Chapter 21 The World Burns
Bram
I’m running as fast as I can through the forest, leading a column of soldiers that I have absolutely no respect for. In fact, I can hardly stand any of these individuals. Which makes what I know is about to happen to many of them easier to endure.
Lyra’s voice in my head both warns and terrifies me. What she and Jorin are trying to pull off this time will be catastrophic for Alpha Kaelen’s army if they can get it to work. But, from what she described, they have several moving parts they need to take into consideration, and there’s a chance something will not work right. They might not get the entire circle to light, or it might burn in the wrong direction. There’s a chance they might actually burn the entire forest down.
All I can do is listen to the warnings she’s given me and try to get out alive.
Ahead of me, I see the small stream she mentioned. I splash through it, thinking it won’t hurt me to be a bit damp if possible. Most everyone else around me leaps over, which is easy for all of us, so none of them will be wet when the fire comes. An errant spark could light their fur on fire.
We cross back into the deeper woods, and I smell the white flowers sprinkled all over the ground. But I also smell something else, ebbing through the skunk spray and the other masks that were put in place.
It’s fuel–some kind of liquid dosed all over the ground to make it catch. I glance at the warriors running alongside me to see if any of them have noticed, but they don’t seem to. They continue to run without slowing or even looking around.
Our claws bite into the overgrowth on the path, kicking up fallen leaves and pine needles. They will also help serve as kindling. Through the forest we go–and then I start to smell smoke.
At first, it’s faint, distant, off to the west, to my left. But then, it grows thicker, and I start to see a soft orange glow coming from that direction.
“What the hell is that?” Commander Marsh, to my right, asks through the mind-link.
“Smells like someone is camping,” one of the assistant commanders says. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
We continue on our way as the flames get closer, bigger, and then, I realize there’s smoke in front of us as well, and off to the right.
“The forest is on fire!” a different assistant commander barks. “We need to turn back!”
“No, we don’t,” I insist. I need to keep up the illusion that I’m trying to save their lives. “We need to press ahead. The smoke isn’t as thick right in front of us.”
“No! Turn back!” others shout, and when I glance over my shoulder… all I see is chaos.
“Move forward! That’s an order!” I shout. Alpha Kaelen put me in charge of this mission. They should listen to me.
But I don’t have time to stop and make sure they listen. Lyra told me to run through as fast as I could, and while I thought I’d be further out of the forest before I started smelling smoke, I realize that Jorin probably didn’t care as much as to whether or not I survive. He probably went on with what he thought needed to be done to trap as many soldiers in the burning forest as possible.
Smoke clouds my vision and burns my lungs. I keep my head down, lowering myself to the ground and practically crawling through the woods beneath the thick gray mass. I can’t even see the other wolves around me now as gray turns to black.
“Lyra!” I shout through the mind-link. “I can’t see!” Heat radiates from the woods on my left, where the fire began to show itself first.
“Stay on the path and run as fast as you can!” she insists. “There’s still room to get out in front of you, to the north. Any other way will require breaking through a ring of fire.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, but I keep running. Through the suffocating clouds of smoke, I see flames flickering closer, red and orange flashes, fingers reaching for my fur.
Then, the screams and howls begin. The mind-link is full of wolves begging for help, trying to find their way out of the flames while others have shifted into their human forms and are shouting with their voices.
I have to trust Lyra. What other choice do I have? But the smoke isn’t getting any thinner, and my eyes are burning along with my lungs.
Then, I feel a spark land on my back. It doesn’t catch, probably because my fur is still slightly damp from running through the stream, but I can’t take the chance of another piece of ash landing on me.
I’m practically creeping now, crawling on my belly. Rocks and pinecones dig into my stomach. They scratch and sting, but I have to ignore it and just keep going.
“Bram!” Lyra screeches through the mind-link. “Where are you?”
I can’t answer her, though. I have to concentrate on getting out of here. I can’t breathe. My head is spinning. My muscles are beginning to give out.
In my mind, I picture Lyra’s face. As upset as I am with her at the moment for lighting this fire, even though I rationally realize why she’s done it, she’s my only motivation.
Then, out of nowhere, the fog lifts, and I’m suddenly in a clear area of the forest. Cool water floods over my paws, up to my neck, and I understand that this is the stream, that they made it run all around the loop of fire they’ve ignited. The water is preventing the fire from spreading elsewhere in the woods, that and the fuel being spilled in a specific location.
I crawl up the other bank of the stream and start coughing my lungs out. My vision is blurry, and everything hurts. I’m not sure how I’ll even drag myself far enough away from the blaze to ensure my safety. Even with Lyra and Jorin’s precautions, there’s still a chance the rest of the forest could light.
As much as I want to curl up and close my eyes, I keep moving. Every fiber of my being shrieks in protest, but I can’t stop now.
I have no idea how much time has passed by when I finally feel safe to find a tree and crawl beneath it to rest. I can’t smell the smoke anymore, except for what’s wafting off my fur.
The mind-link is still full of crying, pleading, begging, screaming. Agonizing shouts of men and wolves burning alive.
I close my eyes against it. Even though I hate most of them and know they wouldn’t hesitate to do the same thing to innocents–including women and children–it’s a gruesome sound. I’ll never be able to erase it from my mind.
And I’m sure Lyra and Jorin can hear it, too, since they are still technically part of our pack.
“Bram!” Lyra sounds, only this time, it’s not in my head.
I feel her human hands on my sides and then her face in my fur. She shouldn’t be here. I made it out–there’s a chance others did as well. They could come loping through the woods at any moment. A smart man would tell her to get away–now.
But I can’t. Her hands on me are enough to anchor me to this world. I nuzzle against her with my nose, and then, knowing I’m safe–for now–I give into the overwhelming exhaustion and drift away.