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Return To Manitou Island: Part 105 |
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Fallen Brother THE FOREST LOOMED dark and dreadful on every side, the further the small group wandered within its confines. They tried to keep close to the river though this was difficult, seeing as the trees were so very thick and wild, and the river wound sinuously around them, sometimes as narrow as a creek, other times as wide as any other river. Parts of it were crusted over with ice, other parts rushing quickly with a dull roar; Charmian shivered and rubbed her arms the entire time they walked, the dull noise of the water making her feel uneasy for some reason. Every little noise in the woods set her hair on edge, and made everyone else draw what weapons they had. In such a place as this, it would be quite easy to hide several dozen Wendigoes, especially Wendigoes in human shape. Charmian found that every time she heard a noise she imagined another giant Augwak waiting ahead; she had to remind herself that these ones would look much more normal. This thought filled her with even more dread, and she wasn't even sure why. Why does it scare me so much? Is it because they'll be harder to find? Or...because they'll be harder to fight off...even kill...if it comes to that? It's hard enough to kill a demon...what about a human? I hope it doesn't come to that... Something sparked and lit up beside her; she turned her head to see a fireball flickering over Moon Wolf's fingers. He looked almost sheepish when he saw her staring at him, and she was surprised to see such a look on his face. "It's growing dark," he said; then, "I have already used it. I may as well make use of it again, as it's needed." Charmian tilted her head. "You know, all you have to do is learn to ask for it, and they'll give it." He shook his head slightly and looked back ahead. "The manitous have never much listened to me as they listen to you." Charmian blushed. "Well, at least we won't go blundering into trees every few minutes," Manabozho, ahead of them, grumbled, swinging a stick to clear the way as best as he could. Mudjikawiss was making better progress just adjacent to them, with his knife, but Manabozho seemed to prefer clearing his own path. He glanced at them over his shoulder, panting and irritated. "How long is this stupid river, anyway? And where does it go? They must have some reason for going this way!" "Not many have thoroughly explored the river or the forest!" Niskigwun retorted. "I told you that manitous are supposed to live here. It is best to leave such manitous in peace! All that is known of the forest is that it stretches to the distant hills, and no one is known to live there." Manabozho rolled his eyes. "Oh, THAT helps." He lashed out and smashed a tree branch aside just because he could, and stepped over a log. He sank into a drift of snow on the other side with a startled yelp. "He's got a point," Charmian murmured, drawing Niskigwun's and Moon Wolf's attention. "I get this feeling that they took this route for a reason. Everywhere they could go in the Fairy Realm, and they chose this place. Why? Why do they want us in here?" "Because it's unknown?" Marten, atop Peepaukawiss's shoulder, suggested. "Maybe they want us to get lost! I HATE getting lost!" He burrowed into Puka's feathers, and sneezed. "Gezunda-height!" "Perhaps they are merely stupid," Mudjikawiss growled, knocking aside a small tree. "And have gotten lost themselves." Charmian shook her head and chewed her lip. "That's not it..." She racked her brain, but couldn't think of any better reason, and so sighed in frustration. Mudjikawiss continued on several steps, then halted, peering down. He lifted his own hand and a fireball similar to Moon Wolf's, only bigger and brighter, flared to life, then he looked back at them sourly. "One of you make yourself of use and come look at this!" They all turned in his direction, picking their way over and among the trees. "What?" Niskigwun asked, and Mudjikawiss gestured at the ground. "Tracks." He pointed further off to the side, still looking irritated. "They go that way. So perhaps we can save some trouble--and go that way?" "Right to the river." Manabozho paused, then started scrambling over the fallen trees. "Well, it beats walking around like THIS all day!" Charmian opened her mouth, but he had already pressed his way through the woods. She let out a gusty sigh and hastened after him, the others doing likewise. The dull rushing roar of the water grew louder, until they came out upon a snowy bank, tree branches looming low overhead, weighted down with snow. Charmian peered up into them and saw how they formed almost a tunnel or a canopy over the icy river, their branches great and wide and close together. She hoped none of them would fall down on her head, and shivered again. The others were stooping down to look at a muddle of tracks beside the water. "Just like at the lake," Niskigwun said with a frown. "Like they