“You really love this form, don’t you?”
Snow looked at her blinking slowly and then nodded resting her massive head in Ryza’s lap. She turned and looked up at her, her ice blue eyes filled with Ryza’s face. She leaned forward and sniffed at her cheek licking it gently. The necromancer made a face but smiled leaning closer against her.
One of her hands brushed through her fur gently, tangling it in white clumps. She was very warm, almost like a furnace. But in the night of the desert, it wasn’t that bad. She felt the air shift beside her and looked at Stephanie as she fell back against the ground gently. She was holding up an unfolded sheet of paper, holding it to the sky.
She rotated it around 90 degrees and then 180 and back. Letting out a grunt she lay back flat and let out a loud exhale of breath. Rustle and Ginger padded over to her sniffing at her face lightly and then going to the paper. Chuckling Ryza took the map from her and turned it around.
“I can’t understand it Ryry. How do you even read that?”
“I’d say it’s simple but it’s not,” she sat up slowly despite Snow’s protest.
Once Ryza was standing Snow huffed on the ground. Grey padded over to her and circled before lying beside her and resting his tail on her flank but both wolf and wulf kept their eyes on the necromancer as she moved around.
Stephanie was pulled to her feet and then Ryza glanced up at her and then pointed at the chart. It was a blank crème colored piece of paper, with black lines everywhere connecting dotted positions. Constellations. Some named. Some unnamed but fitted together.
“It looks so neat and cool on the page but when I try and find them it’s like a needle in a haystack,” Stephanie pouted. “How do you do it?”
“Outside of a lot of practice and study,” Ryza took one of her larger hands and brought it to the sky. She made a face looking through the stars and scanned each of them until her eyes lit on one. She pointed and made her point as well. A star that seemed to glint brighter than the others.
“What’s that?”
“The guiding star,” Ryza said. “It’s the point of focus anywhere in the sky. It’ll always be brighter than the rest up there. If you’re lost or need to reorient yourself, find that.”
“I think I remember Dioh telling me that once a long time ago,” she said nodding quickly. She stared at the star and then pulled up the chart. Her eyes shined as she pointed at a bigger star than the others in the center. “That’s it right?”
“Exactly. Now that we’ve found the guiding star let’s overlay it.”
They put the chart to the sky and held it over the guiding star together and then Ryza lowered it. “There. There’s one.”
She pointed at the map and circled around a constellation that was like a large spoon. Ryza pointed it out in the sky. It wasn’t nearly as close as the chart may have depicted but it was almost identical to the constellation that was on the chart.
“It’s not exactly one to one but it’s close,” Ryza said. “Just follow the guiding star and you’ll find the constellation you want to see.”
Stephanie nodded raising the map and then her eyes widened as she turned slightly to right, “Ryry. I think I found one!” her tail started wagging quickly. “It says it’s called Scorpio right?”
“That’s right,” she said nodding as she saw the connection of stars. Saw the minor pincers and the stinger. “Some people have said that these constellations are based on real people.”
“Those are just legends and stories though,” Stephanie smiled now very much engrossed in the stars above her head. Especially now that she could read and understand the chart. She crouched down immediately and motioned for Rustle and Ginger to come over to her. She showed the map and pointed to the sky helping them understand it as best as she did.
Ryza watched her and smiled going back to Snow and Grey. Both looked at her expectantly and were very satisfied when she stroked her fingers through their fur. Tails wagging and tongues out. “So the ritual? And all that. It’s ready?” Stephanie asked as the wolves stared at the sky enthralled.
Ryza’s ears perked up, “It should be. I’m still a little nervous. It’s not something that has been done before. Not this way at least.”
“Well whatever you did with us it was weird. Like really weird,” she shuddered and let out a sigh. “It was weird. Not bad. Just weird.”
Snow barked in agreement and Ryza giggled, “I can imagine having me touch your being isn’t exactly normal. I hope I was gentle.”
