{"sf1_id":1186700,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Broken World: Desire (Part 3)","author":"dorintf","words":12763,"posted_at":"2017-05-29T13:25:00.000Z","tags":["Fantasy","Transformation","Violence (Not In Yiff)","Werewolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1186700-broken-world-desire-part-3","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/1186700","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=1186700\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"Ongoing werewolf fantasy series (transformation themes).\nLura's new life is interrupted by her old one as her former home is under assault by the man she swore to kill.\nWarning, there is quite a bit of violence and adult themes in this one. Not so much sex, but allusions to rape (though no depictions of it).","content":"Part III\"I like fighting,\" said the Wart. \"It is knightly.\"\n\"Because you're a baby.\"--T.H. White,The Once and Future King\nGraadig sat eating cottage pie with his fingers as he watched the third\nman's body being tossed into the nearest fire. Now approaching his\nseventies, Graadig didn't have the patience for this sort of thing. The\nthird man had been defiant. Stupid. Perhaps the fourth would be more\nlikely to see reason.\nHis men shoved the newest farmer---they were all farmers, he assumed---to\nhis knees and held him there by his shoulders. He was younger than the\nlast one, perhaps he would be more rational as well.\nGraadig spoke kindly. In truth, he always spoke kindly. Men had\ninsinuated he had a very grandfatherly tone. He was approaching that age\nafter all. The lines on his face had gone from present to noticeable to\nprominent. His hair had turned gray, white around the temples, and had\nreceded a good bit. His joints ached in the morning, especially after a\nlong day's ride. \nIn truth, he couldn't remember the last time he hadn't had a long day's\nride. Even when the men needed a day's rest, he had pressed them on over\nland and sea. The prize was worth a few aches in the morning. And\ncertainly worth more than the young man in front of him.\n \n\"Hello there, friend.\" Graadig wiped his fingers on his shirt before\nextending his hand in greeting. The man stared at the gesture as if he\nwere being handed a viper. Glancing up at the two men holding him he\nslowly took Graadig's hand in his own, trembling as he held his arm\naloft. \"I'm sure you overheard me talking to the others, but I'll repeat\nmyself.\" He chucked apologetically. \"It's hard to be heard over the\ncommotion.\" Here he nodded towards the crying women and children\nstanding near a burning hovel.\n\"We're looking for something. Once we find it, we'll be on our way. It's\nnot even a necessity really, but it's important to be thorough wherever\npossible. After that, we'll be on our way and you can put this whole\nlittle inconvenience behind you.\n\"There is a man who once lived here. His name was Darden Veloren. He and\nI were good friends once before he became a bit too chummy with our\nprevious employer and I had to murder him. All we need to know is where\nhe lived, who here may have been related to him, that sort of thing. Now\nis that some information you would be willing to impart?\"\n \nHe nodded quickly. \"The-The-The shack ... outside of town. He lived there.\nHe had a wife and daughter. The wife died a few months back. The\ndaughter ran off after she cursed our cattle.\"\nGraadig leaned back in his chair, smiling and glancing in sarcastic\nwonder towards his men. \"Cursed your cattle? She was a witch then? Nasty\nsort, but this little exchange may work in your favor after all. I've\nkilled witches before, you know. Nasty women, just the worst. We ran\ninto one in Sarrinthia, and let me tell you, that was quite an\nafternoon.\" He chuckled again. \"I apologize, let's stay on topic so I\ndon't have to waste any more of your time. Where is she now then, hmm?\nOr did you burn her at the stake perhaps?\" He grinned like a jackal at\nhis men. \"Lot of that going around, isn't there boys?\"\nHis men laughed. They always laughed at his jokes, even if they weren't\nvery funny. Graadig didn't mind. It showed his men were loyal to him and\nafraid of him. Two qualities he demanded in his employees.\nThe man shook his head. \"She left. After she cursed our animals. Ran off, we don't know where.\"\n \nGraadig sighed. \"Now we come to the part I hate the most out of any of\nthese little exchanges. You see, I don't know if you're telling the\ntruth or if you're lying in order to protect her.\"\nThe man shook his head more urgently now. \"No lie, I speak the truth. Ask any of the others.\"\n\"Yes, let's ask the others.\" He looked up at one of the men. \"Our friend\nhere, did he have a family? Was he standing near to any dear bride or\nlovely offspring?\"\nThe nearest man pointed toward a rather gaunt looking woman with a young\ngirl clutching at her legs. Both were crying just a bit louder than the\nothers as they watched the man on his knees intently.\n\"Ah, there we go. Could you bring them here please? These old bones don't like to stand once they've found a comfy chair.\"\nHis men ushered the woman and daughter forward. Graadig's conversational\npartner suddenly became annoyingly brave. \"Leave them alone! It's me\nyou're talking to, leave them out of this, you bastard!\"\nGraadig looked overtly appalled. \"Now now, friend. That's not nice\nlanguage, especially not in front of the children. What kind of a world\nwould this be if everyone spoke like that? I shudder to think what kind\nof environment you may be raising the young lass in. Also, to speak ill\nof my parentage? I'm offended! My mother was a lady fair and loved my\nfather very much, in holy matrimony of course.\" Here he looked towards\nthe girl. She was ten, eleven? He could never tell. \"What's your name,\ndearie?\"\n \nShe spoke so softly he could barely understand. \"Lamyra.\"\n\"Lamyra! That's a very pretty name. Emeerish in origin, I believe. Tell me, does daddy speak that way in front of you?\"\nShe made no motion at all.\n\"Now look what you've done. The poor girl is aghast at this sort of\nbehavior. Most unbecoming of a father, most unfortunate.\" He sighed as\nhe casually drew his dagger, tested its edge with his greasy thumb, and\nslit the man's throat, leaning back quickly in order to keep the blood\nfrom spraying on his clothes. The woman screamed, the girl cried. He\nhoped his point had been made.\nHe gave the women a few moments to get it all out of their system before\nhe slowly rose to his feet, groaning at the pain in his knees. He\nwalked toward them and leaned over the girl.\n\"Now Lamyra, I'm very sorry you had to see that, but daddy was being naughty. Are you naughty?\"\nAgain, no movement.\n\"I don't think you are, I think you're a very good girl, and you just\nwant this all to be over with so you and your family ...\" He looked over\nhis shoulder at the man's body, even now being carried towards the\npyre. \"What's left of your family can get back to your wonderful little\nlives. Darden's daughter, then. Do you know where she is? Where her\nhouse is?\"\n \nLamyra stared. Still no response.\nGraadig sighed again, then leaned closer. \"Do you know what the word\n'rape' means, little one? It's not a very nice word, is it?\"\nFinally the girl cried. Some show of emotion was a good sign. He wasn't\nsure if she actually knew what the word meant or was just reacting to\nthe harsh sound of it, but it didn't really matter at this point.\n\"You need to tell me where she lives. Otherwise, my lads are going to\nrape mummy. You don't want that, do you? Raping mummy? Where does she\nlive, eh?\"\nThe girl pointed towards a path leading out of the village proper.\n\"A recluse then! Doesn't surprise me. Let's go see!\" He spoke to her\nlike a grandfather bringing his favorite grandchild to see something new\nand wonderful. He took her hand gently, and slowly walked with her in\nthe direction she had indicated.\nHe had a good feeling about this one. Children had an honesty that\ngradually left them as they became older. His men dragged the mother\nalong with them while the rest of his entourage began to encircle what\nwas left of the villagers---probably to engage in the activity that\nLamyra had found so disagreeable.\n \nWhen they arrived at the place he knew that his young friend had spoken\ntrue. Ornate but simple wind chimes hung from the trees, a little piece\nof blue glass was nailed to the exterior. Darden had always been a bit\nof a spiritualist, something that had always annoyed Graadig. The\nTraitor had valued his opinions more than Graadig's own, and that had\nnever led anything worthwhile.