Tasakeru

CHAPTER 3

Gifts of blood and souls

A beacon to the spirit

Guides her to return

“Beware the Soulsnatcher! Beware!

Tread carefully, sentient, walk not alone

For he waits in the dark to make you his own

Beware the Soulsnatcher! Beware!

Flee from his visage, look not at his eyes

Cover your ears, listen not to his lies

Beware the Soulsnatcher! Beware!

Wicked claws steeped with magic from hell

Will tear out your soul leaving naught but a shell

Beware the Soulsnatcher! Beware!”

[Fox folk song from late 1549, attributed to Marlowe the Mad Bard]

“Mother?”

Lady Lily opened her eyes. She sat in the center of her meditation chamber, perched on a smooth rock surrounded by a trickling stream. Flowers of all sizes and colors floated on the surface of the water, their vivid colors illuminated by the flickering light of the scant few candles that lit the room. “Yes, Nadeshiko? What is it?”

“Forgive me for interrupting you…” The younger skunk bowed. “But I have some concerns…”

“Speak, my child. You know you can always confide in me.”

Nadeshiko frowned. “Are you sure it’s wise to implicate the Outcasts in this matter?”

Lily looked over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow. “Why would I not?”

“Mother, I don’t dispute that they have caused trouble in the past… but stealing souls? Surely this is beyond the abilities of a group of exiles…”

“Ordinarily, I would agree with you, my dear. However, the situation is spiraling rapidly out of control… Twelve attacks, five in the past week, and still we have no idea how to cure those afflicted. If indeed their souls have been taken, as the rumors suggest, we must take action. There is one Outcast in particular whom I suspect is involved.”

“The old white wolf?” Nadeshiko wrinkled her nose. “I hardly think he could slip into the city unnoticed.”

“Drake has many abilities that would surprise you, my dear.” Lily sighed. “If it were not for our family’s debt to him, I would order him arrested immediately… But I feel that he deserves a chance to explain himself.”

“What do you plan to do?”

Lily stood, smoothing out her robes and brushing a few strands of white hair out of her eyes. “I will meet with him, alone. I have already contacted him by message scroll… My next action will depend upon his response.”

“Alone?!” The younger skunk’s tail fur stood up in alarm. “Mother, you can’t be serious!”

Striding over the waters of the stream to the other side, Lily chuckled and patted her daughter on the head. “Little One… when am I ever not?” With that, she slipped out the door.

Nadeshiko remained behind long after her mother was lost to her sight, frowning. At last, she spoke quietly to the empty corridor. “Don’t call me ‘Little One’…”

A few minutes past noon, Faun’s face was set in a worried frown, her eyes staring down at the book as she walked along the forest path. It wasn’t the book itself that concerned her. Rather, it was what the book entailed. How do I tell her? she thought. It’s not something I want to bring up, but she has to know one way or another. If the trouble in Shinboku comes here…The vixen shuddered despite the beams of sunlight filtering through the forest canopy.

She could tell by the scent of many flowers that she was nearing Woodhaven… that smell worked better to lead her forward than a hundred lanterns or a thousand signposts. By now, Faun could very nearly make the trip blindfolded… especially handy today, since her thoughts were otherwise occupied. As she rounded a trunk and stepped into the small meadow that encircled Woodhaven, she swallowed and glanced up, steeling herself.

“Hanami, I have something for yo-… holy…” Faun’s jaw dropped.

Woodhaven’s exterior looked quite different than it had a week ago. At least a dozen tall bushes had been planted all around the lower trunk and roots of the oak tree, their branches dotted with young blossoms in a spectacular array of colors. To Faun’s eyes, it rather looked like a florist’s shop had exploded in the vicinity of Hanami’s house and blanketed the outside with its contents.

Hanami peeked out from behind one of the bushes, her face radiant. “Oh, good afternoon! I’m sorry, I’ll be with you in just a moment.”

Nodding absently, Faun stepped forward, fighting the urge to rub her eyes. “I see you’ve been busy decorating… You’ve really got the hang of using the Mage Flower now, huh?”

The squirrel maiden’s voice was somewhat muffled by the leaves as she worked. “What, the bushes? I didn’t grow these; I bought them at the market. They’re completely natural… no magic!”

Faun blinked. “Wait, I’m confused. You can use your magic to grow pretty much anything, whenever you want, as fast as you want… and you bought bushes at the market? Why?!”

The voice from the shrubbery laughed. “It’s more fun to do it the old-fashioned way. I don’t need magic for everything, you know. Besides, I like working with my hands… ah, there.” She stepped back from the branch she had been tying, apparently satisfied.

“I still don’t get it. How could you afford to buy all these, anyway?”

“Didn’t I tell you? I had a terrific idea last week: using the Mage Flower to grow vegetables… as big as I can make them without being suspicious. When I’ve got enough I take them to a spot just outside Shinboku’s walls, and sell them for just a bit less than the market price.”