“You were,” Snow said as she changed back to her human form. She stretched and brushed the fur of her ears down gently. Her tail wagged quickly and Ryza came over kissing her softly. “Trust me. I’ve felt it when you were rough.”
She started to say something more when she paused turning toward the street. She sniffed the air and the others did the same. Each of them sniffed in unison though they could still sense it. They could feel it approaching on the air. A force like the moon rising every night or a storm coming.
“We have a visitor,” Ryza said softly. “I wonder what she wants.”
They all went toward the edge of the balcony and then jumped down. The wolves raced around going down the stairs, coming to meet them. But coming down one of the streets was her. Immediately the wolves looked at The First, wearing her female form at the present. Even without her true eyes, seeing her was something special to Ryza.
Some traits were constant though, obsidian dark skin, broad nose, and thick lips. The wolf fur rested on her head covering her eyes. She walked and each step, they could feel it. When The First turned her wolf’s head to them she lingered on Ryza for a long moment and even smiled.
“Good evening,” Stephanie nodded toward her quickly.
“Ryza. Snow. Stephanie. I am not surprised to see you all awake at this hour. The night has often called to you. Especially you Ryza,” The First said softly.
“Some of my best discoveries have come from my nighttime walks,” she said. “Including understanding you. Which is still something beyond my magical knowledge.”
“Understanding me would take more than just our midnight talks,” she replied. “It’s a very old kind of magic that helped to birth me. Long before your time.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t be curious,” she replied.
“You’re always curious Ryry,” Snow whispered leaning down and resting her chin on her head.
“I like to know things. Speaking of that. What brings you our way?”
“I was wondering if I could borrow you. There’s a place here that I think you of all people would enjoy,” she said. “Of course, you all can come with me.”
Ryza’s ear twitched and she raised an eyebrow. But she looked back at the others and nodded slowly, “Let’s find out shall we?”
Snow yawned and stretched her arms above her head. Swishing her tail back and forth slowly she nodded. Stephanie nodded as well and motioned toward the wolves as they padded after her. But Ginger yawned and stretched against the ground. Snow looked at her and stroked her face gently before shaking her head.
“You two go. I’ll stay back here with these trouble makers,” she said motioning toward Rustle and Grey. Rustle came over quickly but Grey remained by Ryza’s side sitting and staring up at her. “Come on Grey.” He did not budge and she sighed. “Your wolf Ryry.”
“I know and he’s such a good boy isn’t he.” She crouched down and pressed her face against his and his tail wagged looking up at her. “You’ll behave won’t you Grey?”
He barked and she nodded glancing back over at Snow. “Fine. I’ll take the obedient ones with me.” She stuck out her tongue at them and smiled. “Stephanie make sure Ryry doesn’t get into any trouble alright?”
Giggling she nodded quickly, “I’ll keep both my eyes on her.”
“As if you were going to look anywhere else,” Snow teased.
She blushed quickly and started to argue but Ryza took her hand and pulled her along the streets.
They walked through the quiet paths of Luthagen. Life in the city was always quieter at night. There were nocturnal members of the pack, some hunted nontraditionally but many of them worked together in similar fashion to the rogues. As the group walked they did get looks. After all when The First walked, The First got attention.
The First walked them to a tall building. The lower half seemed to be made of nothing but stone with no obvious way to enter it. But the second floor was open with a wood plank balcony that went in every direction. The First crouched and jumped going to the second floor in one fluid movement.
Ryza looked up there and then glanced at Grey. “Sorry but you’ll have to stay down here.”
He whined looking at her and she brushed her hands through his fur lightly before jumping after The First along with Stephine. They landed lightly on the wood and saw what would have been a library. It was a circular room with a couple of chairs, old carpeted ground, and tarp covered shelves surrounding the walls. The ceiling was open though she figured the tarps could be used to cover the roof.
“What is this place?” Stephanie asked.
“A place to come and think. To be alone. And in some cases, to mourn and remember.” The First turned to face them.
