Aranea woke up on a stone floor. Her head was spinning, and she felt a pain in the back of her head. She tried to stand, but her legs gave in.
"She is waking up." "A familiar voice said nearby.
"Finally. Tilden, it was too dangerous. How did she end up with him in the first place? Can you even imagine what would have happened if he…"
"Relax, elder. Everything is within my calculations. The fool moves exactly as I planned. You just sing the song that I wrote for you, and the old farts will behave like the fools they are. Thanks to Academician, they are in panic now, and panic makes people do stupid things." Tilden said in a smug voice, and Aranea heard someone walking away.
She finally lifted her head and saw iron bars before herself. She was in a small cell, and food and water were standing next to her. On the other side of the iron bars stood a smiling Tilden.
"Wakey, wakey, moron," He laughed, "Your bastard of a father sure gave me troubles. I even regret saving him that day."
"You… you saved my dad?" Aranea asked with barely a whisper. It took quite an effort on her part just to speak.
"Yep. But don’t blame me, I was young and idealistic back then. Now, however, we have to get rid of him. And for this, I'm forced to sacrifice my dear friends," Tilden said, wiping a fake tear from his crimson eye, "Tragedy, really. But this is all his fault. If he just stopped looking into my business, none of this would have happened."
"Sacrifice your friends? But… this is insanity!" Aranea finally returned control over her voice and screamed at the man, "And what will you do to my father!? And… what were you doing with the cubs! They have parents who will be worried, give them back!"
"To answer your questions in order," Tilden continued speaking with a bored expression on his snout, "In order to obtain power, true power, I mean, you have to sacrifice someone from time to time. Tragic, yes, but for me, it is the only way to rise in the ranks. And rise I must, for I have a great many things that I want to change in our order. And for this, I need authority. I am not strong enough to rise naturally, so I need to "grease" things up. For this, I needed funds. And your pappy dared to try and stop my ascension. As for your second question," He smiled wickedly, "Next time we see each other, your daddy will be dead and dishonored, because my new allies will wipe out someone and he will be made to take the fall. Can you guess what happens next?" He stepped away from the cell, laughing, before stopping, as if remembering something, "Oh, and as for cubs… Eh, kids die all the time. This time their lives are the coin that will ensure the demise of your pappy." Tilden left, laughing like a maniac.
"You lie!" Aranea slammed her whole body into the iron bars but could not even move them from their place. In a panic, she stepped back, looking around the cell. Nothing. Stone walls, stone walls, and nothing but walls.
The light went out in the corridor, leaving only her cell as the only place with the tiniest amount of light.
"He is lying," Aranea said to herself. Her Dad wasn’t foolish. He was not! She licked her lips, "Mom!" That person also spoke about dealing with her mother. What did he mean by that? Oh Spirits, what if she woke up and finds that Aranea is gone? She would bee terribly worried! What if Keyl tried to find Aranea and couldn't find her!
She clutched her head in horror and fear. She really ruined everything this time. Aranea waited and waited, yet no one came. Eventually, she ate the food when hunger was getting to her. Then she sat on the floor, despair washing over her. Her paws trembled, she felt as if something terrible was about to happen. She cared not for herself, but what if this Tilden hurt her family? He knew her father, and he wore military armor, did this mean that he was part of the order? But the Ice Fangs were heroes! How could any of them do this? Eventually, the girl fell asleep, and when she woke up, new food was in her cell.
What seemed like days passed, yet no one came for her. No matter how she tried, she could not discover how the food appeared. Each time Aranea went to sleep, food and water were renewed.
Then, one day, her wait was over. She heard loud footsteps and whistling. Tilden was coming back, a small bag with something ringing inside was on his belt. He came up to the steel bars and snapped his fingers, and the steel bars moved into the floor. Just like before, he was in full armor and without a helmet.
"Hello there, little murderer!" He smiled, showing his fangs, "Your daddy is gone. Time to meet your mom and finish it."
"You lie!" Aranea shouted, backing to the walls, as Tilden came into the cell. Yet despite her words, she felt a sudden emptiness in her chest. As if something important, something that can never be replaced, was torn out, leaving an empty hole inside. A gaping icy void that would gnaw at her forever and ever. He called her murderer... Is this to say that if she wasn't caught, her father would... No, it made no sense, none at all, her Dad is alive! He is alive!
"Why would I? I am actually quite happy and honest right now. But anyway, believe whatever delusions you want, half of your family is gone," His smile widened, "Time to deal with the other half." He grabbed Aranea by the neck, dragging her out.