“And they let you get away with that?” Faun goggled, the idea had honestly never occurred to her.

“They have so far,” Hanami beamed, wiping her hands on a simple cloth apron she wore over her tunic. “I just need to be careful that no one gets a good enough look at me. They’re usually busy ogling the produce, so that’s not much of a problem.”

Ogling… The word snapped Faun’s attention back to the book she was carrying, and she felt her spirits darken. For the sake of her friend, she put on a fake smile as she presented it to the squirrel. “Here… this is for you. I figured it could come in handy.”

“You brought me a book?” The amazement was plain in Hanami’s voice as she took it. “You?!”

The vixen smirked. “Hey, I may not be Ashpaw, but I can appreciate a good read on occasion. Besides, this should be really useful to you.”

Hanami glanced at the title: The Noble Art of Self-Defense. “I don’t understand,” she said as she looked back up at Faun. “I appreciate the thought, but how will this be useful?”

Here it goes, thought Faun. Aloud, she spoke with an air that she hoped was casual. “Just in case you get caught without your Mage Flower someday. It couldn’t hurt, right?”

The squirrel raised an eyebrow. “In case, for example, you set me up for a fake meeting with Zero and steal it, right…?”

Faun swallowed, her pointed ears flattening. “Look, I said I was sorry about that!” Regaining her composure, she rubbed the back of her neck and looked away. “Anyway, yeah, that’s a good example, but I was thinking more along the lines of… being attacked.”

“Faun, what’s going on?” A note of concern crept into Hanami’s words.

To her surprise, Faun laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and motioned the squirrel to sit down beside her. “All right, I’ll be honest with you… but it’s going to be hard to hear.” The vixen took a seat on the front step, looking a far cry from her usual relaxed manner.

Hanami settled herself in her doorway, folding her hands in her lap. “Go ahead.”

“Th-there’s somebody running around in Shinboku, attacking people, all different species. The Silver Order has been investigating, but they haven’t caught him yet.”

Hanami nodded. “I read something about that on my message scroll. What makes you so sure it was a ‘him’, though?”

“Because…” Faun swallowed again. “Because almost all the victims have been females. Hanami, I think we’re dealing with a mate-hunter.” Faun cringed and awaited a reaction. She expected shock, outrage, fear, or even anger… but somehow the innocence of Hanami’s response was even worse.

“I don’t understand. Don’t most males hunt for mates? I thought that was normal during Phase.”

“Flowers, there’s a big difference between hunting for mates and being a mate-hunter. A mate-hunter… doesn’t wait for Phase. He doesn’t respect laws, or privacy, or the feelings of those he hunts. He pretty much lives for… hurting females.”

She still seemed confused, but she looked as if she grasped the concept. “All right,” she said firmly. “I’ll look at the book. It’ll be okay, Faun. He’s not likely to come here.”

Faun took Hanami’s hand and fixed her with the most deadly serious expression the squirrel had ever seen her wear. The sight of that familiar, jolly face so grim and set somehow chilled Hanami more than her words ever could… “Flowers, I want you to promise me you’ll do more than look at it. I want you to be ready, just in case he does come here. Just in case he does try to- try to attack you, you need to be able to fight him off, no matter what. Understand?”

Hanami shivered, but still she clasped Faun’s hand in agreement. “I understand, and I promise.”

Stalker stared into the depths of the pool, his spirit singing with joy. It’s almost complete, he thought as he dipped a claw lovingly into the shallow lake of red. Giddy with anticipation, the wolf lifted his hand, watching as thick droplets fell one by one back into the mixture, each one creating ripples on the surface that expanded outward, ever outward… Those ripples would have gone on forever, had they not been stopped by the pool’s stone border. In the same way, he and Mother would leave ripples throughout all of Sankami, expanding with enough force to topple the Outcasts and all the other mammals… Two more species. Two more species and the first of the legion will be born. Tearing his crimson eyes from the pool, he looked up at the glow that illuminated his lair.

It was beautiful to behold, and he could have spent hours simply staring at it. The beacon was an eerie, ghostly blue light in the vague shape of a sphere, though its edges kept warping and twisting. Circling around it like moths around a lantern were a half-dozen smaller lights, like tiny white flames…

“Mother,” Stalker whispered as he raised his arms to the beacon. “Just a few more souls and you will hear my voice… I will lead you back to the world, and together we will watch it burn…”

The beacon surged outward as he spoke. The stolen souls briefly broke off their circular path around it, as if frightened by its presence. Stalker found that oddly appropriate, and his amused laugh echoed off the lair’s walls.

“1549^T4-13

To: Naole

Dear Imoto-chan,

I’m coming, and that’s final. You’ve heard the reports… I know for a fact that you’ve seen the victims at the healing temple. It’s too dangerous for you to stay in Shinboku any longer. Faun thinks it’s a mate-hunter, and even if that’s not the case, I’m not taking the chance that he’ll go after you. You can argue about it all you want back in Tasakeru, but you’re not leaving my sight until the culprit is behind bars… or dead, preferably. Pack only what you need, I’ll be there after sundown.

