SPIRITBORNE | Book 1 of the Spirits' War Trilogy [excerpt]

15: YEVA'SI

Image: Haida Bear by Finnaverre

Soundtrack: Three Brothers (Brother Bear Soundtrack) by Mark Mancina

***

Thirteen is on the trail of something. His sleek lupine body slips serpentine between the trees, stopping now and again to sniff the ground. I try to pick up the scent so that I can help, even just a little, but all these smells are blending together as they reach my brain. Wet leaves, spruce, snow... I sigh and follow silently behind him.

I need to get myself some clean clothing and money. I need to reunite with my family.

As I plod along carefully, I nearly trip over a root hidden by the dense blanket of snow. I lower my nose to the earth, hoping to determine what it is that we're tracking, but it's still no use. We should've just stayed in human form. I keep tripping over my own paws and making a fool of myself.

Thirteen suddenly halts ahead of me and I raise my head just in time, almost smacking into his dark haunches. My whiskers brush his tail and he glances over his shoulder at me, his sea-blue eyes wide. Then my companion suddenly raises his head and lets out a howl. It's so loud and unexpected that I startle, my blood going cold. I look at him questioningly and he nods at me, sniffing the air, his eyes wild.

Suddenly I catch a whiff of something new; something I haven't smelled before. It's a strong, fresh odour. I'm not very good at differentiating one scent from another, but this must be a larger animal than anything I'd encountered before. I prepare to run for my life.

I carefully approach Thirteen, but my nerves begin to tingle as I hear a sudden sound originating from directly behind us. We turn abruptly to face a huge brown thing, almost the height of a bus. It's advancing from the darkness of the forest, and right for us!

I'm frozen solid. My entire body is still as a statue, shock pulsing through my veins. Thirteen leaps in front of me and stands his ground, letting out a fierce growl and baring his teeth. His hackles stand on end, attempting to make his wolf body appear more intimidating. He does look scarier that way, but the Lycan pales in comparison to this new threat.

The bear swipes out at us, roaring menacingly. Thirteen tries to dodge the claws, but yelps out in pain as they nick his flank. He opens his jaws and clamps down on the bear's leg, holding on tightly as the creature madly attempts to shake the Lycan from its limb.

Suddenly a streak of white whips by, contrasting beautifully against the dark fur of the grizzly. The being strikes the bear hard onto its side, making it cry out in surprise. The new wolf backs up against Thirteen and me, forcing us away from the bear. Its fur is snowy white, and as I look more closely, I see a familiar canine face, her silver eyes narrowed in anger.

It's the White Wolf. It's Sejka.

Sejka leaps up and flings herself at the bear with the full force of her body, and then dodges a clawed fist. The bear takes a step back and drops to all fours, releasing an angry roar from its great maw. Then it focuses all its energy on charging forward. Directly at me.