Page 18 of Blood of the Fallen
I was nothing, just the husk of a person destined to suffer. First, enduring the Academy’s betrayal, the murder of my friends, and the horrible nightmare that was that mass grave. Then, being set on fire while my once-best friend watched with indifference. And now, this. Whatever it was.
Maybe death at last.
The ache in my body built to a crescendo until it felt as if my entire body might simply explode. Then I thought maybe it had because as abruptly as it’d begun, the pain stopped.
I thought there would be nothing after death, but there were sounds. The rustle of plants. The snap of twigs. The howling of the wind. And relentless heavy breathing… my own?
After the sounds came the sights. Where there had been utter darkness, shapes started to appear, at first blurry, but then growing sharper: trees rushing by, fallen trunks, a slash of white fur disappearing behind a bush.
And then there were the scents, so many of them, so confusing. Overwhelming! They filled my head, making it hard to concentrate on anything else.
I lowered my head and shook it. I blinked and found myself staring at a pair of large, galloping tawny paws, tipped with sharp black claws. I was trying to process what I was looking at when those paws tangled together, tripping, and the world went tumbling end over end.
Ioomphedas something hit my side, and I let out a whimper.
Everything went still.
I blinked at gnarled roots and sneezed at the sharp scent of damp moss.
Rumbling laughter registered inside my head, and a white wolf appeared above me, standing majestically, silhouetted against the green foliage of a large tree. He had one green eye and a clouded one.
Get your ass up, Sheela,a voice spoke crystal-clear in my mind. It was Maki.
I rolled my head to the side and caught sight of him and Novuk standing behind me.
Groaning, I made as if to stand but just collapsed back down and rolled weirdly on my back.
Maki roared with laughter.Not like that.
Don’t laugh at her, Novuk growled.She needs to learn.
The white wolf took a step closer.Don’t roll on your back,he said gently,roll sideways.
Sideways?I echoed, still confused, a part of my mind blocking what should have been obvious, except it seemed, I didn’t want to believe it.
I curled up into a tight ball and started trembling.
What’s wrong with her?Maki asked.
She’s been through too much in such a short time, Novuk answered.
Is she broken?Maki, again.
No answer.
The three wolves sat on all fours and surrounded me. They didn’t say anything, didn’t push me in any shape or form. They simply waited, while I tried to come to terms with this new reality. Iwasa shifter. I didn’t know how, but I had turned into the wolf, and I’d been running with barely a scrap of awareness of what I’d become. Had my consciousness been replaced by that of a wild animal? Would I be pushed aside to make room for a creature that had laid dormant inside of me all these years? My mind whirled and whirled with questions, driving me to insanity.
I wanted to scream but was afraid of the sound that would come out.
After a long time curled up on the ground, my mind turning in useless circles, an instant of clarity passed through me, and I asked myself,If you were nothing but a wild animal, would you be asking all these questions?
I calmed down by degrees. I opened my screwed-shut eyes and met Kall’s—one green, one cloudy. He sat in contentment, his nostrils flaring slightly, his pointed ears relaxed. At either side of him, Maki and Novuk were mirror images. I had no idea how much time had passed since I’d curled up in shock, but they showed no signs of impatience.
Making an effort to take deep breaths, I rolled to one side and stood on all fours.
On all fours!
That idea nearly sent me into a new bout of shock, but I shut out the anxious thoughts that threatened to overflow my mind.