-        Zero”

The old wolf pulled the hood of his cloak down lower over his face as he slouched toward the vendor’s booth. Drake couldn’t fathom why Lily had chosen to meet with him at a cheap little shack selling watery soup, but he knew better than to question her. Like it or not, he was still honor bound to serve the Silver House, even all these decades later…

The High Mistress was attracting a few stares among the evening diners. She was resplendent in a white cape embroidered with the Silver Order’s seal, an all-seeing eye amidst a spiral of rose petals and vines. Lily sat stiffly on the wooden bench, refusing all recommendations from the obviously humbled soup vendor. It was clear that the vendor, an adolescent todd, had never served anyone of Lily’s stature before. The fox kept polishing the same tankard over and over again, with a rag that was growing filthier by the minute.

A brief glimpse of snowy white fur at the corner of her eye told her that the old one had arrived. Lily stared resolutely straight ahead as the wolf sat down next to her, determined to keep this meeting as inconspicuous as possible. But then, she thought with a frown, events with him tend to dissolve rapidly into chaos, no matter my intentions…

“Evening, Lady Lily,” growled Drake from underneath the hood of the cloak. “Ready to order?”

The todd cast aside the grubby tankard and indicated his menu hopefully. “Our specials tonight are leek and onion, cream of potato with garlic, and-”

“Ugh,” Drake grunted.

“No, thank you,” Lily said to the vendor. “We are not staying. I appreciate your recommendations nonetheless.” The todd looked crestfallen; she dropped a few san on the bar, gave him what she hoped was a warm smile, and stood, walking away at a good clip.

Drake followed behind her with some difficulty. “I must confess… I didn’t expect to hear from you again so soon after your excursion to Tasakeru last month…”

“Naturally. I did not anticipate that a crisis this grave would arise so soon. Have you read the reports on your message scroll?”

“Four attacks on females of different species, all found in isolated areas well away from each other. All the victims seemed to be awake, but unable to move or speak. Unusual to be sure, but not something that the Silver Order would need me for. Other than that last part, it sounds like a typical mate-hunter.”

The skunk grimaced. “First of all, there have been many more than just four. After the fourth incident I persuaded the scroll-writers to repress the news, so as not to cause a panic.”

Drake nodded. “Wise. So how many victims are there now?”

“Twelve and counting… and those are of the first group of victims.”

“’First?’ What do you mean?”

They had reached one of the back doors of the Order’s sprawling temple. The door’s lock was built by mages to open only for certain sentients; it clicked open as Lily traced it with her fingertip. She placed her hand on the latch, then looked over her shoulder to fix the white wolf with an icy glare. “You shall see for yourself once we reach the healers’ chambers.”

Drake noted the anger in those dazzling green eyes… he was about to ask about it, when the door opened and his heart jumped into his throat. Memories were now flooding back to him as he beheld the interior, a vast hallway lined with white marble pillars, inlaid with veins of silver. The floor was made of ebony, polished so brightly that it shone with the reflections of the lanterns burning in their wall sconces. All along the walls were portraits and statues of the greatest of the Silver Order’s knights, wreathed by rose vines and bearing their names on plaques for all to see. More than a few of those knights had been entombed in this very hall… Drake shivered as he passed by faces that he had known a lifetime ago. There were quite a few unfamiliar ones as well; doubtless, they had been added during his decades of exile. However, with those new faces aside, the Hall of Honor appeared almost unchanged from his youth. He remembered walking this very corridor countless times, remembered fragments of adventures and triumphs and tragedies and a hundred thousand other events that had happened here… The recollections stung him, and he cast his eyes downward to the polished floor.

Lily had planned to make a point of reminding him of his service, but now she sensed that the wolf recalled it all too well. They walked together in silence, their footsteps ringing off the ceiling high above them. Lily only stopped as she came to the statue of her grandmother, standing triumphant on a pedestal with broadsword in hand. The statue wore the same mail that now rested in Lily’s chambers; that armor was a family heirloom, passed down from mother to daughter since the Silver Order began, fifty generations ago.

Drake stopped as well, reaching out to stroke the marble face of Lady Crocus. “Your grandmother was…” he whispered, trying to find the right words, “… remarkable. She saved my life, at a time when wolves were shunned because of the Frothing Blight. Not many would have taken me in… Fewer still would have done the things she did for me.”

Lily noticed with some surprise that Drake’s eyes were shining with tears. For a moment, her heart rang with sympathy for the old wolf. But that was a long time ago, she thought, regaining the steely demeanor on which she prided herself. Remember, you are not dealing with a sentient of the Order. Not anymore. “Come with me,” she said aloud, her tone severe. “The healers’ chambers are this way.”

