New Moon
The clearing had been enveloped in shadows just a few minutes earlier when night fell.
Susan laid on top of the stone with the odd carvings along the side that she found while the sun was still out. Carvings she couldn't read or understand. She supposed it said something about the Stone Table, explained what it was, why the Witch has used this place to kill Maugrim. Even if she could read it she didn't think she could understand.
Everyone had suffered enough through this winter, this war. Why did it have to take him as well? Just because he kept her from the Queen.
She didn't understand-
"Pup."
Her head whirled so fast her cheekbone hit the stone with a solid thud that sent her head reeling. That blow had to be what was causing this now. She had to be hallucinating.
Maugrim's eyes were open, reflecting light in the dark even though there was no source for it. "How long have you been here?" His words floated through her mind.
Still, she stared. This couldn't be real. "Since this morning," she murmured, not quite sure if she was talking to a corpse or not. If she had just gone crazy. "How are you alive?"
The corner of his lips pulled back into that wolf grin. "I took the place of your brother, but I didn't commit treason so the Witch couldn't really kill me." He raised his maw from the stone, pressing his wet nose to her fingers. "I use to serve at the castle. I only ever committed treason when I went over to the Witch, but then I protected you. A daughter of Adam and Eve. So I was brought back by the old powers. I'm not a dream, Susan. I'm here. Really."
Her jaw shook, she blinked rapidly, feeling streams starting down her cheeks before she pushed her face into his fur and cried out her relief, arms wrapped around his frame.