My steps were silent in the soft grass as I looked over my shoulder. Hakhan gave me a slight nod and I returned it. Heidrún and Rokiel were approaching the other side of the fire - we had agreed to come at it from different angles. If we encircled Boulden from every direction, he wouldn't be able to defend himself as efficiently. Any slip-ups with him and half our group could be wiped out. He knew what he was doing, so we had to too. We had to take this slow and smart, or not at all.
Scarab and Rosebud had been left behind, Rordran taking them back to the forest. The further they were from this mess, the better. And if we couldn't do this and anything happened, Rordran would have ample time to escape with them. Koi was already in danger if Rokiel was right and it was hard to keep my mind from straying towards that predicament alone - if anything happened to them too, I didn't know what I would do.
I stepped closer to the fire, looking up to see the height of the flames. They were as tall as trees by now, roaring violently as they hungrily ate anything in their path. There was nothing left for them to consume, but they didn't quit in their desperate search. Tiny embers were sparking off from the conflagration, twirling above my head and filling the night sky with a myriad of white, orange, yellow, and red. Would those heated waves that warmed our fur become our only source of light if this ritual went through?
Taking a deep breath that stung my throat, I walked through the fire, my eyesight being cloaked in a shade of yellow. My body grew warm from the temperature, but the burn was replaced with tingling through my muscles. I kept walking until I was through, my eyes readjusting onto the pillars of the ritual site. I could see forms standing in middle of it, but it was difficult to pick out who was who. Hakhan left the blaze beside me, shaking his fur out. I released my protective spell over him, saving my energy for Lightbringer.
Hakhan and I raced towards the site, and as we crested the shallow rise and ran in-between the pillars, an unusual sensation slid over me. Magic was thick in the air, congregating heavily from the center. It was exuding from the brown and gray wolf that stood ten feet away, his gray eyes filled with an unflinching resolve. He was the first thing I saw and it almost made me see red.
When he turned to me, I skidded to a stop and took in what lay in front of me. I could see Heidrún and Rokiel approaching from the other side of the ritual site, and Kenji and Hearsay were here, as expected. They weren't in good shape like I'd hoped; Kenji was on the ground, blood soaking the stone below him as he struggled to his paws. I sucked in a breath when I saw his face - the entire right side was red, gashes digging deeply where his eye used to be. His good eye had a shiny film over it and when his wobbly legs kept his weight, he didn't move. He had to be in shock, but at least he was conscious enough to stand.
Vonek was locked in place by a spell, a circle of white magic glowing around him as he looked around with wide, uncomprehending eyes. He was still alive, so we weren't too late yet. Crow was standing beside him, alongside Boulden and Boulden's second, Firesky. Firesky and Crow were talking quietly, too low for me to hear. What was Crow doing? He was within two feet of Boulden, he should be throwing magic into that monster's face right about now. When I was about to speak, Hearsay burst into movement, charging straight for them as purple colored the air around him. Crow twisted towards him and tossed his head up, a bright spark of green magic flashing before Hearsay's legs. It struck him right in the chest, sending him flying backwards and straight into one of the pillars. There was a distinct crack before he fell to the ground.
"Hearsay!" I shouted, prepared to go to him. Rokiel was already on it, his blue magic floating around him as he got to work on healing him. Hearsay hardly looked like he needed it, his white eyes aware and steady as he glared at Crow.
"You showed up quicker than I suspected, Cicada."
Oh, Boulden dared speak to me? Quivering with rage, I turned to him with a schooled expression. "Solaris's little attempt to keep me distracted didn't work as well as you were hoping." I glanced at the black and white wolf beside him. "Crow, what do you think you're doing?"
Crow brushed me off, facing Heidrún and Hakhan as they spread out nearby. Hearsay was already closing in again, but Firesky was tracking his every move. Firesky's magic was almost as dangerous as Boulden's, so it was best not to test him unless Hearsay knew he could reach him. I had been crossing my paws that he wouldn't be here, but with how high-ranked he was, I hadn't counted on anything else.
"He's a bit busy at the moment," Boulden answered for Crow, tilting his head. "But what do you mean, what is he doing? It should be obvious - he's doing what's right. Not everyone's as blind as you, if you must be made aware. Some, like Crow, are willing to listen to reason. And when they do, they can see what I'm doing here is just."
Of course Crow would turn against us. He had always been too aloof for my liking - there were less social wolves that helped us and they were fine for the most part, but something about his almost thoughtful silence had set me on edge. I should have listened to my gut and never included him in our plans.
