A Wolf-Girls tale

A/N: This is the first posting of one of my books. it is still in progress and I don't think it is very good, but tell me what you think, please.


*Chapter one*
The thunder rolled in,storm clouds gathered in the horizon; the promise of a coming storm definite. The golden light of a fire glowed behind the cover of leaves that hid a small cave in the side of Ravenclaw Point, a mountain in the woods between the worlds.
A girl lay to the left of the firelight. Her golden brown skin nearly glowed in
the light; glossy black hair came nearly to her waist when she stood. She wore
a baby blue long sleeve shirt and a black sleeveless over shirt; long black
pants and black moccasins. Her eyes were closed and her breathing steady with
sleep. To the right of the fire a boy sat cross-legged. Black T-shirt and pants, both
made of silk. Thin black, fingerless gloves covered most of his hands, which
were folded and his elbows rested on his knees. He had the same skin tone as
the girl and short black hair. His green eyes flecked gold as he watched her
rest. A smile spread across his face as he gazed at her.
“Sweet dreams, Cassie.” He whispered softly.
But that comes later. Our story-well my story, actually-begins two years before
this. On a cold winters night on a deserted street, in the lost city on Earth;
where fear never loosened its hold on the people.
I walked on the sidewalk of an old and cracked street. The buildings on both sides of the street were boarded over. My name is Cassandra, but I prefer people just call me Cassie. I will
turn thirteen on December 23, six days from now. I spent most of my time at the
Down Low, a bar-slash-karaoke club. Jake, the tavern keeper, liked my company.
He usually kept me in the kitchen to keep me away from the ‘bad’ people. He was
a nice guy. He had given me a journal I had yet to use. I was waiting for
something exciting to happen, something worth sharing.
I approached an intersection where a street light spilled blue on the side walk. To
be honest, I had no clue where I was, but I knew how to get anywhere. It was
one of the many strange things about me. Like the way my teeth stayed white and
were pointed like fangs, on the top and bottom, but not extended like a
vampires would be. I can hold my breath for extended periods of time. I can be
completely still, like a statue; I can go thirty-four minutes without blinking.
Or the fact that when I feel threatened, my fingernails turn to claws. My
hearing was extremely sensitive; I could hear a pin drop from a mile away. I
understood animals more than I did people. I didn’t like to stay out in the sun
for very long. I had been planning how I wanted to die since I was five years old,
when I first met my Aunt Clara.
I had no blood relation to Aunt Clara. To anyone, for that matter; my birth
parents abandoned me when I little. A nurse took me in and raised me until she
was murdered on her way home; I was one year old. A friend of hers, Mishloto,
took me in and I stayed with him for four years. Then I ended up at Aunt
Clara’s. That was all I remembered of my past. I wasn’t entirely sure why, but
the details of my past were blurry at the best. I remembered…certain things
better than others, but nothing was clear.
I stopped under the street light; I stood there for a few seconds before I
realized someone was following me. I heard the soft tap of shoes on the wet
pavement behind me. I turned my head slightly to the right, trying to the
follower in my peripheral vision. The footsteps stopped abruptly and a rush of
panic shot through me. My follower was male; he wore a black shirt, black
jeans, and black boots; I assumed they were steel-toed. I couldn’t distinguish
any facial features. When I went to public school a couple years back I took
track, I wasn’t the fastest, but I wasn’t the slowest either. I wondered if I
could lose him if I made a break for it. I heard metal rubbing leather and I
imagined him pulling a gun on me. I ran. His footsteps came after me once more.
I suddenly got the feeling I was being watched. Not the person chasing me, but
someone else; watching me from above. I wasn’t a religious person and I didn’t
believe in angles; but if someone, or something else was watching me, there was
no hostility from them. Like they were merely observing how I handled the
situation.
