Page 38 of Blood of the Fallen
Hmm, seems to me you’ve been digging long enough,human me interjected again.
My wolf growled, hating the commentary and distraction.
Seriously, don’t you think this is already eight-foot deep?
I froze.
Eight? Yes, that was what the Chieftess had said. And there was also something about six pups.Damn!How was I supposed to figure out the length of the passage?
Well, you’re about five feet from the tip of your nose to the tip of your tail, so…
Immediately understanding what to do with that piece of information, I used my back paws to leave a mark on the ground, then backed up until my muzzle lined up with the spot plus a tail length. I did that two more times and finally found myself outside.Damn!I had overdone it! I had dug too deep, wasting precious time. No doubt I would be eliminated.
“Go, Sheela, go,” Nirliq called behind me. “You’re doing great!”
I had no idea if that was true, but her cheer gave me hope. Maybe, I’d already lost, but I wouldn’t leave the task unfinished.
With renewed determination, I dived back in. At the bottom of the hole, I began making a wide space where little pups could curl up safely to sleep in wait for their mother as she went hunting. When I was done, I started digging upward.
That’s enough space for the pups, but what about the mother?That annoying human voice in my head piped in.
The Chieftess hadn’t mentioned anything about space for anyone other than the pups, but it made sense that a useful den would also have enough space for the mother to curl up with her pups to let them suckle.
Chest rumbling in frustration, I went back and took the time to widen the hole. To test it out, I lay down, curled up tightly, and imagined six tiny wolves sidled up to me, their little paws twitching as they dreamed.
How very motherly!
I growled at the errant comment, cleared the den of all the dirt, and went back to digging upward. I didn’t know how long it took to keep the lair clean and finally break through the surface on the other side, but when I finally emerged from the dark hole, I blinked to find three wolves already out: Desna, Zenib, and Chepi.
My heart sank. I’d lost. I’d come in fourth place, and the Chieftess had said that the last two would be eliminated.
The pack members had moved to this side of the mound and were clapping and cheering. Desna’s siblings were the loudest, boasting about how they’d known she would come out first.
Desna’s yellow eyes flashed with undeniable pleasure. She even bared her sharp teeth in a wolfish grin. Head hanging low, I joined the line they’d formed and sat to wait for the fifth contender to break through.
A couple of minutes passed before Achak came out, earning last place. When she saw us standing there, her expressions mirrored the way I must’ve looked when I came out.
Nosh played a drum roll that announced the culmination of the first trial. The Chieftess followed by the elder women stepped up to the mound.
“Now, we will each examine the five dens to determine the winners.”
A bit of hope swelled in my chest. Maybe one of the three ahead of me had made a mistake. If so, I may not be eliminated. I huffed. What were the chances of that happening?
The Chieftess and the elder women shifted to their wolf forms and went inside the first three dens. Methodically, they each weaved in and out of the holes we’d dug. When they were done, they shifted back and stepped aside to confer.
I held my breath, straining to hear as they deliberated, but their whispers were too low even for my enhanced hearing. After what felt like a small eternity, Chieftess Yura pulled away from the elders and faced us.
“We have inspected each den carefully, and we have determined which of the five meet the requirements set for the trial. Only three of them meet the criteria, which means two people are immediately disqualified.
I stood still while my heart pumped wildly, roaring in my ears. I glanced sideways at Desna who didn’t appear so conceited anymore. I could only hope her den had fallen short of the requirements.
“Achak, your passage wasn’t long enough. It was half a foot short.”
Achak’s head dipped. The news didn’t seem to surprise her. Since she’d come out last she’d already accepted defeat.
My paws paced on the spot as Chieftess Yura scanned the four remaining contenders. Would she say my name next?
“Chepi,” the Chieftess addressed the woman to my right, the one who had come out in third place, “your den wasn’t wide enough.”
