“What about
you?” Adelaide asked urgently.
“I’m going to
hold them off as long as I can. Nate, if they get past me before you get to the
house, use your strength. You might be able to give Adelaide and Lila a chance.
You’ll have to snap their necks. It’ll be the only way you can stop them.”
Nate nodded
his understanding and grabbed Adelaide’s hand, already pulling her in the
direction Ellie had indicated.
“Go,” Ellie
urged them as Lila grabbed Adelaide’s other hand.
“Ellie, will
you be okay?” Adelaide asked, straining against Lila and Nate as they both
tugged her in the direction of the home. They were all clearly frightened, but
Adelaide’s tender heart wouldn’t let her go without her friend.
“Don’t worry
about me. I can take care of myself. Go.”
Ellie turned
her attention to the woods, as the other three took off at a sprint in the
opposite direction. She hoped she could buy them enough time, and she had to
wait for them to be farther away before she took the next step in her plan. She
didn’t want to frighten them more than they already were, and she definitely
did
not
want them to turn around to try to help her.
When she was
sure they wouldn’t hear her, she screamed, “Griffin! I need you!” Her cries
were mental and physical, and she prayed her brother could get to her in time.
Ellie prepared
to face her worst fears. She only had to wait a few minutes before she heard
the wolves approaching. They’d heard both her falcon’s cry and her scream for
Griffin, and were no longer attempting to be silent.
Without access
to Griffin’s other power, his physical force-field which was his best weapon in
a fight, Ellie quickly ran through her options. She had to keep the Vyusher
occupied long enough to give her three friends time to get to the house. She’d
have to actually fight the wolves to do that. Without hesitation, her body
shimmered and quivered. Suddenly, a massive, ebony jaguar sleek as the night stood
where a moment before had been a girl.
Ellie tried
to form a plan. As a jaguar she had the advantage of size, strength, and weight
over the wolves. She was outnumbered, however, which put her at a distinct
disadvantage
.
She was going to need to use her brain and possibly her other powers. Knowing
that the wolves were unaware they’d be attacking a jaguar rather than
unsuspecting teenaged Svatura, Ellie decided to use the element of surprise to
her advantage. She bounded high into a tree, her sharp claws digging in and
holding her secure. Her sinewy body tensed, ready to pounce at a second’s
notice. If she could take down at least one of the wolves immediately, it would
give her one less to fight. Maybe it would also give her enemies pause.
Anything to buy time.
The attack
came in a rush, and instinct kicked in for Ellie. Three of the six wolves burst
into view in the clearing where she and her friends had been just moments
before. Ellie’s body tensed to spring. As the first wolf neared her position,
she leapt into the air, landing on the large animal’s back. Digging in her
claws, she used her powerful jaws to snap his neck with one sharp jerk.
One down,
she thought, as she jumped off the wolf mid-tumble. She immediately charged the
next closest wolf, who stood stunned and frozen with shock. Having personally
witnessed the Vyusher wolf pack’s attack techniques once before when they’d
decimated her own tribe, she knew if she waited too long, all of the remaining
wolves would arrive, circle her, and overwhelm her. She didn’t intend to give
them enough time to coordinate.
Ellie slammed
her huge paw, claws unsheathed, across the second wolf’s face, likely breaking
a good number of bones with the force of the blow. The wolf howled in agony but
still managed to rally for a counterattack. He lunged at her, teeth bared.
Ellie defensively stood up on her hind legs, but the wolf’s momentum toppled
her backwards. He landed on top of her, his huge paws on her shoulders. He went
for the easy kill at the jugular, but Ellie was faster, getting her back paws
under his belly and pushing with all her animalistic brute strength. The wolf
went flying through the air, crashing into a tree with a pained yelp before
dropping to the ground.
Ellie didn’t
wait to see if he had been knocked unconscious or just dazed. She knew one more
wolf was in the clearing, and two more were out there somewhere, hopefully
distracted by the fight rather than following the scent of her fleeing friends.