\nOther than these adornments, the place was exactly how the last man had\ndescribed. It was a shack in every sense of the word. More of a box or a\nhorse stall if truth be told. Graadig motioned for one of the men to\nkick in the door. Once he had done so he stepped inside, making sure\nthere was no one hiding inside, waiting to spring in ambush. It took\nonly a moment to confirm the small structure was empty. The man stepped\nback outside, nodding to indicate the place seemed safe. He had a sour\nexpression on his face.\n\"Smells like a brothel mixed crossed with a barn, sir.\"\nGraadig did detect a rather musky scent as he stepped inside. The shack\nwas even less impressive in its interior. Two beds, a small table near\nthe larger one, a few clay pots on another table in the corner. Darden\nhad never been a man for extravagant effects, but this level of sparsity\nwas beyond what Graadig would have expected.\n \n\"Hmm. Perhaps she did leave town, after all.\" He patted Lamyra's hand\naffectionately. \"Very sorry about that, my love. Daddy was being honest,\nbut still naughty all the same. Anything?\"\nHere his men turned over the tables and the bed, seeming rather\ndisappointed there wasn't more furniture to abuse. One lifted a small\nbox that had sat underneath the larger bed, rummaging through it and\npulling letters from it. Graadig examined them over his shoulder.\n\"Darden's handwriting, for certain.\" He leafed through a few letters.\n\"'To my love', blah blah blah, 'Dear heart,' blah blah blah.\" He sighed\nat the tedious addresses before noticing another letter already laying\non the floor separate from the others. The smell was strongest here,\nlingering over the parchment like perfume from a maiden's love letter.\nGraadig lifted it and scanned it, his smile growing gradually as he\nread. \n\"We come to it at last. 'Soil from every corner of the world. Lay the\nsoil in a circle. Blood of an old woman. A knife to open a tear in the\nworld.' Always so poetic, our Darden. 'Bring forth part of the Blind\nOnes in the form of a shadow. Use this shade to close the tear.' Yes,\nDarden dear, we already knew all of this.\" Graadig sighed. \"This rather\ntedious venture ends anticlimactically after all. It seems we needn't\nhave bothered with our little visit. Still, he might have known\nsomething the Traitor didn't share with me, and it's best to be thorough\nwherever possible.\" He noticed the Traitor's name was covered in black\nink, rendering it illegible. He had always thought it curious indeed\nthat he never could remember his old master's name. Apparently the world\nhad forgotten it as well. It wouldn't matter in the end. Soon enough,\nGraadig's own name would be spoken of in worship by every man, woman,\nand child left on this dead world.\n \nStill, the absence of the daughter was a loose thread that could prove\nannoying further down the road. What had she done here? Did she try to\ncall it? Did she summon the shadow? Surely she couldn't have done\nsomething that insane. Darden wouldn't raise his daughter to be a fool.\nBut perhaps she did. Was the smell a leftover of the ritual? He didn't\nremember it from the last time the ceremony was held. No, it smelled\nlike a mare in heat. Like ...\n\"Ah.\" His expression lacked any enthusiasm. This had the potential to complicate matters. \"The bitch, it seems, is a bitch.\"\n\"Sir?\"\n\"Werewolf. Darden's darling daughter is a dog.\" A dog who summoned the\nthing with the glowing white eyes. Some sort of arrangement between the\ntwo? None of this boded well.\nGraadig suddenly became aware he was still holding his young friend's\nhand. He slowly sat down on the bed, taking both of her hands in his.\n\"I had hoped to begin my little ascension to godhood tonight, but if\nyour friend is one of those drooling little doggies it may complicate\nmatters if she were to return home and find us here. It might be better\nto put a little distance between us and them, hm? There's always more\nthan one of them, they're like mice in a cellar. My dear, I think that\nmaybe you were friends with the Veloren family, yes? Perhaps you'd like\nto come with us for a while, maybe take in the sights? With all these\nburning buildings and smoldering bodies, it's not a proper environment\nfor a young lady.\"\n \nLamyra finally spoke. \"L-Lura's ... a werewolf?\"\nGraadig smiled, strangely happy to learn the bitch's name.\n* * *\nLura knew with absolute certainty that there was never a moment in her\nlife where she felt happier than she did at this very moment. So when\nEloren returned with news from outside their little paradise it came as\neven more of a shock. Her old life, her old purpose, had crept upon her\nlike a thief in the night.\n\"How bad do you think it is?\" asked Enadyse, slowly sinking to the\nbench. There were times when Lura felt Enadyse acted her age. She seemed\nless vibrant now, more like a tired old woman.\n\"Bad,\" said Eloren. \"I don't expect there's any survivors. It was a\nsmall war party, all heading in the direction of the village.\" Here he\nturned and bowed his head towards Lura. \"I'm sorry, little sister. This\nman is a monster. If I had known this was going to happen so close to\nour doorstep I would've advocated finishing him off long ago.\"\n\"We cannot become involved in their lives.\" Enadyse was addressing the\ngroup but was looking straight at Lura. \"We're not their protectors, and\nthey'd visit the same harm on us if they had the opportunity.\"\n \nLura felt her anger rise before realizing her alpha was probably right.\nShe felt Kyrun's hand on her bare shoulder. Since that night, she had\njoined her friends in wearing no clothing except when it was cold at\nnight. She had joked with Kyrun, saying she was finally prepared to\n\"wear the uniform.\" She reached up and gave his hand a squeeze.\n\"I don't like this.\" Tam had a strange look on her face. Lura realized\nthis was the first time she had ever seen her friend not smiling. \"Why\nshow up here? Now? The village poses no threat to someone like him. It\nhas no militia, no resources to speak of. Lura said it doesn't even have\na name.\"\n\"Lura.\" Eloren cleared his throat and spoke with the same sternness he\nhad shown on that first day. \"I'm sorry to even have to ask, but ... does\nthis have anything to do with you? Or the demon you spoke of?\"\nLura shook her head. \"I don't see how. My father knew just as much about the ceremony that summoned it as the Butcher did.\"\n\"That's even more of a reason this can't have been a coincidence. He has\nno reason to take your home. Your village.\" It was good to hear Eloren\ncorrect himself in this way. This was her home now. \"But he did. Why?\"\n \nWas that a slight, or a mistake? This was her home, and her family---her\ntrue family---had come to accept that. And it was true. Lura had no ties\nto the place of her birth and no desire to return. Her only desire was\nto work with her family, perhaps to lead them to others like them as\nEnadyse had suggested.\n\"I don't know,\" she finally answered. \"I just don't know. It doesn't\nmake any sense. Why attack now? But if he's back here it must mean he's\nfinished with his travels.\" Lura felt the blood leave her face at the\nsame time the rest of the pack realized what she was saying. \"It means\nhe's going to try it again. He's going to repeat what the Traitor tried\nto do.\"\nKyrun turned away. \"It means there could be another Tear.\"\nEnadyse placed her head in her hands. \"Mother help us.\" She suddenly\nrose to her feet. \"We ... We will survive this the way we did the other.\nWe stay out of the affairs of madmen.\"\n\"You were here when it happened. I wasn't.\" It was rare that Kyrun\nbecame upset, and rarer still that his anger was directed at his alpha.\n\"I remember what it was like out there. Some of us died on the spot.\nSome of us went mad. And not right away. Days went by before we realized\nsomething was wrong with them. A pup not twelve years old tried to tear\nmy throat out, and he wasn't even transformed. You want that happening\nagain?\"\n \n\"That happened here as well, Kyrun.\" Eloren took his mate's hand as Tam\nturned to look at a certain spot near the campfire. The look on her face\nmade Lura wonder what had happened there.\n\"And it will happen again. What if it's you this time? What if you try\nto hurt one of us? What if you try to hurt Tam? Or she tries to hurt\nyou?\"\nFury appeared in Eloren's eyes.\n\"What if we can do something to stop it from happening? Last time we\ndidn't know, we couldn't have known. But now we know exactly what\nhappened, to us and to the world. Do you think the Mother will survive\nif it happens again?\"\n\"We are the Mother's children.\" Enadyse spoke slowly, seeking to calm\nKyrun or perhaps to reassure herself of what she was saying. \"She will\nprotect us. Keep us safe from whatever horrors the Butcher thinks he can\nvisit upon her. She was torn once, she won't allow herself to be torn\nagain.