Akyvak’s pale fur was stained with the white horse’s blood. That was nothing compared to what he saw when he returned to the camp. There was blood everywhere, at least a dozen human bodies lying mutilated and dead. He saw Azvalath run toward the lake with what looked like a bird in his arms. Akyvak was about to follow him when Zoromon called his name, that odd way that humans said it. Ah-key-vahk. He stopped and pricked his ears up.

“Akyvak,” Zoromon said again. He tapped his foot to summon the wolf to his side.

Akyvak didn’t move. He shared his feelings of fear and confusion.

Zoromon went over to look at the Clan Mother’s corpse. “What happened? Picture it for me, all right?”

Akyvak blinked. He didn’t fully understand what had happened, but he closed his eyes and pictured it anyway. From afar, he had seen Azvalath and the younger man talking. He had heard their voices getting angrier until the younger man’s voice dropped. He sensed predatory intent between them. Something long and sharp went through the younger man’s torso, and he crumpled to the ground. Akyvak looked up.

“Keep going,” said Zoromon. He pointed to the Clan Mother’s corpse. “How did she come into this?”

She appeared next. She sounded shocked and angry. Azvalath sounded like he was pleading with her. Then she sounded confused. Azvalath’s panic startled him like lightning cracking right over his head. Then the Clan Mother fell beneath his sharp weapon. Akyvak stopped there and went to sit next to Zoromon. He looked down at the corpse and shared his emotions again.

“You feel happy?” Zoromon sounded startled. “Why?”

Akyvak reminded him.

“Right.” Zoromon sighed. “Your mother.” He crouched to get on eye level with Akyvak. “Do you know why this happened?”

Akyvak told him what he thought.

“To protect us?” Zoromon looked around at all the carnage. “Something isn’t right. I need to know what happened. I’m going to find him. Thank you, Akyvak.”

The wolf watched Zoromon as he ran off toward the lake. Fear hung over the camp like fog over water. The humans were all hiding in their shelters. As they should be, Akyvak thought. He had not felt so safe in a long time. After what had just happened, he doubted anyone would dare to lay a finger on him, Zoromon, Sakhal, or Tevorac. Finally, he could remember all of their names.

Akyvak looked over at where Sakhal and the two mares were tied up, then trotted over to join them. The red mare stamped her hoof and pinned her ears. Akyvak folded his ears and made himself look small, to tell her that he meant no harm. She bent down and sniffed his bloodied face. Akyvak braced himself for the bite he knew was coming.

But it never came. Instead, the red mare pricked her ears up and nudged him gently. Akyvak was confused. Why was she happy?

Akyvak laid his head against hers and shared an image of himself killing the white stallion. He wasn’t sure whether or not it would work, but he tried it anyway.

She responded with an image of the white stallion attacking Sakhal.

Akyvak understood that desire to protect. He understood it better than anyone knew. And with the ones he loved most in the world – Mother and Tiluek – he had failed miserably. Akyvak lay down in the snow and whimpered. The red mare shared a feeling of concern.

Akyvak explained by showing her images of his dead mother and sister.

The mare looked up and butted her head against Sakhal’s. The black horse opened his eyes, looked at Akyvak, then closed them again. The wolf watched in astonishment as a faint but familiar outline appeared in front of him. Mother. He whined.

She bent down and licked his face. Her affection was as warm as it had been when she was alive. Akyvak glanced at Sakhal for a second. The black stallion’s eyes were shut tight with concentration. Akyvak had so many things he wanted to say to Mother, but he sensed his time was limited, so he asked the most pressing question. “Where is Tiluek?”

“Your gift keeps her bound to this world,” said Mother. “She is not with me. I don’t know what you’ve done, Akyvak, but Tiluek is still out there somewhere. Fear not, though. She will reunite with us in the end.”

“Us?” Akyvak looked down at his paws, then back at Mother. “Mother, I’m still here.”

“My poor pup,” said Mother. “You won’t be for much longer. I’m so sorry.”

Akyvak folded his ears back. “What do you mean?”

“They’re coming for you. The Shades. No…they’re already here. Remember what I taught you, Akyvak.” She leaned in closer. “In that moment, you will stand between two paths. Choose the path to me, not the path to Vraelen. The path to me. Understand?”

Akyvak whimpered. As much as he wanted to be with Mother again, he didn’t want to die. He wanted to go on with his life, if for no other reason than the selfish instinct that drove all living creatures. Still, he said what he knew Mother would want to hear. “I understand.”