I turned into an ally, ran halfway in and stopped. It was a dead-end. Red brick
apartment buildings blocked me on the right and the left, only the higher ones
had balconies. The end I was facing was blocked by a wall, a big blue dumpster
pressed against it. The lid was down. My heart rate was slowing, but it sped
when I heard the footsteps behind me. A thought struck me; if I could get some
ground on him, maybe I could somehow threaten him. I ran for the dumpster. I
jumped onto the top of it; my waistline collided with the edge. My arms were
stretched in front of me, holding me onto the lid. I began pulling myself up
when a cold hand wrapped around my ankle. I didn’t yell; I didn’t try to kick
him away. I gripped the dumpster with my left hand and brought my right across
his face. He jerked away, covering his face.
I climbed to my feet and found my balance. I took a step back, eyeing the balcony
closest to me. Black metal bars and a wooden platform, a glass sliding door led
into the dark apartment. I measured the platform to be about seven feet above
my head. Before I could change my mind, I took two steps forward and jumped.
Three seconds later my fingers wrapped around the base of two of the metal
bars. My legs swung under, the tips of my worn-out shoes scraping the bottom of
the wood and came back under me. I bent my arms, extended my left up and
hoisted my body over the bars. I looked back down into the ally; my follower
looked up at me, pale skin and black eyes. Dark red liquid covered the hand he
had pressed to his face.
“You’ll pay for this!’ His voice was cold, hard. He ran out the ally and disappeared around the corner.
I lifted my right hand so that it was in front of my eyes; the tips were covered
in the same dark red liquid. His blood was on my hand. I looked back up the
ally but he was gone. The other presence was gone also.
“Cassie, is that you?” I spun around quickly. Aunt Clara stood in the now open doorway.
Her long white blonde hair was pulled in a messy French Braid; her skin was paler than mine, but not by much. Her eyes looked like a sandy beach behind a wall of clear water. She was wearing white sleep pants and was holding her white robe closed. Her feet were bare. “It’s freezing out here. Come on inside.” She pressed her free hand to my bare arm. Her touch wasn’t exactly warm, but it was soft and comforting. I stepped into her apartment, unsure of
what to expect.
“Go to the bathroom and wash up, I’ll make something for us to eat. Spend a little girl time together.” Clara walked straight to the kitchen as she spoke. I stood in the same place for a minute before making my way to the bathroom.
I walked right to the sink and turned the knob that had the little red circles on
it. I scrubbed the blood off of my right hand and splashed water onto my face.
I lifted my head and looked in the mirror as steam swirled around my face. My
black hair came down slightly past my shoulders. My eyes were blue, sort of.
Blue and gray swirled and almost created the illusion of a storm ready to
burst. My skin was a tan color and on more than one occasion I wished I had the
same flawless pale skin that Clara had. I watched the water droplets fall from
my face and splatter into the sink. I wiped my face and hands on a black hand-towel
and walked out of the bathroom. I slid my hand on the wall and turned out the
light.
Aunt Clara’s table was small, about the size of a coffee table. It was square and
four chairs were pulled up to it, though only three were ever used; for me,
Aunt Clara, and her son, Demetri. Two unlit Wicca candles stood in the center
of the table. I pulled out the chair closest to me and sat down; I stared at
the sliding door. I pictured my follower and a sudden shock came over me. The
similarities were undeniable and unwavering; my follower was Demetri.
Clara sat a plate of Texas Toast in front of me; sat down in the seat to my left and watched me. She flicked her finger at the candles and the wicks came to life with flame. Her
robe had come apart revealing a white undershirt. She plastered on a fake smile
and sucked in a deep breath before speaking.
“So how have you been doing?” Her voice had taken on a strange edge; almost like
she didn’t want me to answer. “What could have happened that you wouldn’t know?” My voice was quiet; I didn’t like
to talk over a whisper. I liked to remain in the shadows as much as possible.
“You don’t know the dangers that lurk outside these walls.” Her voice was sharper and her smile had disappeared. I had run away one week before this; what could have happened,
seriously?
“I can take care of myself.” Subject closed.
We sat in silence for a moment.