But I had more important things to address. "Just?" I barked out a laugh. "What part of stealing a wolf's body from him and handing it over to a demigod seems just to you?"
Boulden's eyes thinned to slits. "God, not demigod. Don't insult them."
Rokiel was well on his way to healing Kenji, the hazy look fading from the wolf's one eye. I had to buy them a little time to get on their paws before we all went in at once, so I growled, "You think I care if I insult them? They already have me on their blacklist, so it's not like I can be any less dead in their eyes than I already am."
"There's more to dying than just death."
I moved in closer, flinching when a pair of teeth sunk into my hind leg. A little smile crept onto Boulden's face as I turned away from him, glaring at Hearsay. What in Kurai's name was he doing? I hadn't been moving in to attack just yet, so what was the deal?
He motioned towards Boulden, his face filled with something I couldn't read. When I searched the Lightbringer's body, I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but then I looked at the ground and finally saw what Hearsay wanted me to.
A little shape was bundled behind Boulden's hind legs, partially hidden by his paws. The familiarity of it sent a chill through me. Koi. It had to be. "Ah, you noticed, did you?" Boulden chuckled softly, moving to the side and fully revealing the pup. She was slumped haphazardly on the stone, her muscles slack.
"It wasn't easy to get the little brat away from you," Firesky put in, joining Boulden as he sneered at the unconscious pup. "But I was able to manage."
"Isn't it incredible what a little magic can accomplish in the right paws?" Boulden chortled, nodding at him. Firesky lifted his paw and poked Koi, his toes glowing yellow for a split second.
Koi shot straight up, her eyes launching open and turning into saucers. The air around her immediately warped with white magic, keeping her bound in her position. She looked around with confusion and fear, her eyes falling on Hearsay and me. Everything suddenly felt all the more real somehow. Starkly, horrifyingly real.
"Boulden, leave her be," I said slowly, continuing forward at a more careful pace this time. Hearsay was right beside me, his tail in a firm line behind him. "She never did anything to you."
"Of course not, she's merely a pup."
"I thought revenge wasn't your game? Whatever happened to that?"
"You understand I have a title?" Boulden sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. "I swear, wolves outside of my followers have no respect. But no, it isn't my 'game,' as you put it. I didn't order Firesky to take your pup to hurt your feelings. It's not often you find wolves with a powerful bloodline like hers - I can practically smell the orange magic rolling off her. You did her well."
"She doesn't have any magic."
"Can you really not sense it? None of you?" Boulden lifted his brow skeptically. "Strange if you're telling the truth, but it doesn't really matter. She'll work just fine, she's the last thing we need."
I couldn't help myself from snapping. "That doesn't make any sense!" I snarled and he stared at me in confusion. "First of all, you have no way of knowing she has warding magic as opposed to any other kind. Second, she's had no indications of being anything other than an ordinary wolf. The odds of her having warding is too slim; if she took after anybody, it's Hearsay, not me. She can't activate the ritual for you, you're wasting your time. So leave her out of this!"
"Don't be too sure of that."
Why was he being so infuriating? Did he finally lose his mind? Wolves developed magic within a few months of being born, not later. Koi was entirely normal, there was no way she had an ounce of magic within her. I knew the signs, and I had never heard of a situation where magic-users couldn't sense another like them. And even if that was a real thing, why would Boulden be able to tell but no one else could? None of it held water.
"Entertaining the idea that somehow that was true, it wouldn't do you any good anyway. The sun's not even up, so Solaris isn't going anywhere anytime soon. You'll be long since dead when the sun comes up."
Hearsay bolted for Firesky, the orange wolf meeting him head-on. Boulden didn't even flinch as the two of them went at it mere feet away, unbothered that they were fighting to the death. Hearsay bit Firesky's ear, tearing it right off without hesitation. Firesky acted as though he didn't feel it, using magic to manipulate Hearsay into tilting his head back so he could sink his teeth into Hearsay's throat. Hearsay was able to struggle out of his grip, the yellow and purple magic mixing as they fought and tested each other for weakness.
I kept my eyes on Boulden, matching his uncaring attitude. He offered me a gentle smile, his words soft like he was sharing a secret with me. "Cicada, after so long of fighting the Children of Light, you still know so little of Solaris. Truthfully, I overestimated you. The sun doesn't need to be up to awaken Solaris, because it's not the only thing they feast upon."
"What do you mean?"
