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She tried to turn around and strike, but her cousin shoved the arrow deeper.

“Argh!” Yara growled feeling the pain.

“Yes, cousin, let’s get this over with,” Yuma-ci drawled from above.

Yara gagged. The pain was unbearable. Blood spit out of her mouth, black spots marred her vision. It was too much, she was losing consciousness.

“Z…” Oh Z, I failed you, my friend.

Out of the blue, a mighty howl echoed in the jungle. Yuma-ci and the others paused, startled. Yara’s movements had turned sluggish but she managed to turn her head just in time to see a massive white wolf leap into the air. Its long body travelled over and above Yara’s, with incredible precision and power. She recoiled on reflex but it wasn’t necessary. The beast crashed onto Yuma-ci, knocking her down, and away from Yara’s wounded back.

“What in Hiad is that?” one of the other witches cried out.

“A phantom! It’s a spirit wolf!” the other replied.

“I don’t care if it came straight from Hiad, kill it!” Yuam-ci yelled, as she struggled to deflect the wolf’s attacks, with very little success.

With trembling hands, the sister witches shot two arrows at the beast, but just before they reached their target, the wolf shifted in place. One of the arrows flew past and was lost in the woods, the other found its destiny deep into Yuma-ci’s leg. Her cousin cried out in pain.

As if enticed by its new challengers, the creature forgot about Yuma-ci for a moment and squared off the other witches. Four paws planted on solid ground, muzzle lowered, dribble dripping off the long, sharp, oh very sharp teeth.

The beast was incredibly imposing. Its paws alone were twice the size of Yara’s hands. The first rays of sunshine broke in the horizon and shone over its powerful body.

Yara’s breath was caught in her throat.

There were no wolves in the Amazon jungle, let alone a white one as enormous as this one. It truly looked like the Apa Dobrý themselves had sent the spirit animal down.

Yuma-ci’s fighters gasped, trembling in fear. As if savoring their panic, the wolf slowly advanced forward, snarling low, taking its time. The tangy smell of terror saturated the air, as the girls’ panic increased tenfold at each step it took. Yara knew she should take the opportunity and run for her life, but she couldn’t. She was just too mesmerized by that incredible beast that had appeared out of nowhere.

In a true display of supremacy, the large animal puffed up its chest and let out a long, deafening howl. The girls whimpered startled, then scattered away like house mice, disappearing in the jungle.

From the corner of her eyes she spotted the Gods-all-mighty Yuma-ci also scurry off, limping heavily from her leg wound which was still oozing blood. What a brave leader she was, great role model.

Apparently the wolf didn’t mind watching its first and second course disappear away because it didn’t give any hint of running after them. Instead, it turned back around and looked straight into Yara’s eyes.

Oh, crap.

She swallowed dry. Now, she was well and truly fucked. As drained as she was, it would be a very quick fight. And the white wolf knew it.

She drew together the last ounces of strength she had left and pushed off the floor, meaning to stand up and get ready for the attack, but her legs wouldn’t obey; her body was too weak to even stand on her feet! She plummeted heavily back on her ass.

Oh, Mighty Soartas, why have you weaved this end for me?

Yara took a long deep breath and tried to think of a charm to save herself. She rummaged for something, anything in her muddled up mind, but nothing useful came out. She was like a blank canvas – words flew by but made no sense. “Damn you, Soartas from Hiad!” she grumbled.

The wolf cringed as if startled by her sudden display of anger. Then it lifted its muzzle and sniffed the air. Ai Apa Dobrý, this was torture! Why hadn’t it attacked her already? What was it waiting for? Yara held herself up by the elbows, waiting for its next move.

Without meeting her eye-to-eye, the beast took a few measured steps forward.

She crawled backward.

It sniffed the air again and took two more long strides.

She crept backward as far as her wounded back allowed.

Her crossroads was clear and unavoidable. If she tried to run, it would easily catch her, but staying put wasn’t an option either. Her sanity was at the verge of exploding with that dance of theirs. Her problem was that her movements were much smaller than the beats’ long strides.

One more step and it closed the gap between them. But instead of getting over with and claiming Yara for dinner, the beast paused, as if considering its options. Still without meeting her eyes, it lowered its muzzle and sniffed the ground by Yara’s foot, as if trying it for measure.

What the fuck? Yara’s heart thumped wildly in her chest.
Would you get over with it already?