“Have you met any guys you think are cute, yet?” I was a little shocked by her
question. The way I saw it, there were two reasons why she would ask such a
question. First, she might actually be interested in my personal life; could
have been nice, she was the closest thing to a mother I knew. Second, she may
have wanted to know if I would be missed if she killed me, or worse. I stared
at her for a moment before answering.
“Yes.” I lied. In truth, the only other person outside this house I ever talked to was
Jake, and he was in his mid-forties. “What’s his name?” Could she tell I was lying? “Kuzon.”
Kuzon? I had never heard the name before, nor met anyone with it. Yet it came
out easily, like I’d known the person my whole life. Clara stared at me with an
unreadable expression; for a split second, there was fear.
“How did you meet him?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes.” “Why?”
She was silent for a moment. “He is a killer. Believe nothing he says.” She paused,
“Believe nothing his sister says either.”
“Yeah, right;” I stood, “I’ll be sure and do that.” I took two steps toward the
sliding door before she grabbed my arm, tight. “Stay away from all of them.” She hesitated, “Don’t underestimate any of them,
especially Lathia.” She released me quickly.
I walked out the sliding door, swung my legs over the bars, and jumped down. My
feet collided with the lid of the dumpster and the shock of impact pulled the
top half of my body down; my hands landed flat on the lid and my chin collided
with my knee, which was bent up. I rose, leapt off the lid and jogged out of
the ally. I continued on my way to my previous destination: the public school
gym.
Lathia; where had I heard that name before? It didn’t seem like it would be a common
name, but I remembered it.
I turned onto a short dirt road that was boarded by thick forest on both sides. The school was out in the middle of nowhere, I could have gotten there by a paved road, but this was faster and it
was already starting to snow. My breath became hazy white clouds and a shiver
trickled down my spine. I was being followed again.
My senses went into high alert and I listened for every sound I could. Someone was
running in the woods. Towards me, from far away; I focused on that. He was
running faster than humanly possible, and he wasn’t alone anymore; another was
flanking him, and another farther back from them. But it didn’t sound like
human feet, it sounded more like paws. They got closer, I could hear their
breathing; husky. They were dogs.
Horror came over me as I realized I had been focused on the wrong thing. I listened
for any other sounds, but it was too late. Something hard and cold smacked into
my back and I fell forward. The palms of my hands hit the cold, packed dirt and
my mouth filled with grit. I gasped for breath, but none came. I felt a cold
hand close around my neck and lift me up off the ground. I was turned to face
my captor, I found myself looking at Demetri. Four red lines ran the right side
of his face. Three started just below his eyebrow; one started near the outer
corner of his eye, most likely from my pinkie. They all ended along his jaw-line;
his eyes matched his black clothes. His black hair was stuck to his forehead
with sweat; it contrasted with his pale skin. My hands wrapped around his wrist
as he lifted me up, my feet dangling over the ground. My nails dug into the
flesh of his wrist; my mouth opened, searching again for air. My vision
blurred, but I saw him lift his weapon, a metal pipe, with his free hand and
prepared for the blow that would kill me. I closed my eyes tightly. I prayed
God would have mercy on my soul.
I hit the ground once again; he had never hit me, he just sort of dropped me. I
landed on my side but rolled onto my stomach; I planned to crawl away if I had
to. But all I could do was just laid there, coughing and gasping. My arms and
legs wouldn’t move.
A new pair of hands wrapped around my shoulders. Soft and gentle, hesitant but
assuring; the persons breathing was heavy, like they’d just ran a long way.
“Can you move? Where were you hit?” It was a girl, her voice sounded like a quiet
flute. She was kneeling on my left side. “Help me; I don’t want to die.” I pleaded. My voice was harsh from the restrain Demetri had
placed on it.
“You’re not going to die.” She spoke quietly.
I moved my right arm so that I could use it to turn m self over and look at this
girl. She helped turn me over until I was lying on my back. A loud rustle came
from the right side of the road and her head shot in the direction.