Drake was now staring at a particular portrait on the wall behind the statue of Lady Crocus, one depicting a small mixed group of sentients. A raccoon stood at the center of the group, one side of his face horribly scarred. With difficulty, Drake wrenched his eyes away and followed Lily as she turned into a side corridor. There was no sense remaining here and dwelling on the past. All traces of that life were gone, crumbled to dust like the bodies of the many warriors that slept in the hall.

The old wolf’s composure was dealt a further blow when he saw the state of the victims. Lying in beds recently borrowed from the knights’ chambers, each one was staring blankly upward at the ceiling with glazed, unseeing eyes. All but a handful were females.

“This is the first group,” said Lily, “the ones whom the rumors claim have had their souls stolen. Despite our best efforts, we cannot seem to coax them into sleep or any other state than… this.”

Drake leaned close to the prone body of a black-and-white-furred rabbit. Her lips were moving slightly, as if she were whispering something. He tried to make out specific words, but it was nothing that made sense. “So, do you believe that is what’s happening?” he asked Lily, looking over his shoulder. “Stolen souls?”

Lily scowled. “It seems as good an explanation as any. No ailment that the healers know of causes these symptoms. But as I said, this is only the first group…”

She led Drake on into the second chamber of the infirmary, where the rest of the victims rested. The skunk matron was careful to watch his reaction as he stepped into the room…

There was a sharp intake of breath from the white wolf. These victims were asleep, unlike those in the previous room. Each of these sentients bore bandages wrapped around their necks and shoulders; the clean white dressings were stained with large pools of dark red blood. “What is this…?” whispered Drake as he looked around. There were over two dozen bodies in this room alone.

Lily strode forward to face Drake directly. “This is the reason I have called you here. Three days after the first group of attacks, we began receiving sentients with the injuries you see here… all identical, and caused by the same creature. The wounds were targeted; the one that did this wanted his victims to be hurt enough to spill large amounts of blood, but not enough to kill.”

A horrible feeling gnawed at the pit of Drake’s stomach. “And these wounds… What caused them?” He swallowed, feeling very aware of the answer. “A sword? A knife, perhaps?”

“Teeth,” said Lily, with a voice cold and hard as steel. “The injuries have been positively identified. They’re wolf bites.”

Those words hung in the air between them, festering. The wolf gazed at the skunk in comprehension… but there was fear in that gaze as well. An old fear, a buried nightmare that he had thought long forgotten. One look at those blazing green eyes told him that Lily already considered him guilty. “Lily, I-”

“What shall I do, Drake?” she whispered. “I have allowed you the privacy to live in Tasakeru as you wish, but this incident cannot be ignored. If you have indeed-”

“Lily, I haven’t! I didn’t!” Drake was stammering, feeling events slipping out of his control. “I know you have every reason to believe I’m the culprit, but I swear to you by Orion himself, I had nothing to do with this…”

“I wish I could believe that,” said Lily, staring unflinchingly up at him. “But as I recall, you have sworn by a God’s name before, have you not? Did you not break your solemn vow then?”

The ancient wolf opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out. Think, damn it! His brain screamed at him. Think! There has to be a way to prove-

The sound of a door opening across the room broke the spell between them. A young squirrel in blue healers’ robes had just entered, carrying fresh linens. Drake goggled in astonishment; were it not for the hazel eyes and distinctly feminine shape, he could have sworn that Zero had just walked in.

“Pardon me, Milady!” She bowed toward Lily, clutching the linens tightly to her chest. “I was just about to change the sheets, and I thought I heard shouting…”

The skunk’s face melted smoothly from an expression of grim accusation to a warm smile. “Thank you for your concern, Takaichi. I assure you, I am more than capable of handling the situation.”

“Takaichi?” Drake blurted out before he could stop himself. “You can’t be-”

She grinned, looking up at him without a trace of fear. Drake was so used to people cowering before him that the girl’s friendly manner rendered him deeply disturbed. “You must know my brother, Zero. He’s told me about a white wolf in his letters. You’re Drake, right? My name is Naole.”

She bowed to him; unsure of what else to do, Drake bowed back. “A pleasure to meet you, Naole.” he managed to say. “Takaichi, er, Zero and I… well, we’re not friends, more like-”

“Excuse me,” said Lily evenly. Drake jumped, having almost forgotten she was there. “There is a rather more pressing matter at hand.”

“Lily, I can assure you, this is the first time I’ve been to the city in years,” said Drake, feeling inexplicably more confident in Naole’s presence. “I am not the wolf that has committing these acts.”

“You say that, but where is the proof-”

“Alert, alert! Intruder inside the walls! All knights to positions!” blared a voice from somewhere outside, magically magnified to reach the entire temple at once. It was accompanied by the clamoring of an alarm bell that continued even after the words had faded.

Lily stared, at a loss for words for the first time she could remember. “An intruder? Why would anyone break into the temple? We’re open to all, it doesn’t make sense…”

Drake shrugged, clearly as baffled as she was. “Perhaps someone who knows he or she isn’t supposed to be here?”