It snuffled the ground for a while, slowly inching closer, and closer, and a bit closer. Yara trembled in panic, her chest was tight, her breathing was shallow. A cold, wet nose brushed her ankle.

“Argh!” she cried out, startled. “Shoo! Go away!” she bellowed.

Her panicked brain had decided to treat the great white wolf like an impertinent seagull stealing her food.

The wolf didn’t like that, of course. Its white fur heaved up on its thick back, its muzzle crinkled, lips raised as a low growl reverberated in its strong chest.

And yet, it wouldn’t meet Yara in the eye. How odd. How freaking disturbing.

Up close, the beast looked even bigger. It was much larger than a common wolf. Its jaw could have easily engulfed Yara’s head and swallowed her in one bite. But apparently it was having way too much fun sniffing her. Her feet, her ankle, her wounded knee, her thighs.

Yara cringed, whimpered, but kept still.

When its cold nose reached the hem of her short dress her heart jumped to her throat.
Oh, Mighty Soartas!
What could she do to stop that … that thing? Shifting would take way too long, the massive dog was too close and would jump at her jugular before her claws came out, no doubt about that. If she remained still maybe it would get bored and leave her alone … maybe. Unable to do anything else, Yara turned her head away and closed her eyes, praying for a miracle.

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap.

Something wet and rough touched her shoulder.
Argh!
Yara’s eyes flew open. She lifted her head up and came face-to-face with the beast.

Holy. Apa. Dobrý.

It was so … so …Yara couldn’t think of words to describe it. Incredible grey-blue eyes pierced her as if it could see her inmã. Its beautiful, long white coat shaped its features like a smooth mane. Yara realized she must have been on her last straws because all she could think of was how striking that animal was. How stunning. She felt the urge to touch its soft coat, to see if it was as smooth to the touch as it looked. Suddenly, the delicious scent of caramel and scotch reached her nose. And it was her turn to take a good sniff. For a moment, she forgot she was about to become dinner, that the beast’s powerful mouth was inches from her neck. She just stared at it, studying the straight line of its jaw, its pointy ears flickering at every little noise around them, the strong muscles underneath its body. Her panther snarled softly inside, unsure what to make of that bizarre encounter. Her mouth opened in pure awe.

The wolf slowly lowered its head under Yara’s shoulder and pushed upward.

What in Hiad?

She didn’t move, frozen in shock and confusion.

The beast huffed angrily and repeated the movement, scooping Yara’s shoulder and lifting it up. What did that crazy wolf want her to do now? Was it trying to make her lay on her belly?

No freaking way she would!

As if sensing her defiance, the wolf stepped back and snarled at her. Long sharp teeth flashed against the early morning sunshine. Very long sharp teeth.

OK, so, if that crazy wolf had intended to make supper out of her, it would have done it by now. In the wild, the rules were clear
–
only the strongest survived. She was wounded, drained and cornered. The wolf could have finished her off in one strike, but it didn’t. That was a comforting thought, no doubt, but it was very far from convincing her to meekly comply with its weird request. She might have gotten smitten by the creature’s striking display of power, but she wasn’t born yesterday. It was still a wolf. So, she discreetly scanned the vicinity for anything sharp, anything she could use to defend herself. Her eyes landed on an abandoned arrow stuck on the ground not even two feet away.

Bingo.

The wolf snarled again, reminding her who’s boss. “Alright, alright, I’ll do it, but I have to go slowly, I’ve got an arrow stuck on my back, OK?” she replied feigning an easiness she didn’t feel.

She slowly shifted her weight to the side and inconspicuously inched closer to the abandoned arrow. She rolled over and took the opportunity to creep up closer still, then, finally she laid on her tummy, and winced when her injuries burned her flesh.

A heavy paw rested on her shoulder blade, locking her in place. A drop of warm saliva brushed her skin.

Ai, ai ai, Mighty Soartas!

It was now or never. She had to do something before that bipolar wolf decided to remember she was dinner. She took a deep breath and quickly stretched her arm as far as she could. Her fingers wrapped around the arrow.

Before she could pluck it out and dig it into the wolf’s flesh, blinding pain reverberated down her left shoulder, stealing the air from her lungs.

With one last pull, the wolf finished yanking the arrow off her back.