She tried to scream, but he nearly choked her out. She let out her claws, but they only scratched helplessly across his armor. Tilden dragged her across corridors, sometimes going up stairs and sometimes going down. Finally, they came before a large steel doors. Aranea felt Tilden pricked her in the back with something, and then he dropped her, right before the doors. This was a brightly lit place, the walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of steel.
"What…" Aranea asked, her thoughts becoming confused for a moment. "What did you do…"
"Kids should act like kids. We don’t want you to complicate the message, right? Worry not, it is only temporary. I want you to be fully conscious when the end comes. Miss Kalaisa!" Tilden said, slightly raising his voice. "I have something of yours! Come out and play!"
A loud noise came from above the ceiling, as if someone were running on all fours. Movement was now accompanied by the loud sound of tearing metal; someone was getting closer by the second. Then it stopped. Tilden took the bag from his waist in his left paw, and his smirking face changed into a mask of concentration. A crack appeared on the metal ceiling, further down the corridor. Tilden licked his lips, and the metal cracked. The black form crashed through the cracks, landing on two feet. Kalaisa Wintersong stood calmly in the corridor, her amber eyes fixed on Tilden. Then her expression changed as she saw Aranea on the floor.
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
"Give her back," Kalaisa silently said, "I will not try to take revenge, I will not hunt you. You can just leave and run anywhere you want. Give her back, and this will be the end of it." She took one step forward, sending tremors across the corridor. Aranea looked at her mother in numb surprise. Before, her mother was a gentle being. Now, however, Kalaisa was something else entirely. Something truly terrifying.
"Take her then," Tilden smirked and charged at Kalaisa. The gun appeared from the wrist of his right hand, he raised his arm up, taking aim at Kalaisa. Aranea watched in horror as Kalaisa stood calmly, motionless. Tilden took aim and…
Kalaisa disappeared, and Tilden flew backward, the gun was gone from his wrist, torn away by the casual swing of Kalaisa’s claws. The large wound was on the right shoulder of the man, the metal of his armor had shattered. Tilden tried to slam the bag into the face of Kalaisa, but she tore through the fabric with her claws, causing golden tokens to fall on the floor. Tilden screamed out as he crashed into the metal doors behind him.
"I surrender!" Tilden shouted, half with panic, half with smugness. Kalaisa stopped just as she was about to pick up Aranea. Aranea looked at her mother and saw fear—a tide of pure animal horror that was rising in her mother's eyes.
"No… no…" Kalaisa whispered, suddenly heavily breathing. Drool began to fall from her mouth, and her arms started to tremble.
"No, really, I am at the loss," Tilden confidently smiled, standing up and holding the wound on his shoulder with his left paw, "You won, fair and square. You… dominated me," The white furred wolfkin mocked his opponent, "Enjoy your just reward, it should hit you soon if I understand right. Girl." He addressed Aranea with a fake concern. "Now you’ve done it. Your whole family is gone. Why did you do it? Why did you have to sneak here? Why did you push your mother to this despair?" He shook his head in mock perplexity, "GUARDS! INTRUDERS ARE IN THE VAULT!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing in the corridor, and loud sirens began to scream as the light turned red.
Kalaisa tried to pick up Aranea, but she suddenly stumbled, falling on her knees. A low, guttural growl came from her mouth as the wolfkin tried desperately to hold something back. Aranea thought that she saw her mother increase in size, yet a moment later she was the same size as before. Large doors opened, and a group of armored wolfkin came in. Aranea blinked, and darkness came upon her.
She awoke in the wide hall, sitting near her mother. This was a brightly lit hall, yellow light was nice, rich paintings were visible on the walls. A large round table surrounded Kalaisa and Aranea, eight venerable wolfkins were sitting around behind the table. These were Elders, wolfkins in charge of the Ice Fang order. The order was ruled by forty Elders in total, but only eight of them were present at the time.
"And this finishes my report," Tilden, dressed in formal attire and without armor, stood before the Elders, a bandage covering his wound, "While it is true that Kalaisa attacked me without provocation, and it is also true that Aranea sneaked into the vault without reason, I still ask the honorable court to show mercy to both of them. After what happened with my best friend Gregor…" His voice cracked, as if in pain, and he went silent.
"Gregor Wintersong was a traitor, and he died like one!" One of the Elders shouted. Aranea recognized this voice, this was the person who was talking with Tilden near her cell. The woman angrily jumped on her feet, "The monster that he turned out to be is responsible for the massacre of the entire village! He refused to follow the order of the sword saint and refused to give up, insisting on his delusions! He was mad, and you have nothing to blame yourself for, knight captain!"
