Snow: The White Crow (6 page)

I looked at the amazed woman and handed it to her.  She cupped it in her hands and just stared at it with a smile on her face.  I said, “I gave it a lot of energy, it will outlast any buttercup this season without sun or water.”

She looked around and then at her chest of drawers and hopped up, sweeping the clothes and junk from the top of it and picking up a little glass dish that had some jewelry in it. She dumped the jewelry onto the top of the chest of drawers and set the clear glass bowl down and placed the buttercup in it.

She looked smug. “There, a proper place to display it. With the added bonus that I have one clean area in the room.”  I snorted and slapped my hand over my face in embarrassment.

Then she looked at me, tilted her head and squinted.  “So that's how you seem to be able to make trees, vines, and moss move and grow beneath your feet then recede?  You are speeding things up.”

I nodded. “Yes, I just ask a favor, and in return I give them more energy than they can normally harvest.  It is a trade.  So a branch that would normally take weeks to move into position, following the sun, I can coax into moving under my feet in mere moments.  It is a symbiotic relationship.  We each get something we want out of it.”

I grinned as I stepped next to her. “I can even do this...”  I touched her and let some of myself flow into her.

Her eyes widened. “Holy shit.  I feel energized.  Not sleepy at all anymore.  I feel like I have to do something, go for a run or something.”

I smiled as I got even more sleepy.  “I can give my energies to plants, animals, and to a limited extent, humans.  I can share information with animals, but not humans or anything with a more evolved brain, like apes or dolphins.  Elephants are hard too.”

I pulled off my jacket and pulled up my shirt sleeve to show her my white crow brand was glowing brightly.  I said, “But there is a cost.  The energy I use to create my magics drains my own life force.  I need to sleep in order for nature to recharge me.  As the years have gone by, my energy reservoir has been getting bigger and bigger.  I think one day it will get as large as my white crow's was, and I will lose myself, becoming Perchta herself.”

I thought of that.  “She has come to me in dreams, explaining to me the brand that no human was meant to wield.  That it glows as a warning and if I expend too much the crow will take me.”

She stared at me for a long moment then said with concern in her voice as she grabbed my arm and led me to her bed.  “Then rest, recharge.  I don't need to sleep now that you have me hopped up like I'm on speed.  Use my bed.  I'll wake you in plenty of time to get you to your camp.”

I was pretty groggy so I didn't fight.  I laid down and she covered me and sat at my side and stroked my hair until I nodded off.  I think I liked her taking care of me like that, it had been a long time since anyone had taken care of me.  I let the light take me as it always did when I fell asleep.

I dreamed of soaring through the sky on my white feathered wings.  Something was wrong, but I didn't know what.  A warning of some danger that threatened the balance.  I had dreamed this the past few nights.  It was the feeling that drew me places around the world, compelled me to reset the balance.

I had thought that the kidnappings here were why I was called to the Pacific Northwest, but here was the dream again, the sense of foreboding.  Was there something else at work here?  Something evil?  I scanned the world below me trying to see what my intuition was telling me.  I kept catching something red and fluttering, moving fast between the trees, faster than anything human could move.  It was following a darkness with the intent of a hunter.  Was it growling?  Was that darkness it chased what had sent me here?

I awoke with a start.  My semi-automatic in one hand and my silver knife in the other.  I looked at the door as Rachel walked in carrying two coffees.  She grinned at me as I lowered my weapons.  “Whoa, there Rambo.  Nothing to shoot here.”  She offered a cup to me.  “Coffee?”

I sheathed the knife, holstered the Sig, and accepted the coffee.  “Thanks.”  I stretched and stood and sipped.  I felt strong, recharged.  The nap did its job.  I glanced down at my brand that looked like nothing more than a white crow tattoo now, its light dormant. I took another sip.  The aroma was nice and the coffee was a little bitter.  Once again, I was struck that I still mimicked being human, as I didn't need the drink, but I still enjoyed the experience.

I wondered, not for the first time, where all the food and drink went.  I never ummm... expelled any waste.  I guess there's no tactful way to put that.  Maybe my body still converted it to energy and that energy trickled into my magic reservoir?