gathered here, then wandered off! What could they possibly be seeking?" "Is there anything specific in these woods that they might need or use?" Moon Wolf asked. Niskigwun shook his head. "Just manitous! The river, and the trees! None of our people camp here, there are no settlements, no game...no reason for them to be so interested in this place!" Mudjikawiss made a face. "Let us stop SPECULATING and start FINDING them so I can wring their necks and GO HOME!" Puka wrinkled his nose at him. "Be quiet and let them speak! Besides, I doubt a lunk like you even knows what speculate MEANS!" Wabasso grasped hold of Puka's arm and pulled him along before Mudjikawiss could take a swing at him. They paused to look at the footprints, then peered around themselves. "They keep heading that way," Charmian said, pointing along the river. "So I guess we keep following them!" Manabozho grumbled, picking his way along the bank. "There has to be an easier way...like shapeshifting, and finding them from above..." He held out his arms and looked ready to fly off, but Charmian grabbed hold of one, and he stopped to look back at her in puzzlement. Charmian let his arm go and rubbed at her neck. "Manabozho...maybe it'd be best if you just stayed with us for now. After all, we don't want to get split up." "Huh...?" He frowned. "What, you think I can't do this--? On my own?" He scowled. "I SHOULD do it on my own! Since I'm the only one out of the four of us who even cares about the Island anymore!" Charmian let out a gusty sigh. "Let's NOT get into that again! I thought you were over all that! And that's not the issue, anyway. I just think it'd be better if we stuck together and didn't go running into things. We're in a strange place with strange people and so of course everything is going to be--strange!" He rolled his eyes. "Your reasoning is flawless!" Yet he merely turned around and continued walking, albeit with quite a bit of loud grumbling along the way. Puka hurried to catch up, keeping pace alongside Charmian and squeezing Marten to his chest. "I know! I know!" he exclaimed, his voice quivering. "Why they wanted us here!" he said in response to her questioning look. "The river, right?--I bet it's got Nebanaubae in it! That's got to be it! They want to turn us all into fish!" His face screwed up and he squeezed the Mikumwesu hard enough to make his eyes pop. "I DON'T WANT TO BE A FISH!! MY SKIN WOULD WRINKLE RIGHT UP!!" Charmian's brow furrowed. "That's not it!" Manabozho snapped in disgust. "What purpose could they POSSIBLY have in turning us into fish? Use your head for more than putting feathers on, stupid!" Puka shook a fist at him, his eyes welling up. "AT LEAST I'M USING MY HEAD, YOU MEAN PERSON!!" Charmian ran her hands down her face and sighed. "I'm glad I'm an only kid," she murmured so only the three sane ones, Niskigwun and Moon Wolf and Wabasso, could hear. They gave her sympathetic looks but couldn't do much else. "The Nebanaubae only change people when they wish to," Niskigwun said wearily, rubbing at his own head. "I do not see why they would suddenly obey someone else's orders. They answer to no one, and for the most part they are not a threat...this would not fit in with Chakenapok's motives." Marten hopped down out of Puka's grasp as Puka had started crying in an odd high-pitched warble. He bounded into the woods ahead a little ways, and paused to look down at the snow. "I don't know. Maybe Marten's idea is actually right," Charmian wondered. "I mean, none of us know this place too well, right? If they get us lost, and break us up, it'd be easy to take us out one by one..." She shivered. "Which is why I said we should be STICKING TOGETHER!" she called out, raising her voice as Manabozho started wandering ever further away. He halted and waved his arms at them. "Why are you targeting me? HE'S going his own way, too--!" He waved at Marten. Charmian glared at him. "Marten's a little bit more sensible than YOU are when it comes to facing danger!" she snapped. "At least he ALWAYS knows to retreat, unlike you, who can remember that only when you feel like it!" Manabozho clenched his teeth and his feathers flared. "Are you calling me a coward--?!" "Hey! Guys!" Marten looked back at them over his shoulder and waved one small hand. "I think I found something!" They started drifting his way. "What is it, more tracks?" Charmian asked, rubbing at her eyes, which were stinging from the cold. Marten shook his head. "Nuh-uh! Well, at least, not like the other ones!" He paused, peering at the snow, then lifted his head again, scratching his ear. "Hey, snow is usually white, isn't it?" A few of them shared odd looks. "Yeah," Charmian said slowly. "Unless an animal took a leak, or something." Marten peeped at the ground. "Do animals leak in red, then? Because this is red." Everyone froze where they were. An instant later they had gathered around him, Puka scooping him up from the ground with a gasp as the others leaned over a dark patch in the snow. Moon Wolf held his