“Argh!” Yara cried out, unable to stop herself. Blind spots clouded her vision; she lost any feeling in her arms or neck as the pain consumed her senses. Only one thought managed to form itself in her blurry mind before she blacked out, “Fucking wolf.”

Chapter Twenty One

Naiah couldn’t believe her eyes. From the bush a few feet away, she saw the massive spirit wolf crawl over Yara but it didn’t actually attack her. Just when she thought he’d end it right there and then, it tagged her sister to the ground and slid the arrow out of her back with his jaw.

How in Hiad did a wolf know how to do that?

Yep, it definitely wasn’t a normal wolf. And now, it was towering over Yara, licking her wound.
Licking her wound?
What in Hiad? Her sister must have passed out from the pain because she wasn’t flinching, cringing, she wasn’t reacting at all.

Naiah wanted to go to her, to help Yara. Despite the awful stories Yuma-ci had told the entire tribe about her, Naiah knew Yara
had been the bravest of them all. She had had the guts to leave that godforsaken place, the prison that all the witches had been brainwashed into loving. When Yuma-ci and Poti had showed up with Yara as trophy earlier that evening, Naiah knew it hadn’t been a coincidence. The Soartas had answered her prayers and had presented her with a precious opportunity. And Naiah couldn’t have ignored it, the same way she couldn’t ignore the churn in her gut every time she read stories of old times about witch warriors, travelling around the world, making wrongs right, fighting for justice in exotic places, falling in love with stunning males. She knew that life had to be more than this … this enclosed cocoon she was bound to live in! Yara was her only chance to leave that place. She wouldn’t let a wolf ruin that, even if it was a spirit straight from the gardens of Apa Sâmbetei! She didn’t care. Her inmã told her she needed to free Yara from the spirit wolf. And so she would.

The problem was that she wasn’t a warrior like Yuma-ci and the others. She had been trained, yes, she had had some experience hunting, yes, but to win a mano-a-mano against a massive beast like that – fat chance! She was the caretaker of the sacred barks, a Mother in the making and a romantic rebel in her heart. She couldn’t take on a massive predator like that!  She could stun him frozen but if it was really a spirit wolf, her magic wouldn’t work.

However, what she had in abundance was imagination. 

She picked up a large stone and threw it to the opposite direction, then watched the large rock travel in the air. When it was far enough, she whispered, “Separa”.

The stone cracked then split into several pieces. Its fragments ran their course then dropped to the ground, producing the exact effect Naiah was looking for
–
a lot of noise. It was a swift little trick she’d learnt from one of the ancient Soarta Scrolls she was in charge of keeping safe. As she intended, the noise produced by the small stones falling on trees and grass caught the wolf’s attention.

But instead of looking toward the fallen pebbles, it looked straight at Naiah.

Naiah ducked low behind a broad bush of ferns. Her heart thumped wildly in her chest.

With the sun having risen, the birds were at their customary morning symphony, foraging for food, providing for their offspring – making it extremely hard for Naiah to pinpoint if the wolf had moved from its place next to Yara or not.

A few long seconds, Naiah dared to peek out from hiding. Nope, the damned animal was still by her sister’s side.

As soon as she popped her head out, it went into full alert and pinned her with a stare that left no doubt about its deadly intentions toward her. And as if that wasn’t enough to make her bones tremble, it started snarling at her.

And yet, it still wouldn’t budge from Yara’s side. How odd.

It was still glaring and snarling at Naiah, but it was firmly grounded next to Yara’s inert body. What was that spirit wolf going to do with her sister? Was it one of those predators that captured their prey, dragged it to their den and slowly munched on it for days? Ice settled in the pit of Naiah’s stomach. What a horrible death Yara would suffer. No, she couldn’t allow it to do that to a fellow witch, even if she had been banned from her tribe.

Naiah took a deep breath and stood up as stoically as she could manage.

The wolf also rose to its full height, muzzle lowered, teeth bared. She swallowed dry. The beast was impressive. 

She slowly reached inside her small pouch and cupped a hand full of magical dust. She had developed the funny powder herself one boring afternoon, by mistake. In the beginning it had been just a fun game, a practical joke to get back at Yuma-ci and her band for bullying her, but soon she realized the sparkly powder had many uses, more efficient uses than just foolish pranks.