She looked at me over the rim of her coffee cup as she asked, “Does that happen every time you sleep?”

I squinted at her, had she known I was dreaming, did I talk in my sleep?  I nodded. “The dreams are always there.”

Now she squinted as she shook her head.  She opened her mouth then closed it again.  I stood then put my coffee cup on her dresser and started absently sorting her clothes.  Then she said, “No, the thing with the light.”

I paused as I was sniffing a shirt to determine if it were clean or dirty and looked up at her.  “What light thing?”

She cocked an eyebrow.  “When you finally drifted off your body went completely still I couldn't hear you breathing, I couldn't hear your heart beating.  It scared the shit out of me, I thought you had died or something.  But your skin was warm to the touch.  Then all these little streamers of white light, like small streams or wisps came.  Yeah, that was it, like will o' the wisps, they seemed to come from everywhere and blanketed you.  It was so bright I couldn't look directly at you as they layered you in light.  I got the impression of brilliant white feathers.”

She shrugged and finished, “I figured that is how you recharged your magic and the light made me feel...”  Her eyes dropped.  “...dirty?  So I left you to umm... sleep?”

I stood motionless for a second then continued sorting clothes.  “I'm not sure really, I've never really seen myself sleeping, have you?”  I gave her a toothy grin.

She chuckled and said, “I suppose not.”  Then added as she sat on the bed to watch me clean her room.  She almost whispered, “It was beautiful.  I felt happy watching it, but a part of me, the wolf part made me feel ashamed.”  Then her voice returned to normal. “Anyway, I'm glad you're awake.  It's two hours before sunset.  I can drop you near your camp and have plenty of time to get back here and cage my beast before the full moon claims me.”

Then she added, “You really are welcome to stay here instead.  It would be safer and make me feel better.  My panic cage is always available to you.”

I smiled warmly at her.  “I'll think about it.”  Then teased, “You're worried about me.  You liiike me.”

She made a decidedly wolf-like sound, like a chuff and said, “You're more of a bitch than I will be in a couple hours.”

I apologize to the heavens, but I snorted at that.  Though I did think it was funny, part of me was angry she belittled herself with that same humor.  Was she blushing?   I spoke to let her compose herself,  “I'll just walk, it's only a couple miles from here straight back into the mountains.  I'd be there before you could get me close with the car since there aren't many access roads and no direct route.”

I looked around to the fairly organized bedroom.  I'd needed a couple more hours if I were to make it look like an adult lived here instead of a teenage girl, but it was leaps and bounds better than when I started.

She caught this then bit her tongue cutely as she smiled, those pale eyes twinkling, bringing a smile to my face knowing I amused her.  She chided, “I should keep you around and feed you more often.  You're better than a maid service.  With your OCD, my place would be clean in no time.”

I threw some underwear of indeterminate cleanness at her to shut her up.  The sour face she got as she dropped them with two fingers into the stack of dirty clothes told the story.  The she grinned.  “You're kind of fun.”  Then added, “For a bird girl.”

I shook my head and put my jacket on.  “Watch it wolfie.”

She chuckled then put her hand out.  “Phone.”  I fished out my cell and handed it to her and she added her contact information.  “Call me if you need me.” 
Oh, I need you alright.
  I let my eyes follow her tight body. 
Oh dear lord Gretta, get a hold of yourself!
  I shook those thoughts, which came out of nowhere, out of my head.  Well fine, I admit I was attracted to her, but I was attracted to a lot of people.  And she was among the cursed.

She walked me to her back door and I felt a little shy suddenly and didn't want to leave.  Most likely, I'd never see the woman again after the kidnapping case is closed.  I cocked my head and asked, “Would it be ok to use your shower in the morning?  I'm smelling kind of rank, it has been over twenty four hours since I cleaned up.”

She grinned and replied maybe a bit too quickly, “Of course.”

I reached over and grabbed her hand and gave it a little squeeze.  “Thanks.  And thank you for your hospitality.  It was... nice, being able to confide in someone.  Us people with supernatural potential are always hiding ourselves from the eyes of the mortals.”

