The Gamma's Dark Witch

7 - Company

(Nisha)

“Company,” Zephyr said calmly.

I stood up, scanning the area around us. The river was contained now without magic; we were looking for any lingering weaknesses. I didn’t see anything, but the dusk was settling around us. Soleil looked bored, or maybe amused, but at least she didn’t seem worried.

A low growling came from the distance, and it sent a jolt or a shiver or something through me I couldn’t quite place, but it wasn’t fear I knew I should feel, judging by Kevari's wide eyes.

Zephyr’s jaw ticked, and the wind picked up, swirling around us before it died down. “The settlers downriver,” Zephyr said, her voice carried to us on the wind. “Wolves.” Her jaw clenched.

A few large wolves emerged from the sparse treeline on the other side of the ravine where the river used to be. Excitement coursed through me like a living thing, but it dissipated as soon as it came. I didn’t feel the same tug I did to the mountain, the spark that I kept with me from that night when I met the werewolf queen.

A tall weathered man in shorts strolled out, crossing his arms and assessing us, but I could almost feel his fear even though he stood feet taller and wider than any of us.

“What are you doing here?” His voice boomed down the shallow ravine to us.

Soleil stepped in front of us; her milky skin seemed to glow even in the faded light. She seemed ethereal, not of this world, and I guess she wasn’t. None of us were.

“We were sent on a task; you are trespassing,” Soleil said with such unwavering confidence I almost believed her.

“You are trespassing,” The man barked. Soleil put her hands on her hips and c.ocked her head to the side. “Our lands are downriver.”

Soleil laughed loudly; it was tinkling but vicious. “I don’t see any river.” She motioned to the empty ravine, barely dried.

The man clenched his hands. “We need that river to survive. Our lands prosper from it. It is our life source.”

I glanced at Kevari, and she was looking at her feet. Zephyr studied them with a cool indifference, but I could feel a soft wind brush past me toward them. She was listening; she always was.

“You might own the land but not the river,” Soleil called.

“You don’t own it either. Who are you to take it from us?” the man demanded.

“If you want to re-route it, be my guest.” Soleil extended a pale white palm. “Your funeral.”

The man said nothing, and I couldn’t fully read his facial expression anymore as thick darkness settled around us. It would have been comforting and warm and familiar if the situation didn’t set me on edge. I saw what the wolves could do, how fast they could run, how large they were up close.

“What purpose do you have for shifting the river's natural flow?” he asked.

“A favor.” Soleil shrugged, sounding bored. “For a powerful wizard. I don’t want to get on his bad side, but if you do follow the river to him,” Soleil offered.

The man took a step back. “Is there no way that we can resolve this? We want peace, but we cannot live without the water and irrigation that the river provides.” The man’s voice was softer now.

“No,” Soleil responded. “I wish there were, but this was our instructions.” I didn’t believe a word she said, and I knew the man didn’t either.

“We cannot move again,” the man pleaded, “There has to be a solution.”

“As I said, you may speak to the dark wizard.” Soleil’s voice sounded like fire incarnate, and I was in awe of her. “Be prepared to fight,” Soleil whispered to us.

I looked towards my sisters, and Kevari met my gaze but put her hands out in front of her, and I followed her lead. Out of Soleil’s palm shot the fire of the sun, bright and warm and unyielding. It shot up into the sky and illuminated the scared face of the man across from us. The wolves behind him were backing into the tree line. The man’s arms opened wide as if that could protect his pack from her- as if that could protect them from any of us.

“We will leave now. We just hope you think about our offer to compromise. I will come back alone at dusk tomorrow to speak to you,” The man called as he backed into the trees, never taking his eyes off of Soleil's personal beam of sun.

Soleil’s flame returned to her hand, and she brushed her fiery hair over her shoulder and stared at the space the man just vacated for a long while.

“Is there no way to compromise?” Kevari asked, her voice as soft as the bubbling of a cool brook in spring.

“No,” Soleil snapped, her voice as fiery as her hair. Soleil turned around and shook her head, her eyes wide. “I apologize, Kevari. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. I am in debt to Ezowyn, and I-” Soleil closed her eyes, the wariness weighing on her. “I apologize; I did not mean to raise my voice at you.”

“It’s okay, Soleil,” Kevari said, walking towards her. “This situation is heavy for us all, it was not our intention to disrupt anyone.”

"It wasn't." Soleil's voice was soft and heavy, her milky shoulders sagged a bit.

I couldn’t stop watching the space where the wolves left, I felt something shift, and I couldn’t place it, but a sense of unease settled deep inside me that I couldn’t shake.

"They're gone," Zephyr announced.

"Did you hear anything else?" Soleil asked.

Zephyr shook her head. "He changed to a wolf. No words were spoken aloud."

“Let us go,” Soleil said, “We need some rest. I’ll make sure the river is protected.”

I reluctantly followed behind Soleil and Kevari, Zephyr tore her gaze away from across the ravine, and the wind ruffled the trees high above us.

I didn’t join them for dinner. I felt a heaviness settle deep into my bones. I tucked my borrowed blanket over me and fell into a restless sleep. I don’t know what overcame me, but I slipped out deep into the night, or maybe the early morning, and I wandered shrouded in shadows, not of my own making, until I came across the wolves.

I watched them, curious. Only a few of them sat by the dwindling fire. From the dying embers, their face's all mirrored each others. Fury, anger, but mostly sadness, a sort of helplessness I didn’t have a name for. I had to tear my gaze away from them; guilt ate at me even though I didn’t directly cause their suffering.

The ravine next to their makeshift settlement was bare and icy. There were cabins behind them that looked freshly built, the wood not yet faded with age. I haven’t encountered many wolves, and I have never seen where they lived, but this felt so human. It swirled some longing I tried to suppress, and it was mixed with their sadness.

I swallowed and pushed myself off of the trunk, settling into the darkness, and flickered through the shadows until I found my way back to the cabin I could hardly call a home, even temporarily.