“Oh, no,” said Naole quietly. “Mange! Lady Lily, you have to call off the alarm! I know who it is!”

There was a commotion outside; a group of knights thundered past the door with swords and staves at ready. One in the lead was shouting orders to the others, something about “non-lethal force only”.

Lily brushed her hair back from her forehead. “It seems, Takaichi, that you have little to worry about.”

Naole’s calm demeanor had shattered; she was now waving her arms as if trying to swat flies. “Ma’am, you don’t understand! It’s me he’s after! If you try stopping him, he’ll-”

“BANZAI…!” A strong male voice echoed down the hall outside. There came the sounds of a brief but intense battle, a few muffled curses, and then a bang and a flash of light as if someone had just set off a small explosive. Rapid footsteps advanced towards the doorway, and Lily drew her great broadsword with an expression of grim determination…

A figure dove through the threshold, tumbling into a ball before springing back up onto his feet in an amazingly graceful fashion. It only took him a moment to see the great blade being trained on him… With practiced ease, he drew his own sword, a much smaller, one-handed weapon. The lone warrior was dressed all in black save for deep red climbing boots, and his chestnut brown hair was grown wild and unkempt, held back only slightly by a black headband. He flashed Naole a somewhat embarrassed grin, and whispered to her. “Sorry I’m late, Imoto-chan.”

“Zero!” Naole stamped her foot; if Zero had been expecting gratitude for his theatrics, he was about to be sorely disappointed. “I told you not to come, I wrote you back as soon as I got your last message!”

Zero looked briefly troubled. “I must not have gotten it in time. I headed out right after I sent you the last letter… In any case, I told you before. I’m not letting you stay here until they catch that thing, whatever it is.” He flipped a small stone carved with a mystic rune from his pocket, catching it with his free hand and brandishing it. “Come on, I’ve got one more charge on this Boltpath stone, enough to get us back to-”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said I’m not going!”

“Naole, I nearly got myself arrested to get you out of here…”

“I know, stupid! What do you think I’m so angry about?! You’re so Godsdamned stubborn…”

“Ow! Stop it, Imoto, that hurts!”

Drake and Lily watched in utter confusion as the Takaichi siblings argued back and forth, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around them. Even now, there was a group of extremely angry knights all crowding to get through the threshold at once… Lily noticed that one of them seemed to have two large, dirty boot prints stamped across the face and visor of his formerly-pristine white helmet.

“I’m not entirely sure I should arrest him,” said Lily, sounding equal parts amused and annoyed. “It seems his sister is doing an exemplary job of punishing him herself…”

“The temper runs in the family, I suppose,” said Drake, shaking his head.

The quarrel continued unabated until the alarm bell rang for the second time in as many minutes. In total disarray, the occupants of the infirmary could only stare at each other as the watchmale’s voice called out again, sounding considerably more frightened this time. “Alert, Alert! Intruder outside the walls, but coming in fast! All available knights to the front gate! Repeat, all available knights to the front gate! It’s him, it’s the Soulsnatcher…!”

Far away, someone screamed, breaking the veneer of shock that had settled over the room. The knights crowding the doorway set off at once, trying to reform some semblance of a formation. Soon there were sounds of battle in the distance, more screams, and a strangled cry that went suddenly and horribly silent…

Zero took Naole’s hand, all trace of levity gone from his face. “We have to get outside, the Boltpath spell won’t work indoors! Come on!”

This time there was no argument. The younger Takaichi’s eyes were wide as saucers as Zero led her out the back of the infirmary, darting past Lily before she could so much as warn them to stop.

Drake saw the skunk start to go after them, but he grasped her arm and held her back. “You have more pressing concerns, Milady! The real culprit is here! You need to tell any and all civilian females to-”

Females. The word seared itself into Drake’s mind like a brand. He heard the voice once more, speaking in Wolftongue, the grammar flippant and disrespectful.

“Females, mostly. I’m afraid I have… somewhat of a weakness for them.”

It’s not possible, he thought. He was dying when I left him there, no sentient alive could have survived that impact with the tree.

But then, what if he’s not exactly alive? Could dark magic somehow have-

“Oh, no,” he said aloud. Turning at once to the perplexed Lily, he grasped her shoulders and spoke, his brown eyes bright with that curious shine that made him seem younger than his years. “Lily, I know who he is. What’s more, I think I can help you stop him.”

Lady Nadeshiko had risen from the chaos like a phoenix from ashes, taking the scattered and frantic knights and uniting them into a single powerful force. Not for nothing was the High Mistress’s daughter the one sentient in charge of all military operations; her mind was razor-sharp by even badger standards, and those were the highest standards for intelligence in all of Sankami. Nadeshiko approached every waking moment of her life with both a strategy and a contingency plan, should things go wrong. In that case, even her contingency plans were elegant and flawless… normally.

