“What side?” I ask.
“West,” Vlad rumbles.
“Then we take the fight to them. If we’re lucky, the falling snow will camouflage the cave and make it harder for them to find our children,” I say.
“Then let’s go,” Theo says. “They have a lot of Bears this time. I can feel the pounding of their feet.”
“That isn’t what I’m concerned about,” Clarissa snarls.
“What is it?” I ask.
She turns her eyes to me, and I can see the first shred of worry fill them. Her nostrils flare, and I can swear I see tears in her eyes. I cock my head and sheath my sword, hoping that my backing down will aid her in her ability to talk.
Then, Sebastian sniffs the air.
“Toshi,” he growls.
“Toshi’s with them,” Clarissa rumbles.
“Is he hurt? Is that something you can tell?” I ask.
“We have to get going if we’re going to take the fight to them,” Theo bellows.
“We have to protect their children,” Vlad says. “I’ll stay here and fend off the cave.”
“If they see you here they’ll know it’s here,” I say.
I watch as Vlad buries himself into a snow embankment on the side. He immerses himself in the snow, wiggling around until he’s fully covered. Even with his dark fur and his beady eyes, I can’t even tell he’s there.
It’s like he’s completely disappeared.
“Come on,” Sebastian says. “Let’s go.”
“What will we do about Kyle?” I ask.
Clarissa whips her head over to me before her eyes drift to the cottage. I watch her turn her body toward it, and my brow furrows. I can see the same confusion clouding Theo and Sebastian’s vision. As I look behind me, I can see Vlad peeking out with unanswered questions running behind his angry eyes.
Clarissa takes a few steps toward the cottage before she takes off. But Sebastian leaps in front of her. He growls, baring his teeth, and Clarissa challenges him. The two of them grow until they can’t grow any larger, then Sebastian stands on his haunches and brings his paws down on Clarissa’s shoulders. He pins her to the ground, and she squirms around, whimpering and biting at his ankles.
I don’t know how, but I can tell the two of them are talking.
Even if I can’t hear anything.
“Telepathy,” Theo bellows.
“Huh?” I asked.
“Telepathy. It’s how they’re talking.”
“How did you—?”
“Humans are easy to read. You stay alive long enough, you learn in order to blend in,” he says.
I watch as Clarissa lays against the ground, her pregnant stomach resting against the cool snow. Steam is rising from her Primal form. Sebastian is making her cool off. Theo takes off to the West, bounding through the village to get to the army of Primals coming at us. Sebastian nods me off, pointing his head in the direction of Theo.
“Don’t be too long,” I say. “This is your mess to clean up.”
I run to the edge of the woods and get a quarter of a mile in before the battle rages on. But soon, I see Clarissa flying through the air. Diving directly into the middle of the troops pushing against us as Theo tosses them about. My men are slashing their swords and spilling blood to avenge the men that have fallen around our city. Avenging the ghosts that will now haunt our cottages and our gardens as their souls frantically fight a war they are destined to fight forever. That is the belief of our village. How someone dies is how they live in their afterlife.