Ander - Part 5: Subchapter 24
24
What the devil was Dorin doing!? Wardo jumped up and down, trying to get a good view through the crowd, but his short stature was making things difficult. Still, the frequent glimpses he caught between the shifting shoulders of those in front of him told a story that was hard to miss.
Hezzi and Dorin, locked together by the strength of their teeth, rolling around on the ground, snarling, blood and slobber flying everywhere, ripping each other apart.
Wardo hadn't thought that bag of bones capable of landing even a single hit, and yet he was keeping pace with Dorin, first in command of the warriors! If this kept up, he might end up losing one of his most useful followers!
Maybe this little backup plan wasn't the smartest move...
No! This plan was definitely the best! It just wasn't going exactly as he had foreseen, but then again, what plan ever does? It was his ability to adapt to changes, to see opportunity and exploit them for the greatest profit that was his true strength.
Wardo ran his hand across the knife at his hip, letting his thumb slide over the splintery handle.
He didn't get to where he was by sitting on his tail, and he'd be damned if he let some child take away everything he's worked so hard for.
He pushed his way through the crowd, easily slipping between Wolves far too caught up in the bloodshed to notice his passing. They whooped and cheered and screamed, egging the fighters on as they sunk their teeth into each other's flesh. Good. The chaos would hide him well. If he could get in just the right spot and strike at just the right moment, nobody would notice a thing until it was all over.
A snowflake drifted down and landed on his shoulder, a white spot of freezing cold on an already freezing day. He glanced up at the sky and saw thousands more drifting down, landing among the Wolves, their arms reaching for the heavens like trees in a forest.
When he looked back down, Nilia was standing just ahead of him, right up against the line.
And she was looking right at him.
"Tch!" Wardo took a hard right, disappearing behind the backs of Wolves much larger than he. That was a nasty bit of luck, but he would just circle around and continue with the plan. A beefy bitch like Nilia couldn't possibly -
She was right there, blocking his path again, staring at him with that weird expression on her face, like she was listening to a boring story instead of standing in the middle of a deafening throng.
Wardo spun around and went all the way to the other side of the circle, shoving Wolves aside without apology, even when they yelled at him to watch where he was going.
He would not let that freak of a woman get in his way. He would not let something as stupid as this get the better of him! He would make it to that line and he would -
She was right there, somehow standing perfectly still even as the Wolves around her struggled and jostled each other for prime viewing, and she still had that infuriatingly calm look on her face, as if she was incapable of feeling anything other than... nothing.
Wardo took a step to the right, and she followed suit. He took a step to the left, and she did exactly the same, constantly putting herself between him and the fight.
Wardo caressed his dagger, just itching to pull it out of its sheath and use it on this meddlesome she-wolf in full view of everyone. It would almost be worth it. "You can't save him," he whispered, and that was when Nilia showed a rare flash of emotion. It was subtle, just a small shift of the eyes, but once Wardo saw it, it was impossible to ignore.
She was looking at him with the utmost revulsion, as if she had stepped into a week-old carcass boiling with maggots. Her muzzle crinkled and her lips peeled back just enough to show the tips of her teeth. She did not say anything back, but she didn't have to. It was a look he had seen many times before, but never on the face of one such as her.
It was the look of a wild animal protecting her cubs.
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