\nLura couldn't believe what she was hearing.\n\"I think she's right, Lura.\" Tam took a step towards her. \"Getting involved in this would be a mistake.\"\n \nEloren didn't even nod. It was obvious what his opinion was.\n\"Not getting involved could be a mistake. One that could cost us all our\nlives and the death of our world.\" Kyrun's grip on her shoulder become\nstronger. \"We are going to stand by and watch it happen all over again.\"\nEnadyse finally looked up. \"Lura?\"\nLura waited several moments before answering. \"I don't know if he even\ncan recreate the Tear. The Shade said he could, but it's hard to believe\nanything it said.\"\n\"Lura, you can't--\"\nShe interrupted him. \"But I know that I want to help the village. It's\nnot my home. It never was. But there are good people there, even if they\nweren't good to me. I had a friend, the only real one I knew before I\nmet you all. Her name is Lamyra. She's nine, probably closer to ten now.\nI don't want to imagine what the Butcher's men would do to her. The\nButcher could die like his master if he tries the ritual. I certainly\nhope he does. But Lamyra needs help now. I want to go.\"\nEnadyse looked at Kyrun. He gave only a single nod.\n \nThe alpha sighed. She looked defeated. \"Then we go.\"\nLura didn't even have time to react before Eloren spoke up. \"We have\nplenty of food for the journey. Getting there quickly will be the\nproblem.\"\n\"What about if we go on all fours? We can cover a lot more ground that way.\"\n\"Risky, love. Even then it would be nearly a week before we would\narrive. That much time as Gahreer ... Sometimes it's hard to come back\nfrom.\"\n\"We have no other option,\" countered the alpha. \"It may in fact work to\nour advantage. When we catch up to them there is going to be fighting. A\nmore feral frame of mind could give us an advantage they can't\nanticipate.\"\n\"That is true.\" Eloren grinned. \"The bastards won't know what hit them.\"\nTam punched him on the shoulder. \"This isn't something we're supposed to\nlook forward to, we're going to help Lamyra.\" Tam spoke the girl's name\nas if she had known her for years.\n\"What ... is happening?\" Lura whispered. She couldn't believe what she was\nhearing. A moment ago they were willing to let the world die to keep\nfrom getting involved. Now they were planning on a journey they might\nnot come back from. For a moment, she felt Shade might be influencing\nthem.\n \nKyrun whispered in her ear. \"You want to go. So we go.\"\nLura looked at her friend as if he had gone mad. \"But, they didn't--\"\n\"They still don't. But you do. That's enough.\"\n\"I ... I don't understand.\"\n\"If your sister needs help, would you help her? Your mother? Your father?\"\n\"Yes, but--\"\n\"You're family now. Your problems are our problems. We could no more\nrefuse to help you than you could refuse to pull your hand from a fire.\"\nLura hugged her friend, more to give herself something to hold onto than\nout of gratitude. He returned the embrace for a moment, then turned to\ngo. \"I should help them get ready. We should--\"\n\"Get going.\" Lura said the words along with him. \"There's the mantra you live by.\"\nHe smiled and turned to help Eloren and Tam gather supplies. Lura was left alone with Enadyse.\n\"He is right. Your family will always help you in whatever you need, even a task as grave as this.\"\n\"I don't know what to say. Thank you. And I promise I meant what I said.\nThis isn't about revenge, I just want to help my friend.\"\n \n\"I know. And if she's your friend, she's ours as well.\"\n\"I'm ... I'm so lucky. To be here, to have met you all.\"\n\"Luckier still in having the love of a wise and caring man.\"\nLura felt herself blushing. Kyrun and she had not mated since the night\nshe was adopted into the pack. They hadn't even really spoken about it.\nShe knew there was affection between them, but was this what love was\nsupposed to feel like?\n\"I guess so.\" Lura answered her own question aloud. \"I don't know.\"\n\"I do. Come. The sooner we're off, the better. Lamyra is waiting.\"\n* * *\nThey gathered at the edge of the wood. Without a word, Enadyse broke\ninto a light job, Eloren a few steps behind her. Tam gave a grin of\nencouragement to Lura before she followed her mate. Kyrun lingered just\nbehind Lura, hesitating to put his hand on her shoulder. He's still so\nunsure of himself after all this time, she thought.\n\"Just like we've always done. Nothing new. One foot in front of the\nother, and just let the change happen. Don't concentrate on it, it will\nfigure out what it needs to do.\"\n \nLura sighed. It was just the same, and it wasn't. \"You mentioned before\nthat staying in wolf form for so long isn't such a smart thing to do.\"\n\"It's not dangerous,\" he sighed. \"Just that sometimes the wolf doesn't\nwant to let go. It's harder to change back. But we're already a week\nbehind and this is the fastest way to get to where we need to go.\"\nLura didn't like this. She didn't like the thought of losing control\nagain like she had the first night. But that was the exception, not the\nrule. The only other time she had come close was the night she had lain\nwith Kyrun, and that was altogether different. Primal, bestial, but\nfocused on one goal. She smirked as she glanced at her onetime lover.\nFocused on a very specific goal.\nIt wouldn't happen again. She wouldn't let it. She could come back when she needed to. She had to, for Lamyra.\nPicturing her friend's face, she took her first step back into the\nwastes as her toenails scratched into the hellish red sand. Lura broke\ninto a sprint, feeling the hot air blow through her tangled mess of\nhair. She swayed her arms, using her natural momentum to carry her\nforward. Soon she felt the wind blowing through the hair growing on her\narms as well.\n \n\"That's it. Just let go.\"\nLura glanced behind at Kyrun. He was only half as step behind her.\nMischievously she glanced between his legs, watching as his sheathe\nenveloped him. She supposed running with one of those between your legs\nwould be uncomfortable, and the Mother must have agreed as it was the\nfirst part of him to change.\nLura glanced down at her chest, watching as dark brown hairs started\npoking through her upper chest, sprouting in a circle around her\nnipples, trailing down to connect to the hair climbing in an upward line\nfrom her mound. Her legs were already changing shape, stretching and\nsnapping backwards into the hind legs of a wolf even as her back hunched\nover. Soon she would be able to run on all fours. It will figure out what it needs to do. Her body understood the need for haste and adjusted itself accordingly.\nShe savored a grin. She couldn't allow herself to forget about the\ndireness of her situation, the horror Lamyra must be going through even\nnow. But even still, it felt wonderful to run. It always had, but now\nshe was doing it in defiance of the hellscape that had almost taken her\nlife. When last she had come this way she was on the verge of death,\nsavoring every drop of water she could scavenge, praying that if the end\ncame it would come quickly. Now she was grinning, almost laughing,\nunafraid to show the world that it hadn't beaten her. It hadn't won. She\nwas here, she was happier than she had ever been in her life, and she\nwas completely without fear.\n \nA string of drool fell from her mouth as she took a few experimental\nlunges forward, letting the palms of her hands touch the hot dirt.\nUnderstanding what she needed, her hands stretched along with her\nforearm, her fingers moving further away from her thumb. Now satisfied\nshe was able to run on all fours safely she increased her speed,\nstifling a short laugh.\n\"Easy,\" Kyrun called from behind her. \"Don't start off too fast. It'll happen when it happens, don't push it.\"\nLura looked over her hairy shoulder and flashed Kyrun a feral smile.\n\"You're just afraid I'll leave you behind and you'll miss the view.\" She\ntried to give a playful little sway of her rear in Kyrun's direction,\nand almost toppled over in the process.\n\"Just take it easy.\"\nLura looked forward, concentrating on cresting the small hill she was\nsprinting towards. The muscles in her legs and back were stinging at the\nexertion, but were even now swelling larger, her heart pumping blood\nfaster. As she reached the crest she felt a small nub growing from her\ntailbone.\n \nReaching the top of the hill, Lura paused in her tracks and gasped. It\nwas not for lack of air, rather it was due to the sight that awaited her\nbelow. She had never seen her entire pack transformed. The more\nexperienced members had shifted fully and seemed to be intentionally\nslowing down to give her a chance to catch up.