“Be brave, Akyvak. I love you always,” said Mother.

Sakhal’s eyes snapped open and he sucked in a desperate gulp of air. Mother’s image vanished. Akyvak got up to thank the black horse, but stopped dead in his tracks. He smelled something foul. Something worse than all the fear and death around him.

He turned around. A shadow was approaching. For a split second, he thought it was Tiluek. Then his heart sank down into his stomach. It wasn’t his sister. It was the grinning one. His sense of security vanished in an instant.

The dog spotted him and sped its pace. Akyvak planted his feet in the snow. Be a protector, he told himself. Like Azvalath. He told himself that he would be ready to make the world bleed for his new family’s sake.

The dog slowed to a walk as it came up to him. Akyvak bared his teeth in a snarl. The red mare pinned her ears back. The dog’s grin widened. It looked up at the red mare, then lunged for her face.

Akyvak yelped and tried to grab the dog’s leg. He missed. The dog grabbed the red mare by the thing strapped around her head and tore it straight off. Sakhal jerked his head back and snorted. The gray mare, who until then had been dozing peacefully, reared up in panic. The red mare kept her ears pinned firmly. Akyvak growled.

The dog butted its head against his, and for a moment, he could hear a largely incoherent thought. CountingTenNineZEROletsgo

He said two words, hoping the dog would understand. “Back off.”

The dog’s ear twitched, but it made no sound.

Akyvak growled his final warning.

The dog’s eyes widened and turned pitch black. Then the telltale red glow of a Shade spilled out. The gaze of doom. Akyvak screamed and ran for his life. The red mare ran ahead of him. His heartbeat quickened with a pulse of hope. He wasn’t alone. Beneath his terror, he felt powerful.

Powerful.

He remembered the bodies.

Akyvak ran to the corpse of the Clan Mother and sang his hellish blessing. The woman sprang to her feet, as did several other bodies around her. His hope surged again. He turned to face the grinning savage. “Ten nine zero,” he said. “Smile at death, you revolting creature.”

The dog opened its mouth so wide it looked ready to dislocate. It made a strange huffing sound, almost like a human’s laughter. It wasn’t looking at Akyvak, though. It was looking behind him. Akyvak turned around. What he saw made his heart stop for a second.

The red mare stood behind him, calm and composed. Her eyes had changed. They, too, were the eyes of a Shade. His hope died in an instant.

He commanded his revenants to get in her way, then ran in the opposite direction as fast as his limbs could carry him. He heard her hooves smash through the blockade of bodies. Akyvak fled faster than he had ever thought possible. When he saw the Grinner in the corner of his eye, his limbs buckled, and he fell down. His head struck the ice beneath the snow. He looked up and saw the monster smiling down at him.

He screamed as loud as he could and hoped beyond reason that someone would hear him. His cry was silenced when the dog grabbed his muzzle and clamped it shut. Go on and get it over with, Akyvak thought. Please.

The dog moved to stand on his neck, cutting off his wind. Akyvak’s limbs jerked. He closed his eyes and told himself that when he opened them again, Mother would be there, and she would heal all his pain.

He opened his eyes. Mother stood there, waiting for him. A soft red glow surrounded her. She looked beautiful. He had never seen such peace in her. Akyvak got up and ran toward her, but she grew farther away with every step he took. “Remember, Akyvak,” she said. “I love you always.”

Akyvak kept running. “Where are you going, Mother? I’m taking the path back to you, just like you said!”

Mother ran toward him as well. She kept getting smaller. “Akyvak!”

Akyvak howled. “MOTHER!”

He fell down again. She disappeared entirely. He sucked in a huge breath and screamed. He was back. How was he back? Akyvak bit his tongue. It hurt. That meant he was still alive, did it not? How was he still alive? The dog was…

…gone?

Akyvak looked up and saw it fleeing in terror. Then he looked down and saw something lying in the snow. It was a lightningfisher tooth attached to a piece of string. He caught Azvalath’s scent before he even saw the man.

Azvalath ran over, grabbed the tooth, and put it back around his neck. Akyvak heard urgency in the man’s voice. He didn’t have to understand the exact words to know they were not out of danger yet. Azvalath went back to his horse and was about to remount when the wolf heard something in the distance. He barked to alert Azvalath. Azvalath turned around right as another horse appeared, this one red and riderless. What Akyvak saw next would horrify him for the rest of his life.