Fighting this creature, however, was taxing her to her limits. “Spread out!” she called to her knights, who were assembled in front of her as a living shield. “Archers, get in between the shield-bearers! Fire a volley as soon as you see the target… do not wait for a confirmed hit, reload and fire another as soon as you can! Lancers, spears, and stave-bearers, fall back and protect the infirmary, there’s nothing more you can do here…”

“But Milady…” One of the lancers lifted his visor, clearly concerned. “We have to protect you…”

Nadeshiko grimaced. From the scabbard on her back she drew her great, two-handed broadsword, half her height and a full quarter of her weight. In anyone else’s hands, it was a clumsy blunt implement, only good for bludgeoning an enemy. When Nadeshiko wielded it, it became a precise, deadly weapon capable of parting sentients from their limbs with frightening ease. “I can protect myself, Callix,” she growled to the lancer. “The sick and injured cannot. Focus on them, that’s an order.”

The rabbit shuddered, saluted, and led his contingent to the infirmary, feeling sorry for the poor bastard that stood in the way of an angry Nadeshiko.

That distraction gone, the skunk crouched low to the floor, waiting. Other contingents had been driving the Soulsnatcher toward this corridor; providing they had done their jobs, there was no other way he could come. He’s strong, she thought grimly, but even the strong will fall to enough arrows. Shadows flickered at the opposite end of the corridor, and then a faint orange glow began to spread across the wall… “He has a torch,” Nadeshiko spat, her hand clenching tight around the hilt of her broadsword. “The blasted thing is mocking us! Archers, ready! Fire as soon as you have a clear shot!”

Stalker stepped around the corner, holding his torch high. It was completely unnecessary, as every hallway was well lit… but several of the more skittish knights had fled at the mere sight of him after seeing the way the dancing flames played across his features, so he elected to keep it. He knew the pretty field commander had come this way; he had become quite taken with her, seeing how well she commanded her forces even under pressure. Stalker had decided he would definitely use her blood in the birthing pool, and he would do her the honor of taking her soul as well. The wolf grinned to himself, stepping around the corner where he knew the commander and her knights were waiting. He was delighted at the thought of their faces when they saw what was sticking through his middle.

“FIRE!”

A dozen bowstrings twanged, and twelve shafts took flight through the air and planted themselves in the wolf’s chest. He staggered backward, momentarily stunned, and Nadeshiko felt a surge of triumph… until she saw the grin. He had been grinning the whole time, even as the arrows flew towards him. And underneath the arrows now peppering his broad chest, she could see the reason why… A knight’s sword was lodged in his belly up to the hilt, and the wound was barely even bleeding, not causing the wolf the slightest amount of discomfort.

Nadeshiko stood stunned, too horrified to give another order to attack. Her hesitation was all the creature needed; he darted forward, his black claws sliding outward to the length of knives, batting aside her loyal knights like ragdolls. All the while, his gleaming red eyes remained locked solely on her; he didn’t give the other knights so much as a glance as he tore his way through them. The skunk kicked herself mentally, taking up her broadsword and shifting her feet into a wide stance. She would make sure the Soulsnatcher paid for the humiliation he was dealing the knights! We’ll see how invincible you are with a split skull!

Delightful, thought Stalker. She intends to fight me! Throwing aside the foxes who were uselessly stabbing him with short swords, he vaulted over the last row of knights and spread his arms wide, diving toward the skunk female as if he were some long-lost lover rushing in for an embrace…

Nadeshiko was completely unprepared for such a reckless tactic. Her arms seemed to move sluggishly upward to lift the sword and block the blow, as if she were underwater… too late. The wolf slammed into her with all his considerable weight, and she lost her balance entirely, falling backward. She felt a shiver of disgust as the wolf’s arms wrapped around her, and noted with bizarre clarity that he seemed to have a small spider grafted onto his left bicep… Further thoughts were interrupted as the back of her helmet made contact with the ebony floor, an impact that filled her vision with stars. The weight on her torso meant that he was sitting atop her, she knew that much. Her sword would easily remove this impudent beast… but her sword had been torn from her grasp, and her fingers clutched at empty air.

Still dazed by the blow, she was only able to shake her head as the wolf gingerly removed her helmet, letting her braided silvery hair fall free. He was whispering something to her; she could barely make it out over the sounds of her contingent trying fruitlessly to rally themselves for a counterattack. What was he saying? It didn’t make sense…
“Do you love your mother, Milady…?”

“Dammit! This is hopeless…”

For the last few minutes, Zero had been searching for the right door. The Order temple seemed to have been built like a maze, and whichever doors he found either led to more identical hallways or refused to open for him. I should have brought Faun with me; she can break her way into or out of anywhere in Sankami… There was no time to chastise himself; he had a little sister to escort to safety.

“Onii-chan…” Her voice trembled, her hand still tightly held by Zero’s. “We should find Drake and Lady Lily, they’ll know how to get out of here.”

“Drake? He’s here?” Zero hadn’t even noticed him during the confusion.

“Lady Lily asked him here to talk about something, I’m not sure what. She sounded angry…”

Zero forced a smile as they ran down yet another corridor. “In my experience, Lady Lily is always angry.”