She was just turning to locate the third wolf when she felt a searing pain in
her hind leg. Letting out an anguished scream, she rounded on her attacker,
trying her best to block out the throbbing agony.
He was close
enough that she was able to surprise him. She lunged under his massive head and
locked her strong jaws on his neck. She hadn’t got the angle quite right
though, and only had a hunk of skin and fur between her teeth. Even so, she bit
down and pulled back, ripping the wolf’s hide in the process, only a flesh
wound, but it gave her a chance to get out from under him and put a little
distance between them.
She backed
away from the wolf, trying hard not to limp from her injuries. She heard another
growl just behind her, and with the excruciating throbbing in her hindquarters,
she knew she wouldn’t be able to defend against two fit wolves. Instinctively,
Ellie jumped into the air and morphed into the falcon. She soared away,
managing to just evade the wolves’ snapping jaws. She thanked the powers that
be that it was her back leg that had been injured and not her arms, which were
now giving her the gift of escape.
Ellie swiftly
flew to a height above the tree line so she could locate all the wolves.
Unfortunately, she’d only stunned the wolf she’d thrown against the tree. Four
of the wolves were still in or around the clearing where she’d just been
fighting them. One, however, had not paused for the fight, continuing to track
his intended prey.
She hastily
searched the ground for Nate, Adelaide, and Lila. They were close to the
house, but not quite near enough to gain the attention of the occupants inside.
Ellie gained as much height as she could and then moved into a stoop, gaining
speed as she descended toward the lone wolf. Flaring her wings at the last
minute, she shifted back into a jaguar and crashed into it with all the force
of her weight. She had the satisfaction of hearing the beast yelp in pain as
both Ellie and the wolf rolled, finally coming to a stop at the edge of the
field behind the house. The same field Alex had seen her in only the night
before.
Using her keen
jaguar hearing, she could tell that her three friends still needed more time to
get to the house. They were just far enough away that they wouldn’t be able to
outrun the wolves in time.
Pushing to her
feet, she faced the wolf and crouched into a defensive position with her ears
laid flat back and her teeth bared. The wolf snarled in response, slowly
stalking toward her, his ears pinned, hair raised on his broad back.
As she slowly
maneuvered into the tall grass, keeping the wolf in her sight at all times, the
other wolves emerged from the darkness, eyes gleaming, one of them limping.
Ellie kept her
body between the wolves and their intended prey. She backed up, doing her best
not to visibly hobble so as not to show sign of weakness. The wolves would
coordinate and attack as a pack now. She knew what was coming… it was just a
matter of how long. She’d fared better than she’d expected to so far, but much
of that had been luck and the element of surprise. She had a sinking feeling
that both of those things were no longer in her favor. The worst was coming any
second.
Griffin sped
his motorcycle as fast as it would go as he mentally followed the
insane
fight his twin was engaged in.
Who the
HELL takes on a pack of wolves single-handedly?
He shook his
head, terrified he was too far away to be able to do anything about it, and
squeezed the gas even harder. He’d been at home sleeping when he’d heard her
scream. Ellie
never
called him like that. It could only mean that she’d
run into serious trouble.
He was still
too far away for them to be able to share their powers or for him to project
his defensive shield around her. Cranking up the engine, he pushed the bike
past its limits, and possibly past his ability. He didn’t know if he was going
to be able to get to her in time. Just a few more minutes, and he’d be close
enough.
“Hold on,
Ellie, I’m coming
,” he tried projecting to her, hoping that she’d hear him
somehow.
As he hit the
invisible boundary of distance needed in order to be able to access each
other’s powers, he leapt from the seat of the motorcycle and into the air. Now
a falcon, Griffin quickly gained the height he needed and focused in on where
the fight was taking place.
*****
Alex heard the
cacophony of a terrible struggle outside. As he headed downstairs to
investigate, the girls and Nate burst through the back door.
“They’re
killing her!” yelled Lila. She was white with fear and panting heavily. “She’s
keeping them away from us and they’re killing her!”
