Snow: The White Crow (15 page)

Almost as if she read that thought in me she smirked and reached into a pouch and pulled out another talisman.  It stank of rot and darkness.  She intoned a release spell and a bolt of that blackness shot into the sky toward the late afternoon sun.  A black cloudy web expanded in the air, swallowing up all of the sunlight, blotting out the sun completely.  The pale full moon on the horizon now shone brightly.

I furrowed my brow starting to wonder what that accomplished when a yelp of agony came from Daria as she fell to the ground writhing in pain as her body began reforming.  The wolves protecting the witch were wincing in discomfort as the change overtook them.  It struck me how much more painful it seemed to be for Daria as her whimpers and yelps turned into human screams of agony.

Moments later there were eight snarling werewolves standing around the witch and Daria standing and pulling clothes out of the pack.  I looked at the women as Daria zipped up some thin coveralls.  They nodded as I pulled down the last layer of the shield.

All at once, everyone was in motion.  Seven of the eight wolves dove at the three of us.  Red flung a silver blade that missed one wolf who seemed to blur.  They were protected by the same spell against mortal weapons.

Daria was weaving and dodging, and striking as two wolves flew past her.  She flicked fur, skin, and blood from under her nails as the wolves yelped.  I could smell the silver burns.  A wolf that had targeted me bounced off the wall of saplings that intercepted it in mid-leap.  I blinked.  I had meant to do it, but I hadn't willed it yet.  My half Perchta form was part of nature, not just in tune with it, so my slightest though has made it so since it was just like another arm to me.

Red called out as she pulled a silver hunting knife from her boot,  “Daria!  Something is off, they are healing too fast!”  I was wondering what Mari thought she was doing with that knife, it would be useless. But then it cut deep in a slashing motion into the nearest wolf who yelped and stumbled back to stalk her.  I looked at the knife and could see the same energies that made up her cloak woven all throughout it.  Alrighty then, not a mortal weapon.

I watched Daria as she growled just like a wolf but in human form, it was kind of scary, the wild look in her eyes.  The two wolves she had just silver burned were fully healed.  I could see something black and tainted in the areas the wounds had been.  It was unnatural, sick and wrong.  They weren't really healing, rather being patched by death magics.  Too much damage and they'd be nothing but zombie werewolves.

I looked at the crone and her eyes were wide as I started creating a path between her and myself, using saplings to clear the path.  She chanted a couple Romanian words then said, “Reajya, I need you.”  A black tear in nature, in the fabric of space appeared next to her and the other Crone stepped out, wrapped her arms around the other, and fell back through the tear with her before I could reach them.  Then they were gone.

I blinked at the werewolf that had stayed back to protect her which was in mid-leap at me with its fangs bared.  I had let my distraction be my end.  A red blur shot past my head, fur brushing my cheek as my snarling mate impacted the other wolf.  Fangs burying deep into its throat.  Her momentum snapping the smaller wolf back just short of me.  With a violent twist, she tore its throat out.

She spun on me and snarled, blood dripping from her fangs, her lips curled back.  I said, “What?  I didn't plan on being attacked.”  She snarled and leaped at me.  My eyes went wide.  I suddenly saw myself through rage filled eyes.  I could feel the need to hunt, to kill, to protect my mate, it was all I knew.  The rage felt good.  I saw the other wolf that was leaping at my mate from behind grow in my vision as I latched onto the back of its neck as we collided.  With a twist to the side, I snapped its neck in my jaws as we landed.  The kill felt so right.  My mate!  Mine!  Not yours!

I blinked and staggered as my sight came back to my own.  The residual rage and elation from the kill fading.  I swallowed then put a hand out.  Rachel was instantly in front of me as I buried my hand in the fur and she snarled at the other wolves in challenge.

I glanced at her first kill. That sickening black magic was already patching up the damage, rebuilding the wolf's throat.  It stirred then staggered to its feet and started diving at Daria who was fending off three.  Two of which she had already killed.

Someone was at my back suddenly she tilted her head back and spoke from the depths of her heavy red cloak.  “I hate magic.  Can you do something about this or do I need to start taking their heads?”