hand up high and its flickering light clearly revealed the ugly reddish color of the spot, and Charmian felt another chill settle over her. "Is it..." She had to force herself to swallow before continuing. "It isn't blood...is it?" Niskigwun gingerly poked at it with his finger, then sniffed. "It smells like it is," he said, an uneasy look coming to his face. "But--where would it have come from?" Puka cried. "I thought they were Wendigoes! They aren't--EATING themselves now, are they?!" He shut his eyes tight and smooshed Marten. "EEEEEWWWWW!!" Wabasso stood up from where he'd been crouching nearby. "There is more over here," he called out, and they spread out along the riverbank to see, noticing a wide scattering of the reddish spots. They seemed to lead back into the woods, deerlike tracks running every so often between them. Charmian poked her way into the trees and the others followed, the ominous trail growing more distinct the thicker the trees grew. "Something's definitely wounded, at least," Charmian said, voice tense. "Maybe they turned on each other?" "Wendigoes will attack each other if given the slightest chance to believe they can stand up for themselves," Moon Wolf said. "Perhaps this is what happened." "Perhaps this works in our favor?" Mudjikawiss grumbled. "If they are attacking each other, so much the easier for us." Charmian glared at him. "Insensitive ass!" she snapped, and saw him blink, before she turned to the woods and pushed herself over a fallen tree, hoping to follow the trail. Niskigwun leapt over it with his wings spread and shot her a look which clearly said she was not going to take the lead; she slowed herself down and allowed him and Moon Wolf to move ahead. Manabozho joined them, the others hanging behind. They picked and stumbled their way through the dense trees and ground cover for several minutes, scratched and panting by the time that the woods began to open up somewhat. Charmian nearly fell forward into the clearing that emerged before someone yanked her arm and pulled her back, and she bumped into the tree behind her. She glanced up at Niskigwun in confusion but he was too busy staring ahead to notice. "Niskigwun? What's..." His fingers dug into her arm hard enough to hurt, and she winced; he started to pull her behind him, but she lifted her head and at that moment noticed how Moon Wolf and Manabozho also stared ahead with wide eyes. She ducked and pulled herself loose of the Michinimakinong's grasp, turning to look into the clearing. Her heart squeezed up into her throat, nearly cutting off her gasp. What must have once been pristine snow...was now a mess of rutted, messy red. The snow had been kicked and strewn into piles, muddy patches of earth showing through, the sickly water gathering in the ruts tinted the same ugly color. At first, this was all that Charmian's overwhelmed eyes could see, until she started to look from side to side, and then spotted numerous forms half buried in the snow, unmoving. Her heart felt like it twisted in on itself as soon as she saw a wide antler jutting from one of the ruts, and she took a shaky step forward, eyes wide with shock. The rest of them filtered slowly into the clearing. At least a dozen, perhaps more, manitous were lying here, their necks twisted at impossible angles, their antlers cracked and broken, their legs sticking out stiff from their bodies. Their tongues dangled over their teeth, still glistening, but their eyes had already glazed over in the chill, staring blankly across the snow or up into the trees. They were of varying sizes, some male, some female...Charmian's chest started to hitch, and her eyes filled with tears, when she noticed one particularly pathetic small form lying crumpled near the mouth of the clearing. She knelt down near it and slipped one hand underneath the calf's head, gently lifting it; it was completely limp. She couldn't suppress a whimper as she picked up its tiny body and rested it upon her knees, stroking its cold fur. Nearby, a female manitou lay with her legs twisted under her and her head upon the ground; a great bloody swath across her neck told what had happened. Everywhere, above all else, was the color of blood. Niskigwun stepped to stand beside her. "They..." His own voice faltered, and she could tell even without looking that his own eyes must be wet. "They...slaughtered them." Charmian squeezed her eyes shut and the tears streamed down her face. "But...why would they do this?" Moon Wolf's voice asked, sounding confused. "These manitous had nothing to do with them! It's obvious there was no fight to be had...what was the point of this?" "I tell you now!" Mudjikawiss growled. "Does it sound like they need a point? We should stop trying to figure things out, and start getting things done, so I can head back home!" "Please, Brother!" Puka's voice, strained and cracking, came. "Show s-some res-spect!" "I want to go home too," Marten whimpered, and sniffled. "Glooskap never told me about this..." Niskigwun stepped away, into