She just nodded and I stepped through the door and she closed it behind me.  I stood there for a moment, then started walking into the woods on a deer trail most people would never have seen.  A carpet of moss under my feet.

I went up over a ridge as I approached my camp and I looked down over the valley.  I caught the afterimage of something red far below slipping between the majestic trees in this untamed portion of the range.  That was like my dream.

My magic reached out, questing, twisting through the trees as swift as thought.  Probing the forest for signs of passage of whatever I had seen.  Trying to locate the blur.  But nothing.  It was as if the forest had swallowed any signs that anything had been there.

I felt the wildlife and asked if any could help me.  A bald eagle screeched above the valley and spiraled from the sky.  I put my arm out and it landed on my arm.  He was big, at least fourteen pounds.  His talons almost piercing the protective leather of my jacket.

I reached up with my other hand and stroked his majestic head.  Getting my fingers under his crown feathers and giving him a good scratch.  He closed his eyes.  “How are you today?  I'm terribly sorry to pull you away from your hunt but have you seen anything out of the ordinary today?”

I let my magic settle over him and he rustled his wings and looked directly at me.  I got the impression of a river of red moving in the trees.  He felt it was a predator.  Then I got flashes of a huge wolf paralleling her.  Was one hunting the other?  His impression of it was of danger, predator, and death.

There was something about how they were moving that didn't ring right.  Then I got it, they were working in concert.  They were hunting something together.  Almost herding whatever it was they were after.  Seeing the terrain from above like this I could see that they were highly intelligent, using the river and the valley itself to funnel whatever it was to a bottleneck.

Something about the impressions of the wolf gave me pause.  Not just the size.  It was bigger than any natural wolf.  It was something the eagle didn't understand about the way it looked, something it couldn't convey to me.  Was it hunchbacked?

I reached my senses out again to try to touch it.  There was something there, but nothing at the same time.  It was familiar, but I couldn't place why.  Whatever it was, it wasn't natural, which meant I probably needed to stop it.  I thanked the eagle, there was nothing I could give it so I let a little of my life force soak into him.  “Thank you.”

With a mighty stroke of his wings, he was airborne again.  I smiled at his screeching call back to me.  Then I started down at a dead run toward the bottleneck the beasts were pushing their prey toward.  The forest aiding me and clearing a path.

I had almost reached my destination when I realized that I couldn't hear any wildlife around me.  The forest was still like it was holding its breath.  I quested and they were there, hiding, fear was all around.  It was a familiar fear but again, I couldn't put my finger on it.  I caught movement through the underbrush and I looked through to a clearing where the biggest grey wolf I had ever seen, outside of a werewolf, stepped into.

It paused and its ears were twitching around and it was pulling air through it's flaring nostrils and across its tongue.  Tasting and scenting the air.  I was downwind so didn't worry about being spotted.  I looked at the wolf's back.  It had some sort of pack strapped to it.  That would account for the eagle's confusion.

I reached out to try to feel the wolf, to speak with it.  Predators like wolves, bears, and big cats generally tolerate me but are not as helpful as other animals.  They were driven more by instinct than other animals.  Usually, only three things on their minds, hunt, kill, mate.  I caught the vestiges of the wolf but couldn't make a connection.  I could always connect with the wildlife, something was off.

Its eyes narrowed like it knew I had tried to connect with it.  It looked carefully around stepping slowly and sampling the air again.  It stepped onto a rock outcropping to get a better view of the bottleneck ahead.  It's claws clicked on the rock and I just stared at its platter sized claws then it all came to me in a rush.  They weren't normal wolf claws, they were re-curved, retractable claws.

I knew why I couldn't connect with it using my magic and I understood the fear of the animals in the area.  This wasn't a wolf.  Werewolf!  But in the daylight?  How?  I pulled my Sig silently and unclipped the lash on my silver knife so I could draw it quickly.  I looked at the bottom of my magazine to verify it had the red dot of my silver rounds, took off the safety, and raised my Sig and took careful aim.