Rachel moved so fast she was nothing but a red-furred blur as she twisted and dove on Red.  I blinked.  Mari's reaction speed was faster than wolf as she caught Rach by the throat and held her jaws away from her.  Rach was thrashing and striking  Maireni repeatedly with her razor sharp claws.  I blinked, the cloak was undamaged and Mari didn't seem to notice.  She gave me an almost silly look. “Well?”

I placed my hand back on Rachel and said, “She's with us love.”  That didn't help so I dug deeper into myself to touch our mating bond.  That unlocked my Nature Queen aspect and I felt my antlers grow.  Rachel was so beautiful, a blinding light of the rage of nature.  I smiled at her and said again, “She is our friend my love, just like Daria there.  They are our pack.”

The word 'pack' echoed through the clearing, I could feel it connect with my red wolf.  She relaxed and glared at Mari, who released her slowly.  I chuckled when she sheathed her retractable claws and swatted at Red to knock her back a step from me.  I got the impression she was telling her “Mine.” as she moved between us.

I stroked the fur of my beloved and looked around.  That unnatural death magic stitching the poor wolves together and using them as puppets was appalling.  I looked from wolf to wolf.  Only one had not suffered enough damage to be true dead.  I could see their souls suffering and it brought tears to my eyes.

I whispered, “Be at peace.” The casting dissolved and seven wolves collapsed and returned to human.  Their souls at peace and allowed to go free.  Daria was holding the last female wolf at arm's length.  And she growled menacingly and I could see a golden wave travel through the wolf at that, causing it to calm though it still wanted nothing but to kill the woman holding her.

I stepped over and laid a hand on the wolf.  “She is pack.”  I could feel my words resonate in her battling against the unnatural compulsion.  It was too much for her and she started whining in pain and confusion.  The demon magics of the compulsion were too strong.  I felt for the beast, though it was out of my domain, standing apart from nature, it was not its fault.

I was going to encase it in a cage of wood to hold it until we could determine the best way to help it when Daria just head butted it, rendering it unconscious.  My Gretta aspect snorted in my head.  Even I, a construct of nature, blinked at the fact that the woman had just head butted a werewolf.

I smiled at her and she turned wild eyes on me.  Yes, Daria was more mine than the demon's, that was the thrill of the hunt in her eyes, the wild nature of the wolf.  I saw her humanity holding on by the barest thread, it had tempered her primal urges and allowed her to knock out the wolf instead of killing her.

I looked up to the sky at the rancid spell blotting out the sun.  I whispered to Daria, “Prepare yourself.”  She nodded once in understanding and started unzipping her overalls.  I waved an arm and the casting dissolved and the late afternoon sun again ruled the sky... and the screaming began.

Red closed her eyes against the screams and stepped to the now unconscious woman with the military tattoo and started tying her arms and legs.  The woman, my Gretta half supplied, was Amanda...  Amanda Danes. She started to stir.

She immediately began struggling against her bonds.  She was saying, “Please, I don't know who you are, but you have to get away from me.  I can't stop myself.  They told me to kill you, to protect them, I can't resist.”

I stepped to her as my confused looking mate stood between us.  I'd have to tell her what happened later.  I smiled at my delightfully naked Rachel. “It is alright love.”

She actually growled at me and I tilted my head back, exposing my neck to her.  She chuckled then just looked at me with eyes full of love and stepped aside.  I reached down to place a hand on the restrained woman's forehead.  She snapped at me with her human teeth.  I whispered to her, “Sleep little wolf.”

I let power flow from me to her and pulled nature around her like a blanket.  I saw the strain leave her eyes as they closed and she slipped into a peaceful slumber.

I squatted with my face inches from Daria's muzzle, she was outside of nature but such a beautiful beast.  “Hello.”  She let me cup her furry cheeks.  I smiled then stood and held my arm out and wrapped my feathered cloak around my mate as she stepped to me.

Mari was staring at me.  She smirked. “You clean up nice Snow.”  My human half caught the humor and I beamed a smile at her.  But then my eyes snapped east something was wrong.

