Chapter 44 The Devourer
The journey west took three days. Three long days of travel through increasingly desolate territory.
"The land is dying," Riven observed. "Look at the trees. The grass. Everything is withering."
He was right. Plants that should have been green and healthy were brown and dead. Animals had fled. Even the rivers seemed to run slower.
"What could cause this?" Luna asked.
"Something that feeds on life itself," Kieran said grimly. "I have seen this before. Long ago. Before Elara cursed me."
"What is it?"
"A Devourer. A creature that exists to consume. It eats life force. Drains everything until nothing remains." Kieran's face was pale. "If one has awakened, we are all in grave danger."
"How do we kill it?"
"You do not. You seal it. Trap it. Send it back to whatever void it came from."
"And if we cannot seal it?"
"Then everything dies. The entire kingdom. Maybe the entire world."
They pushed harder. Faster. Racing against time.
On the fourth day, they reached the Western Territories. What they found made everyone stop in horror.
The entire territory was dead. Completely dead. Not a single living thing remained. Just ash and bones and silence.
"We are too late," Luna whispered. "Everyone is gone."
"Not everyone," Kieran pointed. "There. In the distance. I see movement."
They ran toward the movement. Found a small group of survivors. Maybe twenty wolves. All weak. All dying.
"Help us," one gasped. "It took everything. Everyone."
"Where is it now?" Mara demanded. "Where is the Devourer?"
"Moving east. Toward the heart of the kingdom. Toward the Great Stone Circle."
Mara's blood ran cold. "How fast is it moving?"
"Fast. It will reach your home in two days. Maybe less."
"We have to warn them! We have to evacuate!" Luna started to run.
"Wait!" Kieran grabbed her. "If we evacuate, where do they go? The Devourer will just follow. It will not stop until it has consumed everything."
"Then what do we do?"
"We seal it. Before it reaches the circle. Before it destroys everything." Kieran looked at Mara. "But the sealing ritual requires enormous power. More power than any one wolf has."
"Then we combine our power. Like we did against Elara."
"It will not be enough. The Devourer is older than Elara. Stronger. More patient."
"Then we find more help. We call everyone. Every wolf. Every ally." Mara's voice was firm. "We make our stand here. Stop it before it spreads further."
"That is suicide."
"Everything we do is suicide. We just keep surviving anyway." Mara looked at her small rescue party. "Who is with me?"
Every hand went up. Even the dying survivors pledged to fight.
"Then we prepare. We have two days to get ready." Mara turned to the survivors. "Tell us everything. What does this Devourer look like? How does it attack?"
"It looks like a man," the survivor said. "Beautiful. Golden hair. Silver eyes. But when he opens his mouth, you see the truth. Darkness. Endless hunger. Nothing but void."
Mara's heart stopped. "That is what I saw in my dream. The figure who called himself Oblivion."
"Then your dream was a warning," Kieran said. "The Devourer was reaching out. Testing you. Seeing if you were worth consuming."
"What did it see?"
"Power. Hope. Light. Everything it wants to eat."
"Perfect. So I am its favorite meal."
"Essentially, yes."
Mara wanted to scream. Instead, she took a deep breath. "Send messengers. To every pack. To Queen Adira. To anyone who will listen. Tell them to come. Tell them we need every fighter we can get."
"What about regular wolves? Those who cannot fight?" Luna asked.
"Send them south. As far south as they can go. Away from here. If we fail, at least some will survive."
Messengers scattered in every direction. Racing against time.
Mara stood at the edge of the dead territory, staring east. Somewhere out there, the Devourer was coming. Consuming everything in its path.
"We need to see it," she said. "Know what we are facing."
"Are you sure?" Kieran asked. "Looking at it directly can drive wolves mad."
"I need to know."
"Then I will take you. But do not stare too long. Do not let it see into your soul."
They transformed and ran. Following the trail of death. It was easy to track. Everything the Devourer touched died instantly.
After an hour, they saw it.
The man from Mara's dream. Walking slowly across the land. Each step left dead earth behind him. Plants withered. Animals collapsed. Even the air seemed to die in his presence.
He looked up. Saw them watching. Smiled.
"Moon Wolf. You came to see me. How kind."
His voice was beautiful. Musical. Like honey and poison mixed together.
"What are you?" Mara called back.
"I am the end of all things. I am what comes after death. After darkness. After everything." The Devourer spread his arms wide. "I am Oblivion. And I am very, very hungry."
"Why are you here? Why now?"
"Because the balance has been broken. The Witch Queen was banished. The Shadow King was freed. The natural order has been disrupted." Oblivion's silver eyes gleamed. "When chaos reigns, I emerge. To consume. To restore. To return everything to nothing."
"We will not let you."
"You cannot stop me. No one can. I have existed since before time. I will exist after time ends." Oblivion took a step toward them. "But I admire your courage. It will make you taste that much sweeter when I devour you."
"Run," Kieran whispered. "Now."
They ran. Back toward their camp. Behind them, Oblivion laughed.
"Run all you want, little wolves. I will find you. I will consume you. I will consume everything."
His laughter echoed across the dead land.
When they reached camp, everyone could see the terror on their faces.
"Well?" Zevran demanded. "How bad is it?"
"Worse than I imagined," Mara said. "He is not just a monster. He is a force of nature. An inevitability."
"Can we beat him?"
"I do not know. But we have to try."
Over the next day, allies arrived. Queen Adira with a thousand cat warriors. Northern packs. Southern packs. Eastern packs. Every group that had pledged loyalty to Mara answered her call.
By the end of the day, they had five thousand fighters.
"Is it enough?" Luna asked.
"No," Kieran said bluntly. "But it is all we have."
That night, Mara could not sleep. Again. She walked through the camp, looking at all the wolves who had come to fight.
They trusted her. Believed in her. Would die for her.
The weight of that responsibility was crushing.
"You are doing it again," Zevran appeared beside her. "Carrying everything alone."
"Someone has to."
"No. We share the burden. That is what family does." Zevran took her hand. "Talk to me. Tell me what you are thinking."
"I am thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. All the people who might die because of my choices."
"And?"
"And I am terrified I will fail. That I will get everyone killed. That I am not strong enough for this."
"You are the Moon Wolf. You defeated a Witch Queen. Freed the Shadow King. Survived impossible odds again and again."
"That was luck. This is different."
"Why?"
"Because this time I feel it. Deep in my bones. This is the fight I do not walk away from."
Zevran pulled her close. "Then we face it together. If this is our last battle, at least we fight side by side."
"I do not want to lose you."
"You will not. We are bonded. Mated. Connected. Even death cannot separate us."
"You cannot promise that."
"Watch me." Zevran kissed her. "I promise. No matter what happens tomorrow, we stay together. Forever."
Mara wanted to believe him. Wanted to have faith.
But she had seen Oblivion's eyes. Had felt the emptiness there. The hunger that could never be satisfied.
Tomorrow they would face something that could not be reasoned with. Could not be bargained with. Could only consume.
"I love you," Mara whispered.
"I love you too. Always."
They held each other until dawn.