the clearing, to look over the dead manitous. Charmian opened her eyes to see the way that his wings quivered, and his spear hand shook. Every time he arose from looking at one the expression on his face was worse, and she had to stop watching. She turned her eyes down to instead look at the manitou calf she still held, and only now did she notice that its fur was brown. Mani is brown... Her eyes flooded and she shut them again, biting back a strained noise. How could he...how could he do this! After I talked to him! How could he do this--? "They didn't have anything to do with us," she murmured under her breath, her shoulders shaking. "Why did you do this...?" The snow beside her crunched, and Wabasso halted; she looked up to see him step into the clearing, but she couldn't see the look on his face as his back was to her. He walked to the other side and stooped down to look at a young manitou lying over there; he placed his hand over its eyes and whispered something, and when he lifted his hand again, its eyes were closed. Niskigwun lifted his head to watch him, then retreated as he worked his way around the trampled space, repeating the gesture with each of the manitous. He didn't cry, but the look in his eyes was almost enough to make Charmian want to start sobbing. Not too far away, Moon Wolf turned to look to the side and froze. "Look," he whispered, so the others could hear; they all looked and saw small blue dots staring at them from the trees. Charmian bit her lip, but none of them moved from their spots as the new manitous tentatively stepped out from the woods, nostrils flaring and ears twitching. They looked over the dead and whistled softly to each other. "What happened?" Charmian asked aloud. They lifted their heads to look at her and she made certain to meet their eyes. "What happened here? Who did this?" They stared at her, then flicked their ears. Did not see, one said, in her mind; she could tell that the others heard it as well. Heard cries for help, came, find this. It seemed to frown. You did not see, either...? Charmian shook her head numbly. They spotted the calf in her arms then, and bristled, then tilted their heads back and started whistling so loudly that her ears stung. She winced and clutched it even tighter. "There were people who came through here," Niskigwun tried to say above the noise of their keening, Wabasso coming toward Charmian. "You did not see or hear them--? A great number of them. Warriors. You did not notice any like this, at all...?" Felt funny feeling, the lead manitou said. Strangers in land. Thought it just these ones, humans, or other manitous, Island manitous. So did not come. Then, hear crying, noises, awful noises. To be brother-sister tribe in woods. All gone! All gone! Did not come fast enough! They started whistling anew. Wabasso knelt down beside Charmian, who was now clutching the baby manitou as if it were her own. She kept her teeth clamped over her lip to keep from crying aloud, her fingers digging into its fur. It was smaller even than her dog was. "It wouldn't have hurt them at all," she barely managed to whisper. "He couldn't've done this." Wabasso placed his hand over the little manitou's eyes. "Four days you will walk," he murmured under his breath. "Four days to reach the end of the Road. Your eyes will be clear; your legs will be strong. You will not fall. You will walk the Road in peace and reach the sunny Land." He pulled his hand away, and the creature's eyes were closed; Charmian shut her own and let her head drop forward. After a moment she felt his hand on her shoulder, and he was silent, as if not certain what to say. "You have seen the Road," he whispered to her after another moment; the other manitous lowered their heads and walked in mournful circles, the others of her group still looking over the dead and surveying the woods. "He is in the company of his tribe. He will be safe. They will all reach there together." "Is...that why?" Charmian murmured between her teeth. "Is that why he...did this? Because he walked alone...?" Her lips drew back and her teeth clenched. "I felt...sorry for him. I thought he meant it when he said he...didn't mean it." Her fingers dug into the manitou's fur and her tears spattered against its neck. "I'd kill him myself if he wasn't already dead!" Wabasso said nothing, though she could sense his feelings, and anger wasn't among them--grief, sorrow, confusion, sympathy, yet not anger. This fact made her clench her teeth even tighter, and she wanted to scream at him, demand to know how this didn't make him angry, how he could look at this and not feel the same rage that she felt. His fingers dug into her shoulder then, and she opened her mouth to shout at him, only the abrupt shift in his emotions made her freeze. Fear--? She blinked. That was all she had time to do, before Wabasso's arm had wrapped around her, dragging her to her feet with a gasp. The little manitou fell into the snow and she was suddenly being carried across the clearing, the others