\nTam was the closest to her. She seemed almost as carefree as Lura felt\nas she gave playful little snaps at her mate. Her tongue hung from her\njowls, and for a moment Lura was reminded of the few times she had seen a\ndog playing in her village. Her fur was the color of spun gold,\nglimmering in the darkness. It moved across her flanks in waves,\nshimmering as it flowed above the sea of sand and dust. Her breasts had\ngrown larger, if that was possible, and the ones trailing down her chest\nwere certainly bigger than the ones that adorned Lura's own frame. Tam\ndidn't seem to be made for fighting.\nNext to her strode a behemoth. Eloren covered nearly half the length of\nhis mate's body with every stride. He was the largest creature Lura had\never seen, making her father's large horse seem like a squirrel in\ncomparison. His feet were the size of a tree stump, his tail a trailing\nbanneret, his fur a great black cloak, his footfalls thundering even\nagainst the sand. He glanced impatiently in Lura's direction. Lura's\nheart skipped a beat when she saw the look in his eyes. It was like\nstaring into the heart of a fire. His jaws snapped in annoyance, and\nLura felt like he could probably swallow a man in two quick bites.\n \nEnadyse stood facing towards Lura at her place in the front of the pack.\nLura had never before realized what being an alpha meant until this\nmoment. She stood still in contrast to Tam's prancing and Eloren's\nlumbering. Even the wind seemed afraid to blow against her stark white\nfur. There was a great distance separating Lura from her alpha, but\nEnadyse's predatory gaze was focused entirely on her newest charge.\nLooking into those eyes felt like Lura was staring into a flash of\nlightning. There was something ancient there. Not just primal like the\nother members of her pack. Something old when the world was young.\nSomething to be feared, but respected. Less of a beast and more of a\nwork of nature. Staring into those eyes was like willingly walking into\nthe heart of a tornado.\nKyrun, now nearly fully transformed, stepped next to her. \"The eyes. Remember? Don't look her in the eyes.\"\nLura felt like a mouse before a wildcat. \"It's ... hard not to.\"\n\"I know. Just keep going. You're doing fine.\"\nLura tore her eyes from her alpha's and turned to face Kyrun. The same\nlook was present in his eyes as well, a spark that could even now be on\nthe verge of spreading into a wildfire. \"You would make a good one,\ntoo.\"\n \n\"What?\"\nLura shook her head. \"Nothing. I'm ready. Let's go.\"\n* * *\nFor a week they ran. Seven days. Seven nights. Eight, Lura realized as\nthe faint moon could be seen behind the miasma that filled the heavens.\nNo water. No food. No stopping. No rest. Only running. Hunting. Tracking\nprey. Eager to feel the blood between their teeth. Lura needed to kill\nsomething. She needed to kill something even more than she needed cold\nwater or a night's sleep.\nKind, ditzy little Tam had the same look in her eyes. Eloren was gone.\nLura doubted he could understand a single word spoken to him. Even Kyrun\nseemed on the verge of crossing over from his reserved demeanor into\nfull blown savagery. Enadyse herself seemed less of a creature of flesh\nand blood and more like a blur of light streaking across the sands,\nreminding Lura for one terrifying moment of the glow of Shade's eyes.\nFinally they reached the tree line marking the border of the village. A\nweek after the attack, and columns of smoke still drifted into the sky\nlike a drowning man reaching for the hand of a friend. From this\ndistance, Lura could smell the dead and the dying. Each individual death\nhad its own smell. \"Fire\" said one body. \"Sword\" said another. \"Tight\nhands around my neck.\" \"A rope around mine.\" When Lura was last here she\nwas afraid the residents of this once peaceful hamlet would surely\nstarve after their cattle had mysteriously died.\n \nThey died because of me, she thought. Whether they starved or were\nslaughtered at the Butcher's hands, they all died because of me.\nLura was losing it. There wasn't much left to lose, but the last string\nconnecting her human mind and the bestial body she now inhabited was\ncoming undone. Soon it would snap, and Lura would snap with it.\n\"We need to handle this carefully.\" Lura wasn't sure if Kyrun was\naddressing her or their alpha. \"There are still a lot of people in\nthere, people we don't want getting hurt. If we rush in and blood starts\nflying, his men are going to panic and they aren't going to be too\nparticular about in which direction they swing their swords.\"\nHow was he still coherent at this point? Everyone, even Tam, was a hair's breadth from charging forward towards fire and death.\n\"No.\" Enadyse's tone scared Lura more than the shadow in the corner ever\ncould. \"We can't help that. We attack fast before they know what's\nhappening. Answer blood with blood. Death with death. If any of the\nButcher's men are left alive come morning, you will all answer to me.\"\n \n\"Alpha ...\"\nEnadyse lashed out at Kyrun so fast Lura didn't even see her move. One\nmoment her friend was standing next to her, the next he was laying prone\nwith his belly facing towards the white wolf. Enadyse lunged forward\nmuch slower, her maw open, her fangs dripping as she leaned towards\nKyrun. For one dark instant, Lura was afraid she was going to tear out\nhis throat. Then the moment passed and some of the fury left Enadyse's\neyes for a moment, although it returned in force as she looked back\ntowards the burnt homes.\nShe spoke but a single word. It was all that was needed. \"Eloren.\"\nThe monstrous black wolf took one step forward, extending his arms towards something nearby.\n* * *\nVark sat laughing as his friend pushed a filthy peasant to her knees. He\nnever got tired of this. He and his brother Jarl had signed up with\nGraadig nearly a year ago. Both young men felt it was a great chance to\nsee the world, experience life to the fullest, and take whatever gold\nand women they wanted. When his brother had started a fight in a bar in\nRonae, Vark had been far too drunk on wine and women to prevent a\nwhore's son from driving a knife into Jarl's throat. But he wasn't too\ndrunk to kill the bastard, or to make sure the bitch watched as he did\nit.\n \nHe was afraid this little altercation would get him in trouble with the\nboss, but Graadig had laughed and said it was fitting for one whore's\nson to kill another. Vark wasn't sure if this was intended to be a joke\nor not, but he laughed louder than anyone in the room to assure his boss\nno offense was taken. Vark was not a smart man, but he was smart enough\nto laugh at the boss's jokes, especially when his boss was the Butcher.\nVark loved nothing better than being drunk. Wine, beer, even this\nhorse's piss they called ale in this shitty little town. He loved it\nbetter than fucking, he loved it better than gambling, and he loved it\nbetter than showing how much better he was than these plow-pushers.\nStill, perhaps the year he had spent with the boss and the experience of\nlosing Jarl had made him a bit wiser, a bit more aware of his\nsurroundings. So it was that he was the first to notice the large shape\nfalling from the sky. However, his first reaction was to laugh at the\nabsurdity of it. It looked like a cart, but he was reasonably certain\ncarts didn't come from the sky. Like there was a cart dealer from a\nfloating city peddling his fabulous wares. The strange thought only made\nVark laugh harder in his drunken stupor.\n \nVark didn't have time to point out the heavenly object or the funny idea\nhe had just had before it crashed on top of him and two of his friends.\nVark died instantly. The last thing that passed through his head wasn't\nJarl, or his poor mother, or the red headed bitch he had been eyeing\nhim in disgust for the past hour. The last thing that passed through his\nwas a wooden wheel.\n* * *\nImmediately after the cart had crashed into the ground, Enadyse was\namong the bastards. Three died in the time it took Lura to take her\nfirst step forward. One moment they were whole, the next they were\nhurtling backwards like a leaf pushed by a wave, the blood and body\nparts of one man mixing with that of another as they were lifted from\nthe ground to trail in the air behind the white wolf's wake. \nTam was on her heels, slower but no less deadly. She took little swipes\nleft and right to the throats of the invaders, as precise as a surgeon's\nscalpel. Lura remembered thinking Tam wasn't made for fighting, and she\nknew it was still true. Fighting belittled what Tam was capable of. A\nlittle snip of the neck here, a tug on a shoulder there, and there were\ntwo rapists laying dead on the ground, one with no neck, one short an\narm. This couldn't be called fighting. It was precise, targeted\nassassination.