Crow was readying himself to help Firesky, giving Kenji, Heidrún, and the two brothers an opening. They simultaneously threw themselves at him, their snarls echoing around the pillars. Crow tossed up a wall of green magic, clipping Heidrún and sending her flying. Kenji and Hakhan were hit square in the chest and thrown upwards, a sharp snap coming from Hakhan and blood spraying through the air. They landed hard, Kenji screaming as his leg broke on impact.
Rokiel was able to avoid Crow's attack, coated in a blue glow as he jumped onto the other wolf and sunk his teeth into Crow's ruff. Crow hissed in pain and tried throwing him off, but Rokiel hung on like his life depended on it, giving Crow a rough shake. They almost fell into Vonek, the black wolf watching it all with horror. Much like Koi, he was unable to move away from the chaos. I wanted to check on the others, but Boulden was staring me down, as if daring me to break eye-contact.
"Well, after you slaughtered their last reincarnation, I thought there had to be a better way to go about this. Waiting for the sun's apex on certain days of certain years in a certain way to only have a twenty minute window to finish the ritual? It's insanity, too particular of requirements. It's no wonder no one has ever previously succeeded. But I discovered something that none of my predecessors ever knew. It took a whole lot of digging, but my, is it enticing. I was looking at the word 'light' with too narrow of a mind - that word doesn't just mean the sun, it can mean so many different things. Sunlight, fire, and even the glow of magic. With enough sleight-of-hand, well, you can use just about anything to summon Solaris, as long as it emits that beautiful light."
"T-that's… impossible," I retorted with a shaky tone. That couldn't be possible, could it? Solaris was Devourer of Light, but we always assumed that meant the sun, because the Children of Light always insisted upon it. In fact, they practically worshipped the sun for being the future feast for their leader. There was almost nothing they treasured more. I had never heard mention of there being anything else that can awaken them. "Normal fire wouldn't cut it. The sun only works because of its strength."
"Mom-" Koi was violently cut off, choking as Boulden's binding tightened like a vise.
He looked at her with a frown. "Hush, child. I'll get to you in a minute."
I pulled my lips back to show my fangs, a chant for murder repeating in my head like a mantra. "Don't you dare talk to her like that."
"If you had listened to me from the beginning, your pups would have been safe from me," Boulden huffed, borderline scolding me like I was a child. "But instead, you chose to be a damned fool."
"Enough!" I snapped, moving closer. I was almost within biting distance of Lightbringer, but his paws were beginning to glow with white. He knew exactly what I was doing. I summoned some magic in preparation, allowing the orange to visibly float across my body. "Let her go, Boulden. She has nothing to do with this and your fire isn't going to do shit."
"This isn't normal fire," he replied smoothly, casually disregarding my demand. "It's enchanted fire, just for the special occasion. You have no idea how much wolves with brown magic I had to go through to find one strong enough for my needs. Not to mention someone with powerful purple magic to enhance the one with elemental magic to give the fire a real kick, and figure out how to bottle the fire for later use - it was all a huge deal, it really was. But I'm not one to quit easily, so here we are. After countless hours of stressful searching and coercion and failed attempts and you constantly getting in my way every damn turn, everything's finally in place." His gaze turned somber, his smile fading. "And you aren't going to stop me this time."
I went for him, but I felt my muscles lock in place as he gripped me with an iron fist. My ward had been pierced straight through from the sheer strength of his magic, hitting me like a falling tree. My magic shouldn't have been overpowered so swiftly!
As much as it terrified me, it also meant that his focus was purely on me. His magic was diverted to stop me, so Vonek and Koi were released from their bindings. Vonek looked between everyone, his mouth opening as if he was going to say something. He looked completely lost, not realizing that he could run while he had the chance. If I could speak at the moment, I would be reprimanding him with every colorful word in my vocabulary.
Koi, on the other hand, took advantage as soon as she was able. Right as my heart soared, Boulden went for her, his larger size reaching her within moments. I couldn't see her beyond him and I warded her, feeling a sharp sensation pierce into it shortly afterwards. The strength of it sent me struggling hard to break the restraints holding me, but the sound of a high-pitched yelp made me freeze.
My hold over Koi began to slip and with each attempt to put it back up, it only fell apart faster. I thought Boulden was entrapping her to fight my magic off, but I still couldn't move beyond an occasional twitch. I didn't want to believe what that meant, but I was forced to witness it as he stepped away from Koi. She came into view, falling lifelessly to the ground.