“OK, wolf spirit,” Naiah shouted, “behold the power of a true water witch!” She lifted her hand high and threw a handful of dust at the beast. The powder’s minuscule particles reacted with the animals’ solid fur and exploded, producing several micro-sparks, like mini fireworks. At first, the wolf didn’t get fazed, but even the most centered of beings would lose it with a million never-ending explosions right on its nose. A proud smile crossed Naiah’s face as she watched the spirit wolf snap. It tried to bite the sparks off, to dodge them, to shake them off. Nothing worked.
Take that, dog!

But her victory was cut short when she realized that no matter how many firecrackers exploded on his ear, the damned beast would not leave Yara’s side. Worse, now it had latched on a chunk of her vine dress and was trying to drag her away!

“No!” Naiah shouted. “Please Spirit Wolf, don’t hurt her!”

The explosions came to a halt, and so did the wolf. Its massive jaw was dangerously close to Yara’s neck.

Naiah tried again. “Please, I beg you, don’t take her away to Hiad. She’s suffered enough in life, she deserves a second chance!”

The beast stiffened, and pinned Naiah with its grey-blue eyes. Yara moaned weakly.

Oh Mighty Soartas, she was waking up! The wolf seemed to have noticed it too.

Yara moaned again then stirred on the dirt floor, giving clear signs she was coming to.

Out of the blue, the white inmã from Hiad turned on his hind legs and ran off.

Just like that.

What. In. Hiad.

But Naiah didn’t waste time dwelling on that, she ran to Yara’s side and helped her sister sit up. As soon as she touched her, Yara hissed at her like an injured cat.

“I’m here to help you,” Naiah said quickly.

Yara didn’t respond but narrowed her brown eyes at Naiah.

“I’m not going to turn you over to Yuma-ci,” she reassured, but Yara just lifted a perfectly manicured eyebrow at her. “I promise by the Soarta Scrolls of Wisdom!”

Yara took a deep breath then tried to sit. This time around, she allowed Naiah to help her up.

“Where’s… the…?” she croaked out.

“The spirit wolf?” Naiah finished the question. “Gone.”

Yara frowned then scanned the area, as if still trying to decide what to make of the bizarre encounter. By Apa Dobrý, so was Naiah!

“You’re Naiah, right?”

Naiah’s heart filled with pride. Yara, the mighty Yara remembered her name! Wow.

“Naiah, bring me that basket,” Yara requested. Her voice was still a bit too hoarse for Naiah’s liking.

“We need to take care of your wounds,” Naiah stated. “Especially after the spirit wolf licked them.”

“The spirit … the beast licked my wounds?” Yara asked wide-eyed.

“Hmm-hum.” Naiah nodded then stood up and brought the basket to Yara. “And I bet it was not for any godly reason. I read once that sometimes lost inmãs escape from the depths of Hiad and come looking for living souls to feed their hunger.”

Yara huffed something that sounded like “Sounds familiar,” but Naiah didn’t press it.

“Damn it, it’s almost empty,” Yara cursed as she inspected the basket.

Naiah peeked inside the vine tub and saw a couple of titan beetles struggling to climb out. “Oh, you were scavenging for titans? This is not a good place to find them.”

“No?”

“No, we need to go a couple of miles west of the Emerald Lake. That’s where they love laying their eggs.”

Yara pinned Naiah with a fierce look.

“I’m not bagging you!” Naiah complained. “It’s right next to our sacred crops.”

That piece of news brought a new sparkle into Yara’s eyes. “Can you take me there?”

“Yep.”

“Can you take me there without Yuma-ci finding us?”

“Ha! That’s the easiest part! It’s been so long since Yuma-ci showed her face at the moonlight harvest that she probably forgot where the crops are.”

“OK, little sister, I’ll let you take me to this special spot of yours,” Yara replied, then she was suddenly up on her feet, towering over Naiah. “But if I sniff as much as a whiff of deceit on you, you will regret it for the rest of your long life, got it?”

Naiah swallowed dry. “You’ll kill me.”

Yara shook her head slowly. “No little Naiah, I won’t kill you, but you’re gonna
wish
I did.”

Naiah nodded in reply, that was all that her fear-frozen limbs could do.

“Good. Let’s get going then,” Yara said then swaggered away.

Naiah picked up the vine basket and ran after her.

“By the way, you wouldn’t happen to have a cellphone on you, would you?”

Naiah frowned. “A cell what?”