I don't remember when. Then after that…I don't remember much. Just vague images and impressions."

Izaak sighed. "Oh well. Can't be helped." He stood. "C'mon, on your feet. We've got a monster to put down, and he ain't gonna wait around all day. You can elaborate on your little vision as we go."

"'Kay." She yawned and stood, stretching. Then she gave the air a quick sniff and her ears swiveled once. "No more werewolves on his side of the bridge. Let's cross. You think that's where he's headed?"

"Yep, saw him cross." They picked their way out of the building. "You can tell that easily? About the werewolves, I mean."

She gave him a look. "Well, yeah." Then she realized how strange it must seem. "I guess I never really questioned it before, but it's the whole being a werewolf…thing." She pointed to her ears. "You know? It's like…second nature."

Izaak grinned wryly. "In your case it is a second nature."

"Heh."

They stepped outside, into a strong, refreshing breeze. The sun sunk ever lower, casting golden light over everything. Now that they were together again, both were feeling a bit giddy, energized, and eagerly looking forward to finally putting an end to this quest. Once again, all was right in the world. The two grinned widely at each other, and, turning as one, headed for the bridge.

* * * * *

to be continued…