\n \nEloren was not so finessed. A small woodhouse stood between him and\nseveral of the Butcher's men grouped together. He simply crashed through\nit as though it were a spiderweb. The men had one instant before they\nwere trampled. Lura suffused a grin as the bitter smell of urine\nsurrounded more than a few of them just before they died. A young girl\nscrambled out of the way of the carnage and for half a heartbeat Lura\nfeared it was Lamyra before she realized she was one of her neighbor's\ndaughters, one that always relished in tormenting Lura as she was\ngrowing up. Even though she was always so horrible to Lura, she still\ndidn't deserve to be crushed under Eloren's paws. But just before she\nwas crushed, Eloren calmly scooped her up and sat her on top of the roof\nof a nearby home. He had gone out of his way to make sure she wasn't\ngoing to be injured. I catch him all the time flipping beetles back over when he finds them lying on their backs. He's a puppy.\nKyrun's role was a bit more specific. He seemed to be everywhere at\nonce. If a soldier had enough time to knock an arrow, Kyrun would hurl\nhim through a window or dash his brains against a fencepost. A flash of a\nblade from its sheathe would bring Kyrun out of the shadows as he\nslammed the blade into its own wielder's chest. Kyrun's role was ever\nthe outsider, and the way he fought reflected on that. He was more\npreoccupied with ending any sudden threats to his friends than his own\nsafety; Lura was made aware of this when her dear friend took an arrow\nthrough his shoulder. Kyrun reacted as if he were swatting at an gnat,\nhis body pushing the arrow free from the wound and healing before he had\ntaken a few steps.\n \nFor her part, Lura was able to hold her own, although she felt ashamed\nshe was not nearly as fast or proficient as the others. The first man\nshe cornered gave her pause. She had never killed anyone before. The\nman---boy, really---held his sword trembling at arm's length with a look\nof pale white terror on his face. Lura was reminded of the rabbits she\nhad hesitated to kill weeks ago. For several seconds she considered\nletting him go. Then she smelled the dried semen on his pants and saw\nthe dead girl laying in the corner, something to be discarded when he\nhad no further use for her. She lashed out, tearing the man's armor\napart and taking several ribs and squishy bits along with it. She knew\nhe would be dead in another few moments, but she lashed out again and\nagain, wanting him gone from her sight, wanting him removed from a\nwounded world that didn't deserve to be infected with men like this.\nShe spun on her paws and caught another rapist as he struggled to mount\nhis horse and escape. She tore him from the saddle, slammed him into the\nground, and before she realized what she was doing her teeth had sunk\ninto his neck and she was swallowing his hot blood and bits of his\nthroat. He screamed for a moment until the blood erupting from his\nthroat started to fill his lungs, and then he could only make wet\ngasping noises as he struggle to breathe. Lura swallowed more of his\nlife's blood as the light left his eyes.\n \nLura finally realized what she was doing. She was eating a human being.\nShe got back to her feet and stared at the blood dripping from her\nforepaws. Was this what she was now? Was this what she had become?\nNearby a woman screamed as she cradled the cold still body of a newborn.\nShe was terrified of the beast before her, of the werewolf, of the\nmonster. Lura took a few steps backwards, shaking her head.\nShe felt the hatchet sailing through the air towards the back of her\nhead. She knew it was about to connect, but wasn't worried for a moment.\nWithout knowing why, she was absolutely certain it would not hit its\nmark. As if on cue, the flash of white against the darkness marked\nEnadyse's arrival. She didn't slow down for an instant, only reached\nforward and tipped the handle of the axe so that its momentum changed\nand it would fall harmlessly to the ground. As she passed by her newest\ncharge, Enadyse cast a quick glance in her direction and spoke only the\nword \"Later\" before disappearing once again into the darkness.\n \nEnadyse had known Lura was in trouble and how to react. Lura had known\nEnadyse had known, and didn't worry for an instant. Was this the Call?\nShe reached out and could feel Tam springing off of Eloren's shoulders\ntowards another soldier that Kyrun had just now pushed into her path.\nThey were linked together so elegantly that they were fighting almost\nlike a single entity. If one needed help, another knew and could respond\nin the most efficient way to end the threat. What's more, Lura could\nsense how many innocents her packmates had slain. None. As savage as\nthey were, as much as the humans may fear them, there was never a moment\nwhere any of them were in any danger whatsoever. Lura realized there\nwas only a single one of the intruders left standing. She knew this\nbecause her pack knew this.\nLura glanced to her left and saw the last man left standing. She gave a\nshort prayer to the gods of her father that it would be Graadig. Instead\nit was another nameless murderer, another man who was not happy unless\nhe was deconstructing something beautiful that he didn't have the\ncapacity to build. He made no move to flee or to attack. His eyes were\nblank and uncaring. He knew his time was at an end and apparently saw no\nreason to delay the inevitable.\n \nEnadyse appeared in a flash, but slowed just before tearing the man\napart. She looked at Lura and nodded in encouragement. She had the look\non her face of a loving parent encouraging their child to take its first\nstep, or a hen teaching her chicks how to paw at the ground for food.\nWith a swipe of Lura's claws, the man's head sailed through the air and\nlanded in a tub of spoiled milk, turning it from yellow-white to a\nsickening pink. All around her a chorus of howls rose up into the sky as\nthe earth drank deep of their sanguine tribute.\nLura couldn't help but think to herself that she now belonged to a very strange family.\n* * *\nIt had taken longer to search what remained of the village than it had\nto reclaim it. Lamyra was nowhere to be found; neither was Graadig. The\nformer discovery was a mercy, the latter one a catalyst for Lura's rage.\nHe was gone, and he had taken her friend with her.\n\"This is a trap. Of course this is a trap.\" Kyrun looked at his brother\nand sisters expectantly, hoping somebody besides him would admit to\npossessing a shred of reason. \"This is a trap and we're not going to\nrush headlong into it, because it's a trap and you don't rush headlong\ninto traps. That's commonly agreed upon as being a bad idea. Right?\"\n \nFor the first time in a week, Enadyse seemed herself again. \"Lura ... He's\nright. He wants us to follow him. The Mother only knows why but it\ncan't be good for us, and the second he sees us about to attack he's\ngoing to kill your friend. She'd be dead on the spot. She may even be\ndead now.\"\nLura's flashed momentarily flashed defiant hatred as she looked into her\nalpha's eyes before she realized what a mistake she was about to make.\n\"I'm going. I don't care what he plans to do, I'm not leaving her\nbehind. Not in the hands of the Butcher.\"\nLura felt Tam's paw touch her shoulder, slowly and with more than a\nlittle trepidation. \"If you're going, we're going. But Kyrun's right, we\nneed to take this more carefully. We tore through these bastards\neasily, but they weren't expecting us. The Butcher is, and he has your\nfriend as a hostage.\"\n\"So how do we do this?\" Eloren's voice actually startled Lura. His voice\nhad always been booming. Now it seemed like it was as if an avalanche\nwere speaking.\nEnadyse sighed. \"It will need to be clever, but it will need to be\nquick. We can't delay any more than necessary. Kyrun? Suggestions?\"\n \nKyrun pointed towards the side of a barn. \"Well, we should probably factor that into any strategy.\"\n\"Oh gods, no.\" Tam fell to her knees and began to sob. Eloren went over\nto her, a mountain seeking to comfort a mouse. Enadyse said something in\na language Lura did not understand. She had the feeling that in this\nparticular case she didn't want to.\nLura finally turned to look. The word \"Hello!\" was written on the side\nof a barn in yellow paint. Underneath it was a note, which Kyrun gently\nextracted from where it hung from a single nail. Underneath that was the\nsight that had Tam sobbing.\nThere were six of them. All children, all girls, all around Lamyra's\nage. That must have been deliberate. Message sent, message received.\nLura supposed the number itself wasn't significant. If there had been\nany other children that matched these criteria, they would be laying\nhere too. All of them had dark rings round their neck. For a brief\nmoment Lura wondered if the tree from which they had been hanged was one\nshe had climbed when she was their age. Streaks of black earth covered\ntheir mouths, and their cheeks were bulging. Lura prayed that part had\ncome after they were already gone.