jerking their heads up and backing hurriedly out of the way. Charmian jostled wildly, then her breath rushed out of her with a whoosh when he threw her atop one of the startled manitous; she had to grab onto its antlers to keep from falling when it reared up in surprise. She glanced down at Wabasso in bewilderment, saw how wide his own eyes were. "GO!" he yelled, leaping atop behind her just as the manitou whirled about--in the dizzying spin, Charmian caught a blurry glimpse of the others, also dashing at whatever manitous were nearest and leaping atop their backs--and then just like that they were fleeing, Charmian gasping and shielding her eyes from the tree branches which whipped at her face. Wabasso held onto her tightly; crashing noises came, and she glanced behind them to see the others following. Mudjikawiss and Moon Wolf were the last to appear, both of them hurling fire at something which must have been behind them; they turned and clambered atop two more manitous, and Charmian finally saw what they were running from. She choked on her own breath. "Sh--Shadow Wolves--?" There was no mistaking it, the dark shapes which came bounding out of the clearing after them, eyes glinting and tongues lolling. They were far behind, yet rapidly catching up already; the gleeful looks on their faces made her heart thud painfully hard, and her fingers went icy cold. The Iroquois--! That wasn't them! That WASN'T them! They did it--they killed them! It was an ambush! But--why us--why here? WHY--? Niskigwun's manitou rode up beside them; he wielded his spear, his arrows ratting on his back. "The river!" he shouted. "Go along it! I'll take to the trees and try to get them from up there--but you have to get to the river if you ever want to outrun them!" Wabasso nodded and steered the manitou aside. It leapt over fallen trees, its hooves tangling awkwardly in the branches, and landed hard on the other side; with a shrill whistle, it thudded quickly through the thickening forest, toward the sound of rushing water. All sorts of crashes and thudding noises filled the woods, and the more that she looked around, the more confused Charmian felt. She thought she saw Puka's manitou, with Puka and Marten atop it, going toward the river some distance off to the side; she couldn't see Mudjikawiss or Moon Wolf; but Manabozho appeared off to their other side, and he caught sight of them, his face pale, before following after Niskigwun. They're trying to surround us! he called out to her. I'll see if I can chase them off so you can get through! Charmian nodded this time, unable to speak. She let out a cry when the manitou jumped a log, and Wabasso clutched her arm to try to calm her; she bit back the rest of the yell and whimpered instead, clutching at the creature's fur and trying to trust in it carrying them safely. They reached the riverbank and began vaulting over yet more fallen trees, as this area of the woods seemed more full of them than ever, and the bank of the river began to rise steeply, until they found that they were no longer beside it but above it, batting yet more branches and leaves out of their way. They burst out of a thick stand of trees to see that they were now upon a bluff of sorts and the river roared loudly far below. The manitou halted and they looked from side to side, confused. "Where did everybody else go?" Charmian cried. Wabasso shook his head. "I...I do not know." A snapping noise came from ahead of them and they turned, hoping to see Niskigwun or Manabozho...and so when the black, ashy form of one of the Shadow Wolves appeared, Charmian shrank down into the manitou's fur as much as she could, whimpering and shaking. The Wolf grinned and panted. Wabasso's mouth set and he nudged the manitou to turn it around. Charmian let out a small shriek when they saw another Wolf standing there, several yards behind where they'd emerged. Its tongue lolled over its teeth and it came sauntering forward casually. Charmian clung to Wabasso's arm and peered from side to side as he did, her own arms trembling. The Wolves were in no hurry, yet that somehow seemed to make it worse. We have to clear the way, he said in her mind, and she tried to stop chattering so loudly as she could barely hear him, even mentally. I can't do anything, she thought back, despairing. I don't have any powers here! Wabasso bit his lip. He squeezed her arm and nudged his foot against the manitou's flank. Hold on, then. I do not know how well this will work. Charmian gripped his arm with one hand, and the manitou's nape with the other. Their eyes shifted to look from one Wolf to the other as they slowly came, and Charmian felt his grip on her growing tighter. When the Wolf behind them suddenly charged and leapt into the air, she had almost expected it, though she couldn't keep herself from gasping; at that second Wabasso kicked the manitou in the flank and it bucked, its hind legs flying up into the air and kicking the Shadow Wolf right under the jaw so that it flew from the trail with a pained