Soulmates Across Borders

Chapter 2

Thanks to Solí's words, the circle, and the wolf, Reka and her husband and boy began to shift form; their hair and clothes changed into black fur, their hands formed into paws. Their ears moved to the tops of their heads and grew to points as they sprouted fur. Tails appeared at the base of their spines as they came down to all fours, fully transformed into wolves, all the exact same black color as her wolf Pango. They had her wolf's black eyes and white patch of fur on the chest. A rush of relief hit her followed by a quickened heartbeat as she visualized them making a run for it.

"Wait for me to distract them," Solí said.

What will you do? Pango asked.

The apparition makutu. I have twenty nati, Solí told him.

We'll make a run for it once the beastmen pursue your apparitions, Pango said.

Solí nodded and explained the plan to Reka and Pokha. They nodded their wolf-heads and Reka picked up her boy in her mouth by the scruff of his neck.

Solí emptied her bag of all the apparition nati she had. The little acorns had all been encircled by locks of her hair. She arranged them into a circle on the floor of the teneti and cleared her mind. "Kiah orah nati iti!" she said. Her mana, which was still active after the first makutu she had performed, snaked up her spine all the way to her heart, where it pounded and burst forth in a rush of energy.

Out sprang twenty exact copies of Solí. They burst from the tent, and Solí followed, leading the wolves out into the fiery village.

Outside the tent, the apparitions caused chaos everywhere Solí looked. Beastmen stopped setting tents on fire to chase down the warrior women that darted all over. Solí attempted to move exactly like the copies of herself and led the way for the wolves to follow her.

They sprinted around the tents of the small village and made their way to the outer circle of tents. Several beastmen blocked the way, but the apparitions distracted them. A few beastmen aimed their torches at the apparitions and used their evil magic to send blasts of fire which went right through the apparitions. Solí veered away from the fire and found a gap between two tents where they could escape the village.

Hurry! Take them out of here, Solí ordered. Where are the others?

It's the twins and their mother, near their tent, Pango replied as he led the way out of the village with Reka right behind, her small child still carried safely in her jaws. Pokha followed after them. They were gone in a flash.

Solí wheeled around and sprinted down the curve of tents towards Awai's teneti where she lived with her two daughters, Anahera and Arohana. As she went, she noticed that several beastmen had given up pursuit of the apparitions, possibly because they ran away too fast, or because they were impervious to attack. Some of the kangata might have even witnessed the makutu before and so it did not fool them. Solí only hoped that since she looked just like all the apparitions, the beastmen would assume she wasn't real too.

As she rounded the bend, she started coughing from the smoke. She willed herself to keep sprinting, but she slowed to a jog as she continued to cough, her heart screaming in her chest. Everywhere tents burned, and acrid smoke wafted at her face as she jogged. What if she was too late to save them? She shook her head to remove the dreadful thought from her brain. She could only press on and search for them. She held her fists against the side of her head and wheeled around for any sign of them.

Finally, she scrambled onward through the village, her breaths rasping in her throat. She rounded another corner to head straight for Awai's tent and ran right into two beastmen who didn't see her coming. They collided, and she stumbled to the side and got back to her feet in a flurry. She backed away in quick jerky steps.

The two beastmen yelled at each other in their guttural foul language. Solí stood frozen in fear as they pulled out their weapons - axes, which they set on fire.

Finally, Solí changed direction and sprinted between two tents that roared with flames. The fire licked at her heels as she went. The smoke burned her eyes and made her cough again. Her breaths rasped in her throat. She didn't dare look behind her to see if the beastmen chased after her. She ran by a scorched tent that had collapsed on Taruta and killed him. Tears leaked from her eyes as she let out a primal scream.

"Awai! Are you there?" Solí called out, nearly losing hope.

"Help!"

Solí wheeled around to see a village warrior crossing blades with a beastman, and behind him, Awai and her two daughters huddled on the ground in front of their burning tent. It was Hake, the leader of the village's summoners. His white wolf Kanapa fought by his side. Currently, the feisty wolf had his jaws around the beastman's ankle. Solí rushed to join the fight, unsheathing her sword as she sprinted between two more smoking tents to come to their aid.

She silently approached from behind the beastman's back and aimed her blade right at the weakness in the side of his armor. The blade jarred in her hand as she stabbed him; it caught on the bone. Hake followed her attack with a blow to the beastman's neck, slicing him above his armor. The horrid kangata gurgled as he fell over and attempted to crawl away. Solí tugged on her sword and pulled it free with a jerk. The beastman crumpled to the ground and bled all over, dying as he sputtered and tried to call out for help.

"Come!" Solí pleaded, sheathing her sword and kneeling to take the two girls' hands in hers. "Can you run?"

"Mother hurt her ankle," Anahera shouted.

"Can you stand?" Solí knelt to help Awai up. She managed to get to her feet, and Solí grabbed her arm and pulled it over her shoulder. They spun for the nearest path out of the village.

Four beastmen blocked the way.

~ * ~

1046 Words ~ 3587 Total