The Keeper of Wolves

Chapter 6

It took some time to herd all of the raiding party into one location. It took even longer to round up and corral the rescued immortals, who were all eager to stretch their legs and feel the fresh air and see the brilliant stars and moon in the night sky. Eventually, though, Kosazana found herself bundled into a massive old manor-style home that had been commandeered and designated for just such a purpose. A two-story home with an enormous foyer just inside the front door, Isabelle and Alanna had joined forces to congregate the masses in that entryway. Immortals of all shapes and sizes packed into the space, which felt more claustrophobic by the second, and began spilling into adjacent hallways, rooms, and stairwells to get as close as possible. There was a bit of hissing, snapping, snarling, and growling, but eventually, all settled down.

"Welcome back first to our brothers and sisters who have spent too much time underground," Isabelle began, and immediately had to pause to allow for another chorus of celebration. "Welcome back also to those who bravely risked injury or worse in order to free them. Thank you all for your sacrifices. We are delighted to report only a handful of injuries, none life-threatening, and no deaths."

The raucous cheer was even louder this time, and Kosazana flinched away from it even as she smiled. The joy was infectious: she felt much of the elation that the freed immortals had felt, even though she had but only glimpsed their suffering.

"But we still have work to do!" Isabelle announced, raising her voice over the din. "If the data we mined from our previous locations and this one is any indication, there are hundreds of these facilities the world over! We must go to each one, explore it, and take what we can, whether it be our comrades or information."

"Or revenge!" a tall, dark wolf cried out from somewhere off to the left. He was answered with another affirmative cheer, but this one was slightly less unanimous than the first few.

"If any try to stand in our way, they will of course be dealt with appropriately," Alanna started, looking to placate and gently redirect the masses, "but if we fall upon them like hunters, with vengeance in our hearts and minds, we become no better than them. Never strike first, but always strike last."

This seemed to ring kindly with most of the group, even as a few mumbled about their desires for blood. Alanna and Isabelle looked a bit suspicious, surely aware of this trend, but opted to move forward.

"I would like to divide us into several teams," Isabelle picked up again. "There are currently one hundred and seventy-six of us. I think we can manage three teams quite well. I will lead one. Alanna will lead another. And Tyr will lead the third. All three of us will be in near-constant communication with each other, and will appoint a number of secondary commanders as needed. We are going to step outside to divide up. If anyone has a strong preference, please sort yourselves under the leader you would like to work with. Anyone who has no preference, align yourself with the group that looks most under-staffed or see one of us three for an assignment.

"Now, as gently as possible, the people near the front door turn around and exit, and everyone please follow them out. Please be civil, there is not a lot of room in here, so if anybody starts fighting, there's going to be assignments made for fixing drywall."

The threat of home improvement labor seemed to keep most people in line, but a tall, wild-looking male fae did abruptly spin around, flare his wings, and bare his fangs at a wolf that had apparently trodden on a wing. The wolf, shifted for the first time in what he said had been seven years, had lowered his front end, raised his tail and his hackles, and lifted his lip. A red-haired witch had firmly stepped between them and shooed the wolf out the door, holding back the fae before taking his arm and marching him out, too. All told, Kosazana was amazed that that was the closest they came to violence that evening. So many people, all of them with emotions running high, all of them immortals with power untold that had been checked in some fashion for a long time.