Heart [ON HOLD]

Chapter 13: Kill or be Killed

Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten, was the law; and this mandate, down out of the depths of Time.

- Jack London

It took the Wolf an entire day to pick up Cora's scent. It was stale after the two days or so that he had left the trail, but when he got back to the bramble trap he caught the pungent odor of fear still sour on the air. He placed his paws in her footprints, memorizing the scent of her fear. He growled when he thought of the day he'd almost strangled her. He should have finished it. If he'd just finished it he wouldn't be stalking her through the forest like she was escaped quarry.

He zeroed his gaze on the trees he'd last seen her run through and tested the air. The scent was still there. At his slight hesitation he felt a shock ripple through his chest. A reminder. She was watching his every move now. Every false step would be punished.

The Wolf growled and trotted deeper into the trees after her trail.

He followed it through the woods for a long ways, past a poison mushroom patch and...up a tree. He grunted. So she had heeded his advice. Except...

The Wolf circled the tree.

Most of the branches had been stripped away in one section. The fear scent was strong here. There was a residual scent of blood, but not quite human. The smell made the hair on his neck rise and he snarled.

Ghost Cat.

But the cat hadn't left, and Cora's scent grew stronger and trailed farther into the woods. It was a blazing trail now, and he bounded after it, ever deeper into the woods.

He slowed to a trot when he saw a clearing up ahead. He padded to the edge of the trees, skirting the shadows. The ruins of a forgotten castle loomed like a crumbling cliff in the forest. He could smell her now. Her scent wafted from it, sugar and lilac and fresh snow. But there were other scents coming from the dead castle. Scents of metal and sweat and rusty blood. The air was tingling with electricity that made the fur on his back rise. This was new. The scents were mingling, overlapping. Magic. And non-humans.

This was not a contingency he'd planned for.

Another jolt spiked his chest and he winced. Better think of something quick. The assassin let himself melt back to human. He rolled his neck and took a deep breath. This could be tricky. Cora on her own wasn't an issue, but she had his dagger. Provided she could activate the heart seeking spell on it, she could be more dangerous than anticipated. Still, he wasn't the Queen's best assassin for nothing. More concerning was this non-human scent throwing a variable into things.

So what to do?

He could sneak in after dark and kill her. It wouldn't be hard to get inside. Half the place was crumbling. But if he could get in, so could half the beasts in the forest. That tingling, electric sensation he felt, that was off. It made him hesitate. It was familiar, but somehow strange. If half the beasts in the forest could get access it, either what was inside was so dangerous everything else avoided it like the plague, or there was something else keeping them away. Like a spell.

So even if he did get in, what would he do? Killing everything in his path was always an acceptable and feasible option, but at this point something was holding him back. Better to try a different approach.

An idea flashed in his mind but he grimaced. It was a long shot. And if things went south he could be at an extreme disadvantage. But if he didn't think of something quick, the Queen would make it hurt far worse.

He set his jaw. Time to find a bigger beast.

* * *

A roar echoed through the trees and Cora clapped her hands to her ears.