“That’s because you only see her when you sneak in to see me and get caught…”

“I suppose I’ll just have to get caught less often, right?”

Naole was about to reply when she saw a flash of white fur from the adjacent hallway. “Zero, it’s him! This way!” She pulled on her brother’s arm, ran toward the arch with a sudden burst of speed, then reeled, and felt the world fall out from underneath her feet…

“Naole!” Zero caught her in an instant, felt her pulse beating rapidly against her wrist. I knew it. Her thin blood… Zero cursed himself for not anticipating it. This has been too much for her. Smart, Zero, really smart… Shifting her into his arms, he bolted for the arch, shouting Drake’s name at the top of his lungs.

Drake’s ears perked up as he heard the cry. “Lily, this way. It’s Takaichi and his sister…”

Lily’s thoughts were more occupied with the contents of the cylinders she and Drake had collected from the armory, but nevertheless, she turned and followed the wolf. She could tell right away that something was wrong with the Takaichi girl; she recalled being briefed about “thin blood”, but she had never witnessed its effects for herself. The skunk allowed herself a moment of surprise as Zero held his sister tenderly, as if she were made of porcelain…

Naole was stirring slowly, forcing herself to smile. “I’ll be all right, Onii-chan, I’m only dizzy. I’m fine.”

“You are not,” Zero said firmly. “That line never worked when we were kits and it doesn’t work now.”

“What’s the matter with her? Is she sick?” Drake hovered over the squirrels, unsure of what to do.

“She needs rest, and quiet,” said Zero. “I have to get her outside and out of Shinboku, now.”

“One of the back doors is this way, we just passed-”

Whatever they had passed, Zero never found out. The wolf was interrupted by a sound that very few had heard before: the sound of Lady Lily screaming in terror. Her face was aghast as she stared unblinkingly at the end of the hall, at the two figures standing there, illuminated from behind by a sudden burst of flame…

Stalker was beaming in triumph, with Nadeshiko’s limp form in his arms. The arrows and sword that had penetrated his body were now returned to their owners, in suitably vicious fashion. There had been nothing to stop him from tormenting the commander’s mind until she had fallen prone at his feet. Mockingly, he now called out to the skunk whom he guessed was the girl’s mother. “No need to fret, Milady. I haven’t taken her soul, yet. I’ve been savoring my time with her…”

Lily’s reaction was delightful. Her legendary iron nerve had completely failed her in the face of harm to her precious daughter. “Nadeshiko…! Little One, no…!”

“So you do know the fear of losing children? Perhaps you should meet Mother when she returns! The two of you would have much in common.”

There were three other figures alongside the skunk… Stalker noted in shock that one was the white wolf who had been responsible for his part-death and rebirth. “Drake Who Walks Alone! By the stars!” He gave the old wolf a short mock bow. “Fate does work in mysterious ways, doesn’t it?”

“Ares,” Drake growled his old name as if it were poisonous.

Stalker chuckled. “Not anymore, my name is Stalker. I have been reborn to give Mother new life, and take revenge on those who murdered her… I need souls to guide mother back, and blood for- well, you will find out soon enough. Speaking of which…” He hauled Nadeshiko upward by her braid. Pulling aside chain mail and leather straps, he exposed the soft fur of her neck and shoulder… Pausing only for an instant to savor the moment, he plunged his fangs into her flesh, eliciting a moan from the half-conscious girl and another scream from Lily. Stalker drank briefly from the wound, then pressed the palm of his hand against it, opening the void within and collecting the pooling blood for later use. Satisfied, he let Nadeshiko drop to the floor in front of his horrified audience. “Now then,” he called to the rest of his prey. “Who among you will offer their-”

Then he stopped, and stared. The memories of the spider that had merged with him screamed in recognition at the sight of the sentient who was now standing, drawing a sword and holding it aloft.

“Takaichi,” Stalker breathed.

Zero glared at the wolf that called himself Stalker. “That’s me. How do you know my name?”

“You… You are one of them! The Outcasts, the sentients that killed Mother!”

The squirrel blinked. “‘Mother?’ I don’t know what you’re talking about…”

Stalker snarled, there was livid rage in his words. “You murdered Mother and slaughtered her children, you and that mage female of yours…”

The realization hit Zero like a blow to the head. At once, he understood what the strange creature fused to Stalker’s arm was. “N’Ktane…” Even the whispering of that hated name made him shudder. “You think your mother is N’Ktane…!”

“Don’t you dare question her memory!” roared the wolf. “You, Takaichi, and that girl Hanami… Mother wants you both to suffer for what you’ve done…”

“I’m sure.” Zero’s lip curled upward. “But right now, I’m having difficulty giving a damn.”