yelp. The second Wolf launched itself forward and Wabasso whirled the manitou around; he jerked his hand at the air and an icicle dislodged from one of the tree branches overhead, and he swung this at the Wolf's face, the ice cracking against its cheek and sending it flying. The way cleared, the manitou started racing forward again toward the crest of the bluff, but didn't get far before almost stumbling into a deadfall of trees. They looked around frantically but the only way out was up, down, or back...and scuffling, growling noises proved that back wasn't the best option. Tears welled up in Charmian's eyes and her teeth chattered. If I could hurl a fireball, she thought. Then maybe I could do something. It is not your fault, Wabasso said, keeping his eyes fixed on the Shadow Wolves now approaching from behind, their injured companion with them. They no longer looked quite so amused, and their muzzles wrinkled in an ugly way as they approached, hackles prickling. Wabasso's muscles tensed and he peered over the edge of the bluff. The river no longer roared, its surface here crusted with ice; but Charmian could tell that she would never survive the fall, and even the manitou balked at jumping so far. She gasped and gripped Wabasso's arm. "You can fly out of here! I saw you change into a bird--that means you can get away!" He shook his head. "I am not leaving you here." Rustling noises started coming from above now, and they both glanced up and toward the woods, Charmian's hair nearly standing on end. She let out a breath of relief, however, to see that it was Niskigwun, working his way up among the treetops. He didn't see them at first, and kept climbing higher, unable to fly in the dense growth; a moment later Manabozho appeared behind him, and when Charmian waved her arms he spotted them immediately. He reached up and snatched the quiver and bow from Niskigwun's back before the Michinimakinong could even cry out in surprise, and started working his way toward them at an agonizingly slow pace. The Wolves growled and Charmian whimpered. Wabasso grasped her elbow, then steered the manitou toward the nearly solid wall of trees to their right. "Go," he said, gesturing up at the branches; Niskigwun had moved out of sight somewhere, but Manabozho was still climbing up. She looked back at Wabasso in confusion and he waved at the trees again. "Climb up and I will follow you," he said, then waved at the manitou. "He will be fine on his own, but not as long as we are here with him!" "But--what about you--?" Charmian asked, brow furrowing. "I have to make sure they will not follow. Then I will come right up." He lifted her under her arms now, and nudged her toward the trees. "Go on!" Charmian bit her lip but obeyed. Wabasso kept his hand on her as she started awkwardly climbing up into the trees, and she had to glance down at him as soon as she couldn't feel him anymore. He stared at the Wolves, who had stopped moving forward to glare at him--and at her--with malevolence in their eyes. Wabasso glanced up at her and nodded, his look encouraging her; she turned back and made herself pick up speed, grasping at branch after branch, pulling herself up higher and higher. Manabozho was still some distance away, but he saw her coming and immediately turned in her direction; she heard rustling noises somewhere above and off to the side, and knew that Niskigwun had to be nearby as well, possibly pointing his spear at the Wolves right that minute. This thought encouraged her also and she made her way toward Manabozho. Wabasso kept his eye on the Wolves to make certain that they weren't going to jump, then pushed himself off of the manitou's back, making a leap for the trees. The manitou immediately whistled and changed into a puff of mist, evaporating from sight; the Wolves growled angrily and approached the base of the trees where he had just been, their eyes flashing. Charmian slowed herself to look back at him as he began the arduous climb after her, then let out her breath. At least we're safe up here... An odd snarling sound came, then Wabasso's eyes went wide and he nearly fell, grabbing frantically at the nearest branches. Charmian froze and gaped at him, only now seeing the Shadow Wolf clinging to his leg, its teeth tearing at his legging. It started trying to drag him down with it and his fingers clawed at the wood. Charmian turned around. "Wabasso!" She heard a loud racket of snapping and rustling, and saw Manabozho vault up into the higher limbs, swinging Niskigwun's bow; he clambered into the tree which offered the best shot, and fitted an arrow to the notch, pulling back the string and aiming downward. Wabasso twisted himself around and started kicking at the Wolf to dislodge it; when it let go he started scrambling up again, and the look on his face was such that Charmian was moving even before he spoke. "Climb!" he shouted, his voice cracking, and she obeyed, the two of them hurrying up and up and up through the seemingly endless branches. Snow landed on