She was dressed head-to-toe in silk. A short sleeve red shirt, rimmed at the ends
in gold color. Red pants tied at her waist with a gold sash. She was wearing
red silk fingerless gloves that only covered her palms and the back of her
hands, held to her wrists by gold bangles. A strip of red silk was tied around
her neck, a gold peace sign hung from the front. Light brown hair was cut in
layers; the shortest at her shoulders, the longest was nearly to the middle of
her back; red and yellow highlights spread throughout. Her skin was a shade
lighter than mine, but it had more of a glow to it; like a gold tent. She
couldn’t have been a year older than me.
“Thank you.” I wondered if she had heard me. I began to shiver but she showed no sign of being chilled.
She turned to me. Her eyes looked the color of sun brewed tea; they were rimmed on
the outside in a sky-blue color. “You’re welcome.” She smiled and I noticed
that she had the same teeth design as me.
Gunfire sounded from the forest; the girls head shot back up. A few seconds later,
someone walked out of the cover of the trees. I rose up on my elbows and craned
my neck to see who it was. A boy, but not Demetri; someone I didn’t recognize.
He was dressed in complete black, a sleeveless shirt and long pants; barefoot. His
black hair grew just past the top of his ears. His shirt almost looked like a
piece of cloth wrapped around his torso and tied down on one of his sides or
his back. His skin was just a little darker than the girls, but it had the same
kind of glow. He had the same style of gloves the girl had, but his were black.
His left hand was pressed to his right side and his breathing was sharp.
“What happened?” The girl asked.
“The traitor got in a hit.” He answered between breaths.
“Zulia will take a look.”
“I know.” He turned his eyes to the sky; it was too dark to distinguish the color
of his eyes.
“Can you move your legs?” The girl asked. I was afraid to use my voice for fear of it giving out; I shook my head vigorously from side-to-side.
“Where were you hit?” She asked.
“My back.” I stared at her. Why was she asking these questions? Why couldn’t she just be like a normal person and ignore me like everyone else? I had put trust in the wrong people before; I
wasn’t going to do it again.
“Well?” I jumped at the sound of the boy’s voice. He was across from the girl; sitting
on his heels.
His shirt was lined in a dark grey; he had released his hand from his side, but the coloring was darker. A blood stain. I remembered the gunfire sound I had heard and a wave of guilt
came over me. The bullet had been meant for me, not him. He looked down at me;
he had soft green eyes with flecks of gold, looking at them was like looking
into a grassy field full of dandelions’.
‘She can’t move her legs; she is scared of us, but she will freeze to death if we leave her here.’ She had said it in some other language. Snow was beginning to pile around us. I wondered if they were going to kill me. I caught a glimpse of dagger tied around the girl’s waist,
the red handle and sheath had blended into her clothing. ‘I wish Ashton were here.’ The boy looked at her in surprise.
‘I thought you hated her.’ His breathing was becoming steadier.
‘I hate Connie.’
‘They’re pretty close to being the same person.’
‘Ashton is nicer and she doesn’t rely on her muscles twenty-four seven… I’ve also seen her gift in action, Kuzon.’
They continued to speak, but I couldn’t hear; I was overrun with shock. Kuzon, the
imaginary boy I had told Aunt Clara about was right in front of me. I
remembered Clara’s words: He is a killer. Believe nothing he says. Believe
nothing his sister says either. Was this girl his sister? Or was it Connie; or
Ashton, maybe Zulia? Clara had said to not underestimate any of them. How many
of them were there? I didn’t want to stick around and find out. I was starting
to plan my escape when the girl spoke to me again.
“I am friends with a healer, she can help you. But we won’t take you without your consent.”
“I c-can’t m-move.” It wasn’t until I spoke that I realized I was shivering. “Kuzon can carry you; it’s not very far from here.”
“W-who are you?” I asked.
She looked up at the boy-Kuzon; he looked down at me. “My name is Kuzon, and this
is my sister, Layla.” I looked back to the girl. She smiled at me and held up
her right hand in a peace sign; she lowered it quickly.