She walked to one of the shelves and pulled it down in a gentle flourish. Ryza’s eyes adjusted and then widened as she looked at what was on the shelves. Knives, helmets, dolls, bound journals, blankets, and more. All of them carried scents that she didn’t know but they felt familiar.
Stepping forward she took a deep breath and her eyes changed. Turned a bright silver and she saw them all. Wulves older than her and younger. Some that had seen a lot of fighting and some that had barely seen their first day as a part of the pack. Some transformed as large canines and some as human as she looked. All of them were in the room with her.
When she looked back at Stephanie, she saw that Stephanie’s eyes were amber, and the way that she moved to stand closer to Ryza it showed that she could see them too. Ryza took her hand but looked around with wide almost excited eyes.
“What is this Ryry? This place. What I’m seeing.”
“Its like a graveyard. Except more than that,” Ryza whispered. “Their spirits are here but it’s not them. Fragments of the past still clinging to this world.”
“This is the hall of our fallen. Everything you see here, every trinket or token was an item placed here by a loved one or myself. A memory of those in the pack that we’ve lost so that we don’t forget them. Even more than that, when dealing with the pain of that loss you’re reminded that they’re still with you.”
Ryza walked toward one of the shelves and traced her fingers across the wood. She saw a combination of things. An old worn glove with split leather and holes at the fingers for claws. She saw a pair of sheers, bright and polished as if they had been new or were still being taken care of. And she saw a simple mug, chipped and painted with faded flowers along its surface. There were dozens of things like this.
Each of them spoke to her. Soft whispers of names. Places. Memories. They reached out to her and once upon a time she recoiled away from them. But now she reached out to them. Felt their energy waft over her and it was warm like a summer breeze. Not the dry heat that she was used to in the desert.
She met the eyes of the wulves one by one and smiled gently. They looked at her, awed and surprised. No one had ever really looked at them before. Not like that. But they weren’t there for her, just answering the door to a kind stranger. And they retreated eventually back to their trinkets and keepsakes.
Ryza turned to find Stephanie but she was on the other side of the room. Crouched against the ground in front of a box. Ryza walked over to her slowly and leaned over her looking at the contents. It was a small box of hair and fur, wrapped together in small coiled circles. At first, Ryza focused on one of the tufts that were gently wrapped around a small bone. She sniffed the air gently and gasped.
Pups smelled differently from their adult counterparts. She’d learned that from being with Stephanie so long. So, looking down at the fur she could smell them. Stephanie shook gently as she picked one up and pressed it to her nose. She breathed in that scent and then suppressed a small cry.
“I. I knew her. A really weak pup. I had hoped. Hoped she would pull through. And she didn’t,” she wiped at her eyes. “She was born in her wolf form. And never got old enough. Never strong enough to change. This bone was her toy. Of all the things near her when she was born she didn’t let this one go. I thought she was buried with it.”
The First stood at one of the door frames and whispered, “For those taken from this world too young, we do something like this. To make sure they aren’t ever forgotten.”
Looking back at her, Ryza glanced back to Stephanie before walking to join The First on the pseudo balcony. Back in the night air, she took a breath that was suddenly much easier to take. Looking down at the ground she saw Grey, a moving cloud, having moved around to see her. The moment his eyes rested on her his ears went up and his tail wagged again.
“He’s a loyal one isn’t he.”
“Aren’t they all?”
The First shook her head, “Not like him no. Grey is a special kind.”
“Yes. Yes he is.”
Silence drifted over them for a moment. Not the first time they’d talked together like this. The First rarely said more than she wanted to. And Ryza definitely tried her best to get under her skin but The First was older and smarter than her in many ways. But eventually, she did give her bits of information.
“Is it just you tonight? Or is he also present?”
“No my other half is sleeping for now. I believe he will be that way until the morning,” she closed her eyes and then turned and looked at Ryza fully. “You’re so gentle with her.”
Ryza looked over her shoulder and sighed, “Stephanie has seen and been through many things. Kindness isn’t something that she’d had a lot of. Let alone affection.”