\n \nFinally, Kyrun passed her the note.Hello!\nI'm sure this has been a merry little adventure for the lot of you, but\nI'd like to ask for a moment of your consideration. Yes, I knew you'd\nbe here. Yes, I knew you'd see this. Yes, it is a bit grandiose, but we\nall have our little indulgences. And yes, I knew this would provoke a\ncertain reaction from you. I've done this all so many times over the\nyears that I'm rather tired of the cat and mouse play, so let's just cut\nto the quick, shall we? You are all angry little beasties and I have no\nchance of evading you, not at my age. Now then! We're all on the same\npage here---and this little marvel notwithstanding I'm so tired of\ntheatrics. It's all rather dull and I have a hard time coming up a\nreason to try anything new these days, but I have a feeling this\npanorama did its job. You will do me the honor of hosting your company\nat the ruined fort due west from this tranquil hamlet. Upon reaching it,\nI will exchange the company of my dear Lamyra---such a pretty name!--for\nLura, the only daughter of my old friend Darden. This exchange of\nguests complete, we will bid each other a fond farewell and retire for\nthe night. I do so hope you will accept this invitation, and I do know\nthat Lamyra wishes that as well.\n \nGratefully yours,\nG\nP.S. - Again, I apologize for this display, but I feel that I have a harder time getting my point across these days.\nP.P.S. - That may be due to how much harder people are to impress now, what with the world ending and all.\nP.P.P.S. - Or maybe I'm just getting worse at these things in my old age. It was certainly easier when I was a young man.\nLura let the letter fall to the ground. She turned to look at Enadyse.\n\"I'm going,\" she said, no hint of emotion in her words. \"I'm going now.\"\nEnadyse nodded, and turned with a sad look in her eyes to lead the way\ninto the west, pushing through a hedge of brambles as she went.\n* * *\nLura had never expected to find a ruin like this so close to her own\nvillage. She briefly wondered if this had been an outpost of an ancient\nkingdom, or a garrison that had been around as recently as the Tear.\nEither way, it was an decrepit old structure, eroded by the winds and\nrising from the dirt like a headstone of the once-living world.\nThere were guards posted on the side of the road approaching the ruined\nkeep. Graadig had no fear---or no regard---for his men. Lura got the\nimpression that Graadig wanted them to feel that they were being\nwelcomed as guests to an evening soiree.\n \nStill, their valets did not seem entirely welcoming of the part they\nwere asked to play. They took several steps back, giving the four\nGahreer a wide berth as they approached. Hands tightened around pikes or\nwent instinctively to the pommels of swords. Lura wanted to kill every\none of them, and knew that Tam's hand on his shoulder was the only thing\npreventing Eloren from doing just that.\nAs they came nearer to the front entrance several men---surely the\nbravest among them---stepped forward to bar the way. Both parties\nrealized it was a purely symbolic gesture and would serve about as much\nof a deterrent as trying to keep the ocean waves from assault the shore.\nFrom above them, a man cleared his throat and shuffled forward onto a\nbalcony above them, pulling with him a young girl bound at the wrists.\nIt took Lura a moment to realize this was the man she had spent her\nentire life hating. She had always pictured someone standing seven feet\ntall, with long flowing black hair clad all in some mail forged in the\ndarkest depths of some unknown hell. Instead, Graadig was of average\nheight, skinny, with gray balding hair and the kindest eyes she had ever\nseen. Lura had never known either of her grandfathers, but had the\nfeeling they would have probably looked very much like the man before\nher.\n \nLamyra appeared just as she had the last time Lura had seen her fleeing\nfrom her doorstep. Her eyes were red from what must have been over a\nweek of crying, or perhaps they were just tired and ready to get the\nnext stage of this nightmare over with. She had a few bruises,\nparticularly around her wrists from where she must have tried to slip\nthem from the ropes that bound them together. Perhaps the worst change\nto have come over the young girl was the frightened look in her eyes as\nshe watched the five monsters approach, realizing as she must that one\nof them was her \"big sister.\" She looked from beast to beast until Lura\nfinally spoke up.\n\"It's okay, pup.\"\nUpon hearing the nickname, Lamyra began to weep and buried her face\nagainst Graadig's leg, seeking comfort from the man they called the\nButcher rather than face what her best friend had become.\nGraadig smiled at this exchange, but continued on with the farce he must\nhave practiced countless times since leaving the village. \"Yes, that's\nquite a sight, isn't it, little one? Darden's dearest has certainly\ntaken up a rather unusual ... occupation? My condolences to your mother,\nLura love. No child should be without her loving mother, right Lamyra?\"\nHere he chuckled. \"Although I suppose it wouldn't have made much of a\ndifference when she passed on, what with the ghastly little business at\nthe village.\"\n \n\"The village that you destroyed?\" answered Enadyse. \"The village that you murdered?\"\n\"That is the one I was referring to, yes.\"\nLura stepped forward in front of her alpha. \"I'm here. Let her go. Now.\"\nGraadig frowned. \"Making demands on a host? Rather bad manners I must\nsay, though I'm not too surprised. Darden was always off on adventures\nwith Traitors and Butchers instead of at home instructing his daughter\nin the ways of good manners.\" Here he sighed. \"Okay, enough of this. I\nhad this whole bit planned. 'I'm the humble host, you're the slavering\nbeasts I'm gracious enough to have over for dinner.' It was good, don't\nget me wrong, I'm just a bit tired of going through something so ...\ndroll. I was even going to have a ...\" He paused, chuckling. \"Anyott,\nremember the tablecloth? How we were going to-- We were going to have a\ntablecloth spread out, like this was a picnic or something. But the only\nthing we had was a tent, and it's yellow and dirty and I didn't think\nyou'd get the impression I was hoping for. So, yes, that's what we were\ngoing for anyway. But I guess I'm the only one who would've be amused\nand I'm just not feeling it today. I'm too tired and too old.\"\n \nEnadyse's voice cut through the old man's ramblings. \"If you're prepared\nto speak plainly, kindly do so. We have no more wish to prolong this\nthan you do. Kindly deliver the girl so we can make the exchange, before\nI grow tired of this and tear more of your men apart.\"\n\"Ah, a lady alpha?\" Graadig seemed genuinely surprised. \"How very\nprogressive in these dark times! I do hope the boys back at the village\nweren't too much of a bother.\"\n\"Not at all. We disposed of them easily.\"\n\"Ah, well then! They did their jobs perfectly after all! Were you the\nalpha Darden spoke of? He never mentioned you were a woman.\"\n\"I was not alpha when he visited us, but I now have that honor.\"\n\"A promotion due to recently vacant management. You'd do well in the\narmy, m'lady, that you would. Ah me, getting off on a tangent again.\nSorry. I had planned on speaking with Lura alone, but perhaps you'd like\nto accompany us as well. What do you think, Lamyra honey?\"\nEnadyse glanced in Lura's direction. Through the Call she could feel her\nalpha realizing Graadig may now be giving them the opportunity they\nwere looking for. \"I will come 'picnic' with you, Butcher. But first\nrelease the child.\"\n \n\"No, I'm afraid I'm not so stupid as that, m'lady. The two of you first,\nthen I'll entrust Lamyra's care into the hands---paws?---of your strange\nlittle family. And perhaps you'd like to slip into something more\ncomfortable for our repast? Say, a form not covered in hair and pointy\nextremities?\"\nEnadyse nodded towards Lura and together they walked into the keep,\nchanging as they went. They bodies shrunk, their fur retreated. By the\ntime they reached to top of the stairs leading to the balcony, Enadyse\nhad shifted fully into her human form. Lura, unable to completely\nabandon her fear and anger, could only shift partway. She was still\ncovered in hair, her muscles more pronounced, her fangs and claws\ntapering to deadly points.\n\"We're here, Butcher.\"\n\"I meant what I said about slipping into something more comfortable.\"\nGraadig motioned towards two simple garments held aloft by two of his\nmen. My men have not seen women as lovely as the pair of you in a very\nlong time, and I'd imagine you'd like to be offered some modicum of\nmodesty.