Sinking into a crouch, he hissed at the wolf. They didn't even flinch.
"Attack me, Toivo," the wolf said slowly, making Toivo's ears prick with recognition, "and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day."
"Perhaps I'd prefer that, Deimos," he growled back, though he let his muscles relax. The threat had been half-hearted, anyway. The time for fighting had passed.
With a shrug, Deimos slipped through the gap in the wall that the crash had opened and paced a semi-circle around him. Toivo resumed his own pacing, so that together they formed a full rounded shape, remaining opposite each other as they moved.
"Did you do that?" Toivo asked quietly, flicking his tail towards the wide crack. It was supposed to come out demanding, but his voice faltered.
Deimos paused, though his paws kept stepping. "Oh, the rock?" he said after a moment of thought. "No, that was Faye. Our Glitterwylf comrade." He chuckled. "You really do know so little about what you are."
"I know enough," Toivo said tightly. "I can feel the evil inside me." It felt strange to admit it, but he hoped it worked as an attack on Deimos too. This was a wolf who'd given in to that fear. "But I won't be like you. I don't want to use it."
"The evil?" This time, Deimos' chuckle was a full laugh, enough to make him stop pacing. Toivo stopped as well, head tipping to the side. "That's just Shadow, Toivo. It feels the same as any Pelt power - Thunder, Aire, you name it." He flashed his fangs in a grin. "Well, not quite the same, you're right. Shadow is different. But it's that difference that makes us special - and the most powerful."
Growling, Toivo shook his head. "I don't want to be special. Not in this way."
Deimos just sighed. "You can't change who you are, Toivo." His eyes flashed. "In fact, your power seems rather strong. Not only exerting such a deep fear, but able to manipulate it enough so that I couldn't track its source? I have to say, I am rather impressed."
"I just wanted you to go away." Toivo was grinding out the words now, his heart racing, hind legs tensed and ready to pounce. He was fighting the urge to strike down this evil wolf, the wolf that could have killed Lexi if he hadn't got there in time. "I wanted to save Lexi. Instead that power got to her too." Taking a deep breath, he tried to draw himself up, aware of how small his crouch made him. "I never want to use it again."
"But you will. The Shadow doesn't like being trapped." A smile curved Deimos' snout. "How is Lexi, by the way? Send her my love - oh yes, I forgot. You're never going to see her again."
That was it. With a snarling cry, Toivo pushed upwards, ready to stretch out his claws.
But all his body did was stumble.
Something raked his heart, chilling his fiery rage, freezing his paws. His breathing suddenly sounded so much louder. Gasping, he stared at Deimos' bright eyes, feeling himself shrink in terror.
He was just a pup. What could he do against such a powerful opponent?
It took him several frozen seconds before he realised what Deimos was doing. But even then he couldn't fight it. Everything the fear whispered in his mind was true.
"But this is what makes me powerful," Deimos said. "I can control the Shadow, use it for my own wills, whenever I choose. And so much more efficiently."
Toivo didn't have an answer. He searched for the same feeling he'd gotten when the hunters came, or when the Icewylf attacked him. But Deimos masked it all. How could he fight this? He didn't even know how it worked.
But I have to try.
"You're just a small, helpless little pup, aren't you?" Deimos' voice was a jeering whisper, mocking, growing louder as he crept closer. "How could you ever think you could be a hero? You're nothing but a failure."
YOU ARE READING
Shadewylf
FantasyThirty-Four has been awaiting his Pelt all his life. All across the wolf world of Sylvera, others wield magic of all kinds, and he longs for the ability to channel his own power. All around him, mysteries begin to unfold. With eyes watching from the...
25 - Failed
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