A smoky female voice from behind me said, “I wouldn't do that if I were you.”  And something was pressed against my neck.  I was shocked, I had neither heard nor felt her coming up behind me.

I heard a low growl that was vibrating the ground up through my feet and I saw the werewolf staring straight at me with its fangs bared.  Good lord, they were almost three inches long!

I lowered my pistol and someone behind me grabbed it from my hand and the knife from my sheath.  Then the pressure against my neck was released.  I carefully looked at the wolf and turned to the person behind me.  I blinked.  It was a woman in a heavy red cloak, who was holding a crossbow pointed at the ground.  The Red Hood!

I think it was the amused look on her face, that was obviously because I recognized her, which caused me to smile and ask, “A crossbow?  Really?  That thing is a werewolf, we need to...”  I was slammed to the ground by a huge weight.  Even with my enhanced reflexes and strength I was taken by surprise by its speed.

The werewolf was on me!  It used one of its huge paws to roll me and it pinned me to the ground with its weight and strength that eclipsed mine.  The Red Hood just stood there grinning as she hung the crossbow under her cloak on a shoulder strap.  She wasn't helping me!  She just crossed her arms and leaned back against a tree.

So this was to be it?  Finally an end to my long life.  To be taken down by this impossible werewolf?  It just stared into my eyes.  I blinked and looked away.  Wait, what the hell?  It was making me submit!  That was like the effects I heard described that Alphas had.  I glared back at it in defiance.  I wouldn't go meekly.  I hissed, “Do your worst bitch!”  The beast snarled threateningly at me.  Fangs inches from my face.

The Red Hood palmed her forehead and drew her hand down across her face, shaking her head. “You have no self-preservation in you, do you, lady?  She doesn't like people calling her bitch.”

I blinked then looked at her and the wolf then realization dawned.  I blinked in disbelief.  “She's... she's your hellhound?  A werewolf?”

She chuckled.  “Well yes and no. She's not a werewolf, she's something... different... unique... beautiful.”  There was compassion in her tone.  Not a werewolf?

I noted the wolf was wearing a studded leather collar with a bone shaped tag hanging down that read 'Fluffy'.  I must have read it aloud because the beast growled threateningly.  I take it she didn't like her name.

Then the Red Hood spoke again.  “If I were you, I'd stop what you are doing with all the trees and vines you have sneaking up on us.  She likes a good fight, but she's not a good sport when it comes to magic.”  I released the magic that was calling the forest to me.  I wondered if they could see the magic or if they noticed the forest subtly closing in on us.  I thought I had it moving slowly enough for them not to notice.

She spoke again, “Let's start over.  I'm Maireni Damaschin, the Red Hood if you prefer.  And you are?”

I kept my eyes on the wolf.  Wait, it had human eyes!  What the hell was going on here?  I said, “Gretta, Gretta Snow.”

She pushed herself from the tree at that, and the wolf seemed to relax though it still pinned me to the ground.   Maireni said, “I've heard stories about you.  I've always discounted them when I couldn't find you or the others.” 
The others?

Then she said, “So I take it you aren't with the coven we're hunting?  Are you after them too?”

I shook my head, not knowing what she was talking about.  Was this coven the blackness I dreamed of that drew me here?  Then she said, “We need to talk then.”  She looked at the wolf. “Daria?”

The wolf looked down at me, seemingly amused and licked my face in a big slurp, leaving doggy drool in its wake.  “Ewww!”  The wolf chuffed and stood and stepped to Maireni's side where she was absently holding a hand out.  That hand buried into the ruff of the big wolf's neck and she started absently scratching her as I stood and dusted myself off.

The two looked oddly relaxed and ready to pounce in the same instant.  They seemed so in tune with each other.  The wolf looked up and whined.  Maireni squinted at her. “Which way?”  The wolf chuffed and whined.

The woman in red nodded, knelt, and spoke to me as she took a canvas out of the pack on the wolf's back and spread it on the ground.  “The Alphas have sent two groups to the Seattle area from Europe.  A coven of gypsy witches they control, and a group of earth druids.  They seek something in the area and have already killed many in a bloody trail from Europe to the Americas.”