I said absently, “I'll be right back,” as I leaped into the air and started flapping the wings of my crow form.  I crested the treetops, reveling in flight and circled high.  I could feel chunks being torn from nature, like daggers slashing at my sides.  It was being twisted, poisoned.  “There!” Gretta said – I said.  I looked toward the mine.  That was where the wrongness was. 

I reached out and watched through he eyes of the forest.  I saw the crones through hundreds of eyes.  They were casting their dark spells.  Corrupting the earth, bringing death.  Sacrificing it to the demons to pull forth evil.  Dark orcs!  They were creating dark orcs from the sacrifice.  At least twenty of them.  I thought those magics to be long dead.  Lost to the ravages of time.  That Reajya was indeed powerful and dangerous if she knew the old forbidden magics.  How had she fallen sway to an Alpha wolf if she had such power?

I sneered, but she would fail in this spell as it would require self-sacrifice like most dark magics.  I could see she was drained and at her own limit now.  What could she possibly... the other crone held out an obsidian knife to Reajya and bowed her head and said, “Mother.”  I snapped back to my own vision as the crone took the life of her daughter to seal the spell with the blood of self-sacrifice.

I cawed and swooped back under the forest canopy, my mate was waiting, her arm held out and I landed on it.  She rubbed my cap feathers.  I closed my eyes and pressed against her fingers and she asked, “Well Snow?”  I cawed at her and hopped playfully on her arm then leaped and landed on my feet.  I was mostly Gretta.  I had to will away the cloak of feathers.  I was still mostly connected to nature.  My antlers were small but splayed now.  I absently wondered where my clothing and weapons went whenever I changed.

I spoke in my human voice tinged with undertones of nature.  “She had dark orcs.  She is no longer interested in containing and controlling the Red Hood, Reajya means to end us all here.  I felt a darkness in the mine.  I believe the object she seeks is there.”  I paused, distracted by the attraction and arousal I could feel radiating from Rachel.  I looked into her eyes. “You are so beautiful.”  We shared a smile.

Daria cleared her throat in a chuffing sound.  And we looked over.  Red nodded and prompted. “Dark orcs?”

I grinned at Daria as I spoke to Mari. “My Gretta says.” I paused and started over, “I say, Daria can wait, she peed on my shoes.”

This got a startled explosion of laughter from Maireni.  “Yes, yes she did.  But she warned you.”  Daria was grinning a doggy grin beside her. Looking far too pleased with herself.

I was grinning at the humor then straightened up and explained, “Dark orcs are a pseudo demon.  They have no soul and are constructs of the rape of nature.  Reajya has exhausted herself to accomplish it and had to sacrifice the other witch to bind them to this earth.”

Mari asked, “But they can be killed?”

I nodded. “With enough damage, or of course decapitation, their demonic energies would be destabilized and wouldn't be able to exist in this realm anymore.”  I silently wondered how I knew all of this.  That thought made me realize that my human aspect was starting to come back to the forefront.  That was actually a relief knowing I wouldn't lose myself completely in this intoxicating form, feeling and being nature.

She prompted, “And the witch can't cast any more for a while?  She can't put that ward on them that avoids weapon strikes?”

I nodded.  “Unless she has talismans like the other had.  She is over confident to use her ace in the hole like this.  If I pull on my nature aspect more, I can probably find a way to undo the bindings and send them all back to hell where they belong.”

Rachel asked, “How much time?”

I responded with, “A few minutes, this is a strong casting, and unnatural, so it will take me time to understand the weaving.”

Rachel nodded as she picked up Daria's coveralls and put them on while Red clipped the travel pack on the great wolf's back.  “Weapons?  My guns are back in the forest where I fell when I changed.”

I shook my head.  “No love, you are too fragile in this form.  Dark orcs are powerful.”

She growled. “Give me your goddamn Sig Gretta.”

I inhaled deeply at the pull as I stepped to her.  She smiled and kissed me as she took my Sig from its holster.  She said, “I'll have your back while you work it out.”

I whispered in arousal, “You fight dirty my mate.”  She winked and her hand shot out to the side while she still had her eyes on me and caught the other nine mil that Red had thrown her from Daria's pack.  That was hot, oh yeah baby, Gretta is back.  I kissed her and said, “If you die, I'll kill you.”