"Still, this warrants further investigation," Another Elder said, a sleezy-looking old wolfkin.
"You need at least ten elders to mark someone for death," Said a sword saint in power armor with golden markings around the edge of his armor, "You only had three."
"What does it matter!" The elder slammed her paw into the table, "He killed the entire village! How long did we have to wait? Eternity? And don’t look at me like this, sword saint Osiris Summerspring, you were there! You saw what happened! Knight Captain Tilden Summerspring was absolutely right!" She pointed her finger accusingly at the sword saint.
"Yet, I want to ask Kalaisa some questions," The sword saint spoke quietly. He alone carried a weapon in the room, a thin, deadly looking sword at his waist. He alone was in full armor. Tilden wanted to say something, but the sword saint silenced him with a glance, the blue lens of his helmet burrowing into Tilden's eyes, and Tilden backed down, "My lady, can you please tell me, what happened to Gregor? Tell me your version of the events. You have no need to be afraid, I won’t let anyone even think about insulting you or your daughter."
Low growling came from the mouth of Kalaisa, and she unleashed her claws, biting them deeply into her own legs, tearing the fabric of her pants and causing herself to bleed. The sword saint was on her in a moment, stopping Kalaisa from harming herself. Aranea desperately wanted to say something, yet all her thoughts were in confusion, and she could only whimper like an infant cub.
"Look at her. She became deranged. All the Wolf Tribe members are nothing but insane trash," The female Elder said with disgust in her voice. Before she could continue, the sword saint appeared before her, moving too fast for Aranea’s eyes to follow. He hit the venerable woman across the snout lightly.
"One more insult, Elder, and I won’t hold my next hit," He said with steel in his voice, "You broke our laws, betrayed our traditions, and dared to deceive me, by claiming that ten had decided the fate of the knight captain Gregor. We will review your actions at a later date. This woman," He pointed at Kalaisa, "Lost her husband. She is grieving. Send her to…"
"To the Ice Cave for ten days." The female elder interrupted, her red eyes were filled with hatred for the sword saint.
"Pardon?" The sword saint tilted his head in question.
"This is a reasonable decision," Tilden nodded, "They broke the law. A few days in the Ice Cave will cool their heads and let them think. Come on, uncle, this is hardly even a punishment!" Tilden let out a good-natured laugh.
"I heard that the Wolf Tribe suffers from cold temperatures..." The sleezy-looking Elder said.
"Just a superstition!" The Elder slammed her paw into the table once more, "People! We have a crisis on our hands! Six, I repeat, six cubs are missing! From the safest possible city in the world! From our keep!" She shouted, raising her paws above her head, "And you argue about what to do about minor trouble like this?! Decide already, we need to act, now! Look at them, they have fur just like us, what could possibly happen to them?"
"Ice Cave," said one of the Elders, then another, and finally all of them, except for the sleezy-looking one who remained silent.
"Ice Cave it is." The female Elder stated.
"Not all Elders have spoken." The sword saint pointed in a threatening voice.
"We only need two Elders to subject someone to Ice Cave. Five have spoken." The woman smiled at the sword saint.
"Now you care about our laws? How convenient."
"Uncle, please, let's not make a scene. Important events need to be discussed. If Gregor was truly responsible for the disappearances," ...Tilden started to talk but went silent as the wolfkin in blue and golden armor turned to him.
"I fail to remember when you became one of the Elders or a sword saint. Knight captain Tilden, you will remember your place and will not speak out of order. You are to keep watch on Kalaisa and Aranea, if any, and I mean any, danger comes upon them, you are to save them and report to me. If as much as a hair falls from their fur, you will lose your head, nephew. There is something fishy about this incident, and I swear that I will get to the bottom of this." The lenses of the helmet burrowed into the face of Tilden, and the smaller wolfkin swallowed his drool in fear, shouting commands to the guards.
"Oh, and nephew." The sword saint spoke once more.
"Yes, uncle?" Tilden turned to look at the sword saint.
"On my authority as the sword saint and master of the Summerspring household, I am calling for help from the investigation bureau. I trust that you are overjoyed." The sword saint burrowed at Tilden through the lenses of his helmet while the smaller wolfkin was backing out of the hall along with the guards.
Soldiers took Kalaisa and Aranea, while Elders began to discuss the disappearance of the cubs. Aranea desperately wanted to scream that she knew what happened, but she could only whimper, while her mother growled from time to time.