“Where d-do you live?” I asked.
“Shadow cave forest.” She answered. She was right about it not being far.
The school rested on the edge of the tree line of Shadow cave forest. But how could anyone live there; anyone who went in never came out; those who did come back died; either on the school’s campus or on their way to the hospital. Rumors of anything from a witch cult to vicious wild
animals to demon haunting filled the forest. Whatever they were, they didn’t
want to be revealed and they stayed in the cover of the trees. Demetri had once told me about it. He said that a half mile into it was a wide river
with only one way across, a bridge. He told me he had seen it with his own
eyes. According to him, the half of the bridge connected to the town was made
of metal; the other half made of wood. The sides were supposed to be lashed
together with rope.
I took in a frigid breath that chilled my bones. I nodded to her and hoped she knew what I meant.
I had planned to use my voice to accept the invitation, but I knew it would
fail me.
They both must have understood because the girl- Layla- stood; Kuzon wrapped his
right arm around my shoulders and his left around my knees. I wrapped my arms
around his neck as he stood. He stayed still; I followed his gaze to Layla, who
stood with her head turned to the forest where Demetri had disappeared.
“Layla.” Kuzon spoke softly.
“We should leave now, he will tell them we are here.” After she spoke she turned to
Kuzon and me.
I knew she was talking about Demetri, but who would he tell? Were Kuzon and Layla not supposed to be here? Were they the ones committing all the murders? Was I next? Layla’s eyes
zeroed on me, like she had heard every word I thought. She didn’t look
disgusted or appalled, she just looked at me with a blank expression, but I saw
a mess of emotion behind it.
Kuzon began to turn and Layla walked toward us; they walked at a slow pace on the
dirt road. I noticed that Layla’s eyes were level with Kuzon’s shoulders and
that she walked with a slight limp. There was a cut on the right side of her
collarbone, no, not a cut, a scar. I thought back to Demetri’s face, what I had
done to his once perfect face.
“What happened to him? What happened to Demetri?” The question was for both of them, but mainly Kuzon. Layla looked to Kuzon, seemingly curious about it as well.
“He ran off.” Kuzon said softly. He kept his eyes forward, avoiding eye contact. He was lying, I knew it.
“That’s it? He ran off?” Layla asked. Kuzon looked at her and she raised an eyebrow,
daring him to confirm it.
“We’ll talk later.” Kuzon spoke to her.
*I’ll clue you in.* Laylas voice rang in my head. I looked at her and she smiled at me,
showing her teeth and stressing her neck; I bit back a smile and she bent her
head forward laughing. It sounded like wind chimes in a small breeze, I
wondered if she was trying to make me laugh. Hers faded after a few moments and
I tuned my ears to listen to my surroundings.
I heard the soft tap of Kuzon and Layla’s feet on the cold dirt. I heard their
heartbeats; slow and steady, like nothing was out of the ordinary with them. I
heard running feet in the forest, stopping every few seconds. Every stop there
was the sound of hands rubbing against tree bark.
“We’re being followed.” I whispered. They both stopped immediately. Layla began
looking around; Kuzon tightened his grip on my shoulder and eased quickly, like
he was afraid he would hurt me. “From where?” Layla asked.
She looked at me and I jerked my head over Kuzon’s shoulder. She looked in the
direction, took two steps, and froze. “Run;” She said quietly, “run; run; run!” She began screaming.
Kuzon ran; Layla was two steps behind him. Dirt sprang up from the ground where Layla
had once stood as bullets collided with the ground. Bullets continued to fire
and miss, all aimed at Layla. The person was careful to stay in the cover of
the trees, never offering Layla a clear shot back. After a few moments of
running Kuzon ducked behind a boulder that was in a large clearing; the school
was visible a few yards away. Layla ducked beside him as white dust from the top of the boulder rained down...
A/N: This is my first time posting one of my stories so please tell me what you think. I'll try to post more soon. Until then, Peace!!!