She continued, “With the pressure lessening after we killed a second of the brothers Marcus, the European and African walled cities have broken the sieges.  This allowed us to track the magic users back to here.”

As I took in what she was saying, I looked at the canvas.  It appeared to resemble a large Ouija board with letters, familiar phrases like 'yes', 'no', 'please', 'thank you', then comically 'fuck you' and 'shut up'.  There was also a compass with cardinal points.

Maireni looked expectantly at the wolf and she reached a huge paw out and placed it on east on the compass but then moved it to north east.  The Red Hood hissed, “They've split up?  Damn.  You're sure?”

The wolf narrowed her eyes and growled menacingly.  Maireni's eyes twinkled with mirth as she said, “Of course you're sure, sorry for doubting you love.”  Then she tilted her head back slightly exposing her neck and the wolf leaned in and carefully nipped at her with those deadly looking fangs.  This seemed to appease the wolf and she sat and leaned her body against the woman's cloak.

As Maireni leaned back into the wolf, she looked up at me and asked, “Can you and the others track the group heading east, we'll head after the ones to the northeast.”  She looked at Fluffy. “Numbers?  Your nose is better than mine in that form.”  The wolf touched the number nine then east again.  Then touched one twice and northeast.  She nodded. “That was my count, but I wasn't sure.”

I blinked and must have mumbled, “An intelligent werewolf?”  Because they both whipped their heads toward me and I couldn't tell if the subsonic growl I could feel building was coming from the woman or the wolf.  Maybe both?

The Red Hood snapped, “She's not a werewolf!”  Then she calmed herself and looked lovingly at the beast. “She’s... something different.”  I swear the wolf smiled at her.

The wolf was whining and shimmying a bit and Maireni chuckled. “Then go do something about it, I'm not your mother.”  The wolf squinted at her and slowly reached her paw out and tapped the “fuck you” on the canvas that made the woman in the cloak burst out laughing.  The wolf stood and trotted off.  I cocked my eyebrow in question.  She shrugged. “She has to go relieve herself.  She didn't want to miss any of the conversation.”

I watched the wolf disappear behind some bushes. “Then why doesn't she just do it here?”

She replied with a little shrug like it were obvious, “She's embarrassed for anyone to see her peeing when she is like this.”  She chuckled at the growl she got in return.

I turned my attention back to her.  “You keep mentioning these 'others.'  Who are they?  It is just me here.”

Her face fell at that, and the wolf trotted back over to us and laid down in front of the canvas.   Maireni absently laid back on the monster like it were a fluffy pillow and said, “We had heard whispered rumors of sightings of the Trilogy.”

I was really confused now.  “The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?”

She chuckled.  “No, the three powers.  The Woman of Snow, the Lady of Cinders, and the Slumbering Princess.”  She clarified with a sour look on her face. “For lack of better description, Snow White, Cinderella, and the Little Brier Rose...   Sleeping Beauty.”  Then she added under her breath, “Fucking Brothers Grimm.”

I snorted at that. “I said the same thing just today.”  Then I blinked. “The others are real?  I thought I was alone until you stepped into the light.  Supernatural beings and magic users have been coming out of the woodwork after you freed all those people from the lupus curse.”

The look of a kindred spirit and the sadness of understanding creased her face.  I could see that she had been alone too.  But somehow, this wolf she traveled with, this hellhound, seemed to complete her in some way.

She nodded. “Apparently they are as real as you or I.  I haven't heard a lot about the Brier Rose, but a woman named Ella has been burning a swath through the Americas in the direction of Seattle.  She seems drawn to black magics and imbalances of nature, she leaves nothing but the destruction of evil in her wake.”

She chuckled. “It seems Cinderella isn't all sweetness and light like Jacob and Wilhelm wanted everyone to believe.”  She spoke of the Brothers Grimm like she had known them.  The weaselly self-serving glory hunting bastards.  They had convinced me they were chronicling the stories of the champions of good.  Then they change my story into some children's fairytale.  I grinned at the Red Hood.  I guess they did that to all of us, as this dangerous woman is certainly no Little Red Riding Hood.