\"\n \nLura took the offered garment with some uncertainty, fearing it may be\nlaced with poison or perhaps contain some venomous asp. Instead it was a\nplain white tunic, only slightly dirtied by the blowing sand. Enadyse\nonly glanced at the clothing offered to her. \"I have no use for modesty\nin my old age, and should one of your servants be so inclined to act on\ntheir impulses you will have one fewer at your disposal.\" She sat at the\ntable without being asked to.\nGraadig smiled. \"My lady, meeting you makes me long for the days when I\nwas young and in my prime. Those happy days before I had a wall covered\nin the pelts of your brothers and sisters.\"\nAt this, Lura took a step forward bearing her fangs, her claws beginning to grow just a bit longer.\n\"Now now, you're quite right, Lura. I must remember my manners. Now,\nalpha dear, would you be so kind as to instruct the rest of your 'pack'\nto return to the village? Anyott here and some of my men will accompany\nyou, along with my dear friend Lamyra. At a reasonable distance, of\ncourse. Should your two friends wish to engage with Lamyra's escort in\nany way, they may find that my men have been ordered to open her throat\nat the slightest provocation. Do you understand?\"\n \nEnadyse nodded. She rose to her feet and walked to the edge of the\nbalcony, nodding towards Tam and Eloren below. \"Go. They will follow.\nOnce you are at the village and the girl is safe, find us again.\" She\nlooked over to Graadig. \"As long as that is in keeping with our hosts\nwishes?\"\n\"Quite so!\"\nTam and Eloren reluctantly turned and went. Lura had the feeling she would never see either of them again.\nEnadyse took her seat again, and Graadig walked to Lamyra and the man\nLura assumed was Anyott. Graadig went to crouch, winced at the pain in\nhis knees, and decided to take a seat instead. He motioned Lamyra\nforward, patting at his leg as if he expected the girl to sit in his\nlap. Lura gripped her fists so tightly she felt blood run from her\npalms. Anyott shoved her towards his master.\n\"Now my dear, it's time for us to say goodbye. All good things must come\nto an end, but perhaps we'll meet again in the new world I will soon be\nfashioning. In fact, when I'm a god maybe I'll let you by the queen of\nthis pitiful little continent. Would you like that? Queen of dead cows\nand burned homes, hm? Give us a kiss.\"\n \nHere the old man embraced Lamyra and planted a kiss upon her forehead.\nIt was a strangely genuine scene. For one sad moment, Lura realized that\nin his own way Graadig was showing affecting in the only way his warped\nmind knew how. Lamyra, now released from the embrace, was ushered\ntowards the stairs by her captor. She stopped just before passing Lura.\n\"It's ... It's really you in there, isn't it?\"\nLura could only nod.\n\"You look weird, and you smell weirder. I hope maybe someday you can\ntell me what happened. With the cows, and with this.\" She motioned\ntowards Lura's clawed hands.\n\"I will. One day, we'll talk about all of this, pup. We'll talk about\nall of this and I'll take you someplace where you don't have to be\naround monsters like him. Or me.\"\nTears welled in the young girl's eyes. \"You're not a monster. You're a\nshit.\" Lamyra hugged her much bigger big sister. Anyott allowed the two\nfriends a moment before he pulled on the back of Lamyra's collar,\nushering her down the stairs. Lamyra called back to Lura as she was\ncarried down the stairs. \"You promised to come back! You promised!\"\n \n\"I promised, pup!\" Lura called out \"I will come back.\"\nEnadyse placed her hands on Lura's shoulders. \"We'll find her. As soon\nas she's safe, the others will come back for us.\" Lura knew what Enadyse\nmeant by the word \"others.\" She meant Tam and Eloren, true. But Kyrun\nhad silently slipped away from the group before they had reached the\nfort. He would stay behind, and the instant an opportunity arose, he\nwould free them. \"They have no idea what they're doing. Nothing they do\ncan keep us restrained for long.\"\nAs if on cue, Lura's hands were enveloped in cold flame as two men\nstepped forward and slapped sliver shackles on the wrists of both\nGahreer. The pain was bad, but not so intense as to keep Enadyse from\nletting out a single word. \"Whoops.\"\n* * *\nLura and Enadyse were forced into the back of a wagon. At least, Lura\nassumed it was a wagon. Her captors had slipped black sacks over their\nfaces the moment after the silver manacles were clasped around their\nwrists. The shackles were not enough to cause intense pain as long as\nthey didn't try to transform, only a lingering ache that annoyed more\nthan it hurt. Enadyse would often try to say something encouraging, only\nfor one of Graadig's men to hit her on the back of the head with\nsomething. Eventually the two rode in silence, the Call between them\nenough to reassure and share whatever opportunity to escape would\neventually arise.\n \nAfter what Lura figured was a day of riding, the hoods were finally\nremoved and the two were allowed to stumble out of the cart. Lura\nrealized they were standing in the middle of a forest, though one much\nmore like the forests of her youth than the paradise that had become her\nnew home. In another bit of familiar irony, they were ushered towards a\nrun down shack very much like the one in which Lura had grown up.\nUpon crossing the meager threshold, Lura and Enadyse were shoved roughly\nonto the floor. The pain in her wrists intensified as she hit the\nground hard. She looked up into the kindly face of the monster Lura had\nspent her life wanting to kill.\n\"Good to have you here, ladies. Harak, Beshu, you can close the door behind you.\"\nGraadig paused as his men shuffled outside, eager to be away from their master.\n\"I believe you'll be happy to learn that our time together is almost at\nan end. I regret not having the opportunity to get to know Darden's\ndaughter and ... associate.\" Here he nodded towards Enadyse. \"But time is\nof the essence, and I'm eager to become a god, so I'll cut right to the\npoint of our little gathering. It's been a long, long road for me and\nI'm eager to get started, but during this most critical sequence I\nbelieve it is all the more important to be a thorough as possible.\n \n\"Did you know that's why the Master always favored me, above all his\nother loyal soldiers? Thoroughness. The job is not done until it is\ndone. My father used to say that. I doubt he ever thought the saying\nwould apply to his son achieving divinity, but it's a lesson I have\ntried to employ all the days of my long life.\" He paced behind a small\ntable in the middle of the shack. \"The Traitor---or whatever his name\nreally was---sent me to lead his armies to every corner of the world, all\nfor this.\" Here he lifted four small sacks, allowing each one to slam\nheavily back into the tabletop.\n\"Dirt. Not exactly the most regal of endeavors, but it's what he wanted\nand so it's what he got. Soil from every corner of the world.\"\nOh gods, Lura thought. He's ready to do it. He's ready to do it right now. Tonight. He's going to cause another Tear.\n\"When I saw dear daddy Darden was getting a bit too close to the master,\nI felt it might be a good a time as any to ... divest him from our\nbenefactor. I crammed the earth's rich bounty down his throat after\nbeating him half to death with a stovepipe.\"\n \nLura didn't flinch. The disappointment was plainly visible on Graadig's features.\n\"Ah. I see you knew about that then. The 'how', but maybe not the 'why'? Why did I kill daddy, Lura?\"\n\"Because you're a sadist who was afraid your master was valuing my father's input over your own.\"\n\"That's ... not entirely inaccurate, my dear, on both accounts. Your\nfather felt that we could reach out to the Blind Ones, take their hands\nand usher a part of them into the world. Give a will to those without a\nwill of their own, use that power to shape the world for the better. The\nman was a fool. You really should be thanking me for putting in the\nground, my dear, you're very much better off without him. 'Will' is\nsomething the Blind Ones don't understand. You might as well ask a tiger\nwhat it thinks about economics ... or a werewolf how it feels about\nproper dining etiquette.\"\nHe sighed, disappointed again at being unable to get the ire of either of them.\n\"No. The Blind Ones truly know one thing only. Power. They have no will,\nthey have no thought ... but they do have power. Power to tear the world\napart as easily as you would tear a page from a book. Power to reshape\nthe world. To mold it into the way things are supposed to be, the only\nway it can be. One man, one voice, one\nvision. Without order, without thoroughness, you get what we have here\ntoday: a world devoid of meaning or ambition. Even as it takes its last\ndying breath, it still doesn't know what it wants, how it wants to live,\nwho it wants to follow. It's drowning and it doesn't even see the hand\nbeing offered to pull it to salvation.