their heads and leaves smacked them and they kept losing sight of their way, but they continued pulling themselves up over the slippery branches, gasping for breath. The Wolf barked and started scrabbling at the trees. A whistling noise shot through the branches, and Niskigwun's spear sailed past its head, just grazing its face; it bared its teeth and vanished from sight. A moment later a series of harsh guttural snarls came, and first two Wolves, then three, emerged, digging their claws into the bark and hauling themselves up awkwardly. Charmian gawked at them in disbelief as Wabasso came up behind her. "They're CLIMBING!" she shrieked, but all that Wabasso did was grab her elbow and yank her along with him as he went, his face gray and his eyes wide. He shoved her up in Manabozho's direction. "Hurry and GO!" he yelled. "YOU'RE the one they are after! You're the one who has to get out of here--!" Charmian opened her mouth to protest when, just like that, he was gone. She blinked in confusion, then a startled cry made her head whirl to the side. The Wolf had been so fast that she hadn't even noticed it leap through the air beside them--it was the same one he'd hit with the icicle, and now he was wrestling with it, his back pressed against the branches and his hands digging into its neck to keep its snapping teeth away from his face. Charmian screamed and tried going toward them, only to slip and have to grab onto the branch she was balanced upon. "Wabasso!" Manabozho balanced himself atop his own perch and aimed the arrow again, but his hands were shaking, and with the way the two moved and tussled, he couldn't get a good shot. He bit his lip and blinked the snow from his eyes; Charmian tried again to reach them and he ground his teeth. "Charmian! Get out of the way!" Several yards from them, Charmian reached out her arm, then slipped again; she yelped and fell to the next-lowest branch, then something grabbed onto her arm and pulled her back up. Niskigwun took hold of her by both arms and started carrying her up and away from them even as she flailed in protest. She saw Manabozho still aiming the bow, a panicked look on his face, and glanced back to see Wabasso still wrestling with the Shadow Wolf. Manabozho bared his teeth and shot to his feet, ducking his head and scurrying down toward them. Charmian's eyes goggled. "MANABOZHO!" She fought Niskigwun so hard that he had to stop just to keep hold of her. "DON'T! YOU'RE THE ONE THEY'RE AFTER!" He ignored her, reaching out for Wabasso but getting knocked aside by another Wolf at the last moment. It bit at him but he kicked it in the jaw, then swung Niskigwun's bow at it, cracking it across the face; it tumbled away through the branches. He perched where he was and fitted the arrow to the bow again, but by now the two below had moved somewhat, Wabasso trying both to back away and to keep the Wolf from biting him at the same time. Once or twice he broke free and managed to clamber up higher, but the Wolf caught up, biting at his heels and knocking him down again. Manabozho tried following them, his feet slipping on the branches so that he had to hold on to keep from falling. Charmian's eyes welled up and she blinked the tears furiously away. "Manabozho! Wabasso!" Wabasso at last stopped trying to back away, and yanked a branch free from the tree he was in, holding it up in front of himself; the Wolf's jaws clamped over it, and he leaned pressed back into a cradle of branches, his arms and the stick the only things keeping his throat from being torn out. Charmian quailed--the Wolf was almost as big as he was, and she knew he wasn't the strongest of the brothers--yet she saw his eyes flash blue, and the stick began to rise as he pushed it slowly up, and she sucked in a ragged breath. The two of them shook from the strain, but it looked as if Wabasso was holding the Wolf off. Charmian clenched her fists. "That's it, Wabasso!" Some distance above and away from them, Manabozho halted again and raised Niskigwun's bow. He aimed between the Wolf's shoulderblades, narrowing his eyes and pulling the string back taut. The arrowhead glinted. His foot slipped then, and he let out a gasp and started to plummet from the tree. Charmian's mouth flew open, Niskigwun's arm holding her back. "Manabozho--!" Manabozho yelped and crashed through the branches, then landed with a hard thud upon a particularly thick one, wincing in pain. He lifted his head and shook it, blinking, and Charmian let out her breath in relief. Then the nest of branches supporting Wabasso and the Shadow Wolf creaked and snapped and gave way, and with barely more than a short startled cry, the two of them went falling together, disappearing from sight over the edge of the bluff. Manabozho's, Niskigwun's, Charmian's eyes all went wide. Even as the sound of cracking, shattering ice came from far below, Charmian's and Manabozho's mouths had opened, and their voices rent up through the snowy treetops, making them shake with the sound of it. "WABASSOOOOOOO!!" |