“Who’s killing
whom?” her father, Hugh, demanded. He dropped his book and jumped from his
chair.
“Ellie!”
Adelaide answered, her eyes seeking Alex’s as she said the name. She doubled
over, panting hard. “There’s a pack of wolves…” She pointed to where they’d
just come in.
When Alex
realized who she meant, his heart stopped beating and bile rose in his throat.
Without a second thought, he was out the back door and running toward the fray.
As he sprinted across the clearing, all he could see was a furry blur and
teeth. “I can’t see her!” he cried to Nate, who had followed him.
“She’s the
black jaguar in the middle of it all!” Nate shouted.
Alex gave a
brief nod, immediately accepting the bizarre explanation. He didn’t have time
to devote thought to all of the implications, although a small part of his
brain was thinking,
What the hell
?! He knew he’d have to deal with it
later. Right now he just had to get her out of there.
Realizing that
Dexter and Ramsey had followed them as well, he rapped out instructions. “I’m
going to freeze them!” he yelled. “Once they’re still, get in there and get her
clear. Then I’ll take care of her and release them for you to hit ‘em hard.”
Alex didn’t
bother to see if the others had even heard him, let alone agreed. As soon as he
got close enough, he stopped running, took a deep breath, and focused all his
power. Instantly, the five wolves froze in mid-motion. Holding them there, he
watched as Nate, Dexter, and Ramsey moved in. Nate, being the strongest, pulled
the massive onyx cat out from under the wolves and over to where Alex stood. He
didn’t flinch, his focus solely on the wolves. He had never tried to hold a metamorph
still before, let alone five of them. Once Ellie was clear, he released the pack
and turned his full attention to her, confident that Nate, Dexter, and Ramsey
would handle the wolves. He would need his power to help Ellie.
*****
Just moments
before Alex froze the wolves, Griffin reached the clearing. From the air, he’d
been able to see his jaguar-sister battling five huge timber wolves. But,
unfortunately, he was still too far away to project his defensive shield around
her. Diving toward the action, Griffin briefly considered calling to Ellie
through their mental link but dismissed the idea, not wanting to distract her
even for a second.
A sound of the
mighty jaguar’s scream had split the still night air, and Griffin had known a
second of the blackest rage and utter despair. He was going to be too late.
There was too much movement for Griffin to be able to make out exactly what was
happening, but he knew one thing for certain… His sister was going to die and
there was nothing he could do to save her.
But suddenly,
the wolves had frozen in mid-fight as though they’d been turned to statues. He
saw a tall, blond boy run into the midst of the solidified fray and pull Ellie
out, leaving her with another male. Griffin recognized Alex, Ellie’s
te’sorthene
.
*****
Dropping down
to his knees beside Ellie, Alex ignored the fight raging in front of him,
trusting Nate, Dexter, and Ramsey to keep the wolves off them, and choosing
instead to keep all of his skill focused on Ellie. He would’ve tried to hold the
wolves still and let the guys kill them right then and there, but he needed
every ounce of his power to help Ellie now.
Weakened from
her injuries, Ellie shifted back to her human form. She was bleeding badly from
the multitude of gruesome-looking gashes all over her body—the worst on the
back of her leg. He could tell she had several broken bones, judging from the
odd angles of two of her limbs.
But she was
still breathing.
Alex used his
power to staunch the blood pulsing out of the gash in her leg. But it was
tricky. He had to try to stop the blood only on the surface of the vessel,
making sure that the blood in her body continued to pump. If he was off even
just a little, he could kill her.
Adding
physical pressure to two of the bloodiest gashes, Alex waited for the fight
with the wolves to be over. He needed Hugh, but he knew his adopted father had
stayed behind to protect the rest of the family.
Ellie’s
eyelids flickered. “Alex?”
“It’s
me…You’re okay now.” He smoothed the blood-matted hair back from her face and
bent to give her a quick kiss on her forehead.
“Lila,
Adelaide, Nate?” she asked in a broken whisper.