The wolf launched himself at Zero, howling madly. Zero sprang forward to meet the charge, his sword blade clashing against Stalker’s elongated claws… clashing? Zero expected to cut through those claws like butter; he supposed they were made of stronger stuff… Breathing hard, he continued the dance, parrying the deranged wolf each time he reached for him. The squirrel felt each blow travel the length of the old blade, spreading through his arms and jangling his nerves. Stalker was fighting with a savage style that Zero had never seen before, and it was all he could do to continue blocking each swipe. Steel rang against claw once more, and for a moment the two stayed locked together, glaring into each other’s eyes.

Something grey spat from the wolf’s wrist and into Zero’s face, something that clung tenaciously to his fur and refused to be dislodged. It was exactly the distraction Stalker needed; he batted the sword aside and pummeled every inch of the squirrel that he could reach. His claws were unused, for now. For the moment, he took sadistic pleasure in inflicting as much harm as he could upon Mother’s murderer… Something fell from Zero’s jacket under the force of the blows. Immediately Stalker seized it, intending to bludgeon the squirrel with the object, but no, it was too small to do any real damage.

“Stop it! Leave him alone!”

A heavy object shattered against Stalker’s skull. Forgetting about Zero for the moment, he dropped the dazed warrior and spun to face this new attacker… He found himself fascinated by the girl who so resembled his hated enemy, standing there and breathing hard with the remains of a ceramic pot in her hands.

The wolf’s lips curled into a smile. “A sister… So Takaichi has family…”

Naole glared at the monster that had hurt her brother, her eyes unafraid. “That’s right. I won’t let you hurt him, Ares or Stalker or whatever you call yourself…”

Stalker laughed with delight. “And what will you do, little doe?”

By way of reply, she slammed the rest of the pot into the side of his head. “My name is Naole!”

The breaking of the pot was actually sufficient to stun Stalker a bit. This girl was a wonder! It suddenly occurred to him as he stared at her lovely, defiant face… With the blood that he had collected in his attack, he only needed one more species… Why not use this one? He made up his mind in an instant; in one fluid motion, he swept the girl off her feet and pressed the tip of his claw into her neck.

Naole gasped, felt the point break her skin, and almost immediately something cool flooded her veins, something that interacted with her already thin blood to make her vision swim and her head pound… She couldn’t help herself, couldn’t fight the darkness encroaching upon her. Her eyes rolled upward as Naole sank into the void of sleep, silently cursing her frail, useless body for its weakness…

Stalker grinned and hefted the girl, binding her wrists with silk from his spinnerets, just in case she happened to fight off the venom. His latest conquest subdued, he turned back to where the elder Takaichi was slumped against the wall. “You should be honored,” he said, “To have your sister be the final step in the birth of a new race… And to think, she shall have the additional honor of being my legion’s first meal, as well! Do you think that-”

He saw the glint of metal a moment too late. It was a small kunai throwing knife that Zero had slipped from his sleeve while the wolf’s back was turned; clenched tightly in his fist, point down. The kunai left a silver streak in Stalker’s vision as Zero raised it… Then pain, pain the likes of which he had not felt since his part-death, it set Stalker’s deadened nerves aflame as the blade plunged into his eye. He howled in agony, half his vision darkened, the other half focused on his assailant with murderous intensity. Stalker backhanded the squirrel with brutal force, lifting him clear off his feet before sending him crashing to the blood-spattered ebony floor.

“Naole,” Zero grunted as he fell. It was the last sound he was able to make before the breath was driven from his lungs. “Naole,” he moaned as Stalker tore the kunai from his ruined eye socket, swearing words of revenge that Zero could not hear, did not care about. “Naole.” He cried out her name as the wolf stomped on his back, a final contemptuous gesture. Zero tried and failed to push himself to his feet. “Naole. Let… her… go.”

Stalker kicked him, sending him sprawling, mocking him again, brandishing the small carved stone that looked so similar to… Zero’s senses snapped back to full awareness as he realized what was about to happen. “NAOLE! Drake, stop him!”

Drake had stood, frozen and helpless next to where Lily knelt sobbing over her daughter, watching as Zero and Stalker had fought. It’s my fault, he thought, the words repeating themselves inside him, a litany of shame. My fault for not finishing Ares when I had the chance. My fault that he’s returned. All my fault… He simply watched, numb, as Stalker poisoned the girl and Zero took out his eye. And when Zero shouted his name, just before the cursed wolf ran like the wind for the door at the end of the hall, it took several long seconds to register what he was about to do.

Several seconds were all Stalker needed. Clutching Naole’s unconscious body tightly to himself, he slammed into the magically locked back door, which had never been designed to stop intruders from the inside. It broke like a dry rice cracker under the weight of two sentients. Stalker didn’t slow down; he took one step into the night air, raised the stolen Boltpath stone, and shouted “Release!”

A thunderclap rang from the walls of the street as Stalker and Naole vanished and the air around them rushed in to fill the void. Drake stood there in the doorway, heard Zero howl with helpless rage behind him.

Naole was gone. Drake had done nothing. It’s my fault. All my fault.

END OF CHAPTER 3

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