“I’ve tried to look over her. It was a stroke of good luck that Dioh took to her and she to him.”
“He instilled some. Interesting. Words of wisdom to her,” Ryza folded her arms. “But I’m glad she had him.”
“And now she has you both.”
“She does.”
“I was skeptical of bringing you into the pack when you first showed up here. Death clings to you like smoke. A strong stench. And my experiences with it in the past have been mixed at best. But you’ve shown me that you are someone that I can trust. And I am grateful for that. You and your pack are strong.”
“Thank you,” Ryza dipped her head. “Is that why you showed me the hall?”
“Yes. It was time our pack necromancer found the home of our dead. Their spirits sometimes are restless. And I may call on you to settle them.”
“The dead are fickle. Even I am not perfect at handling them.”
“No but something is always preferred over nothing,” she replied.
Ryza began to speak but stopped and turned around. She felt Stephanie approach more than hear or smell her. Turning on the spot she faced her and took a few steps closer taking one of her hands. “You okay?”
Stephanie rubbed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah. Just memories. I hope those little ones are resting.”
Ryza’s silver eyes flashed for a moment and she nodded, “They are. With their pack. And I think they remember you.”
Stephanie smiled at that and felt another tear roll down her cheeks. She stepped forward and hugged Ryza tightly, pressing her face into the crook of her neck and taking a deep breath. She crouched and eventually sat down. “My legs feel weak. That’s weird.”
“Lots of emotions Stephanie. It’s alright,” Ryza squeezed her shoulder and then looked at The First.
The First was watching them but suddenly she stood up straighter. She turned and stared at the desert, her eyes going small to the size of pinpoints. And then whatever she felt they felt. Ryza’s eyes flared to life and Snow stood up suddenly her fur bristling.
She didn’t stop to look at them, instead, she continued to stare at the desert. Stephanie followed her gaze trying to discern it. Trying to understand what she felt but all she saw was the desert. The section that was less sand and lots of hard rock. Things were moving on the harsh winds of the emptier plains. She couldn’t really see anything that could have caused that feeling. Just dots of light and stars in the distance. A few constellations she could remember from the chart.
And then lights began to blink and she realized they were more than lights. Her eyes widened and she took a step back as the size of what was approaching became apparent. Its eyes found her and she felt a roar. Something that reverberated in her chest without a sound. Like an earthquake but in the air.
Ryza and Stephanie both flinched taking a step back as The First faced it. Stephanie instinctively moved to stand in front of Ryza. “What the hell is that Ryry?”
“A demon,” Ryza said almost bitterly.
The word sent a shiver down Stephanie’s spine. She’d never met a demon. She’d heard stories from other wulves, from Dioh, and from Ryza. They sounded like terrifying monsters but this was something else entirely. Like knowing what fire really was but then feeling its heat for the first time.
She didn’t run away but she was scared now. When Ryza touched her arm, she jumped but her touch helped steady her. Ryza continued forward and looked at The First. “Is it coming this way?”
“Yes. Why I’m not sure but who knows with the minds of demons.”
“Only the old ones even have thoughts let alone opinions,” Ryza replied and shook her head. “What’s your plan?”
“Go find Dioh. Tell him we have a demon to handle.”
“Alright,” Ryza nodded and started to move when Stephanie shook her head. “Stay and help The First. I can find and convince him faster on my own.” She met her gaze and nodded quickly. Stephanie kissed her and pressed her forehead against hers. “Be careful.”
“You too.”
She jumped down landing squarely on her feet startling Grey. “Go with Stephanie Grey! I’ll be okay.” He paused but then stood up and looked at her. She nodded and they took off into the desert.
Ryza looked over at The First and nodded, “Let’s go.”
“Don’t you need your shovel?” Ryza smiled holding out her hand and chanted a single word. Her palm flashed and her shovel appeared in her hand. The First raised an eyebrow and cracked a smile. “Let’s go.”
The Harlequin Library 