\"\n \nEnadyse spoke up for the first time since entering the shack. \"You are completely, irrevocably, unquestionably insane.\"\n\"Yes, so they tell me. Darden said the same about me, even as I said the same about him.\"\n\"And that's why you killed him? A conflict of interest? Men like you\ncan't see reason, can't come to amiable terms over disagreements. Men\nlike you--humans like you---only care\nabout getting your own way, no matter the costs. The Tear did many\nhorrible things, but more and more each day I realize that ridding the\nMother of most of your race may have been one of the best things to\nhappen to this world.\"\nGraadig laughed as he looked at Lura and motioned towards her alpha. \"And people say I'm a bad guy?\"\n\"You are,\" Lura answered. \"You are a monster and you killed my father\nbecause he threatened to sway your master in a direction you couldn't\nstand. Paradise with the rule of the living gods to direct it? You\nwouldn't know what to do in a world without misery. So you killed the\nonly good man in the Traitor's army at the expense of the entire world.\"\n \nGraadig turned in revulsion and spit on the ground. \"Good man? My dear,\nDarden was many things in his life. A prick, first and foremost. A\nfather so devoted to his wife and daughter that he left them to die in\nsqualor. A know-it-all who didn't know his place, even when it would\ncost him his life. But a good man? My love, Darden was not a good man. I\nshould know! I've killed lots and lots of good men. You get a tingly\nfeeling at the back of your mind when you do. Conscience? Satisfaction? I\nnever could tell the difference, really.\"\n\"Shut your mouth, bastard!\"\nGraadig fought off a laughing fit. \"I mean, do you think that's how he\ngot to be the Traitor's own right hand? Handing out daisies to children\nand giving up his seat to old women? The things I saw him do, dear girl,\nwould keep you awake at night. Nine hells, the man gave me the\ninspiration for some of my best work. Remember the barn? I've seen your\nfather kill more men in a day than I have hairs left on my head. Women.\nChildren. It didn't matter to him in the slightest, just as long as he\ncould user in this glorious new world. 'Any price is worth paying,' he\nsaid. 'They would thank us if they knew what we were doing for them.'\nHe'd say the same boring thing over and over, even as he was dragging a\nknife through a man's throat. Part of me believes the master sent me on\nraids so often because he knew I'd leave more men alive than\ndear-old-dad. For the gods' sake, people think I'm a monster? Your\nfather killed anyone who might stand in the way of creating the master's\nparadise. He was the real monster. I just want to rule the world. At\nleast I'm honest.\"\n \n\"Every word you spit out is a lie!\" It has to be, Lura thought. It has to be.\nGraadig shook his head. He looked at Lura incredulously, as if he had\nsuddenly discovered he was talking to a deluded child. \"For the daughter\nof such a smart man, you truly are quite dense. The apple fell a good\nbit far from the tree this time, eh?\" He walked towards the two women,\npulling something from his belt and concealing it in his cloak.\n\"So. Time to be thorough. I know about the soil, I know about the blood\nof an old woman, I know the silly little words I have to recite. I even\nhired a scholar to make sure I had the right vernacular. Have to make\nsure to pronounce the word 'power' so that they can understand. They're\nblind, not deaf, after all. But just to be extra thorough ...\"\nHe held forward a device Lura felt couldn't have been made on this\nworld. It resembled a dagger with a pronged blade and a ring of several\nother blades encircling the center. He gave an eager little flick at the\nhandle, and the blades started spinning, the prongs in one direction,\nthe ring of knives in another.\n \n\"This obscure little wonder took quite a deal of work to find, but I\nalways knew I'd find a use for it one day. It was made to torture mean\nlittle doggies such as yourselves. Werewolf hunts aren't a new thing, my\ndear, they were around long before the Tear. Quite a novel device, this\none. The ring on the outside keeps spinning as long as you keep feeding\nit blood. Werewolf blood. And there is always so much of it. Your lot\nalways heal so quickly it's hard to chop something off before it grows\nback again. And so some bright lad invented this. It spins and cuts. You\nbleed and heal. One feeds on the other and around and around we go. I'm\ntold it can take days for it to kill one of you. Fortunately if pressed\ninto the heart or skull it speeds the process up a good bit. Hard for a\nheart to grow back together when it's being torn to pieces over and\nover again.\n\"And so that's what we're going to have here. I brought the blood of an\nold woman, of course, but what would fit the bill more than the blood of\nan ancient alpha female. I stab this into her and it'll get the Blind\nOnes attention more than anything I could have hoped for.\"\n \n\"Lura ...\" Enadyse seemed more concerned with making sure her daughter was okay than the threat of her own death.\n\"Except ... Well, as is usual when dealing with anything relating to\nDarden, I have a feeling I'm about to be disappointed. I was all set to\ntorture your new mommy here until you told me anything I might not know\nabout the ritual. Anything your father may have left aside from that\nlittle note of his. But speaking with you has made it quite apparent\nthat there's nothing you know that I don't, correct? I've spent an awful\nlot of time torturing the ignorant in hopes that they might be able to\nreveal something unexpected. It's boring work, and usually fruitless in\nthe end. And I've gotten very good at it over the years, good enough to\nrealize when I'd be wasting my time and yours. So I'll ask plainly, and\nI'll know if you're lying. If you are, I'll kill her first, then you\nshortly after. If you speak the truth, well ... this doesn't have to be an\nentirely one-way exchange, you know. A god needs followers, otherwise\nwhat would be the point? I'm sure I'll still need people to manage\nlogistics, enforce laws, dispense justice. You two could do very well\nfor yourselves, my lovelies. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I\nwill ask a series of questions. You will answer truthfully.\"\n \nLura gave no response until Graadig spun the handle of the device and held it above Enadyse.\n\"Yes! Yes, whatever you want to know.\"\n\"There's a good girl. Is there anything you know about the ritual outside of the note daddy left you?\"\n\"No!\"\n\"Good. Do you have any reason to believe your mother knew anything about it?\"\n\"No! She knew nothing about it. I read every one of my father's letters.\nThe one you saw was the only one that mentioned the ritual at all.\"\n\"You are an absolute joy to interrogate. Final question: Do you have any\nknowledge of anyone else who may have any further insight into the\nritual. Anyone at all, now. We must remember to be thorough. Anyone?\"\n\"Of course not!\"\nGraadig pressed his thumb against the handle and the blade stopped\nspinning. \"Never before have I been so delighted and so disappointed in\nequal measure. My dear, I thank you from the deepest reaches of my\nheart, both for your knowledge---or lack thereof---and for allowing me the\npleasure of your company. I thank you for your honesty and know that in\nthe next life your mother will come to appreciate what you've done here\ntoday, though I'm sure she very much doesn't agree just this moment.\"\n \n\"My mother is dead, you son of a bitch.\"\n\"Well one is, yes. I was talking about this one. But who am I to disagree?\"\nThe Butcher raised the device over his head. He flicked the handle,\ncausing it to spin violently before plunging it down directly into\nEnadyse's heart.\nLura screamed. Enadyse screamed. Graadig continued his relentless\nrambling, but no one in the room could hear. Blood sprayed from\nEnadyse's chest. It covered the ground, the ceiling, the walls. It\ncovered Lura and the now-laughing madman. Lura felt her body begin to\nchange, only to be feel the icy sting of the silver press into her\ngrowing wrists. In her agony, Enadyse looked at her youngest daughter\nand tried to speak but her words died in her throat. Lura heard the door\nopen and felt herself being lifted to her knees by rough hands as the\nbag was forced over her head again. The last thing she saw was Enadyse's\nface, a smile on her lips despite the agony as the life slowly left her\neyes. Lura felt a sharp pain on the back of her head, and she knew no\nmore."}