Lexi was growing to hate the dark.
As a young pup, she'd feared it. It represented all things mysterious, all unknowns, all unfamiliarities, everything she knew nothing of. You never knew what was lurking in the dark, and that was what made it so unnerving.
Now, she knew exactly what hid in the darkness, and she despised that knowledge.
A Flamewylf had earlier lit a lamp above their heads, hanging down in a spiral from the lab's roof, just as dusk had begun to set in. Night had since taken a firm hold, and while the flame illuminated enough for Lexi to scan her immediate surroundings and make out Storm's pacing form, there were still far too many shadows for her liking.
Unlike Storm, who hadn't stood still since the sun had set, Lexi's paws were set rigidly just outside the door to her lab. It gave her the best view of the plaza, patched with light, as well as allowing her to sweep her gaze both in the direction of the Wylfire headquarters and the scroll storage.
It was the latter where she fixed her stare now. The scrolls were what she and Storm had been assigned to guard - or, at least, to watch and alert the nearby Wylfire if any dark shapes approached. It made perfect sense to Lexi. Enclosed within that storage room was everything they knew, or had known in the past, about Shadewylves. It documented every shred of history possible that hadn't already been destroyed. If they had any smarts at all, the Shadewylves would certainly realise that the destruction of that knowledge would give them a far better element of surprise.
Lexi's chest tied itself in knots over the thought. If it was certain they would come here, then it was certain she would have to fight them again.
And if Toivo showed up, she'd have to fight him too.
Gritting her teeth, she flicked her tail with unnecessary force, whacking it into the lab's side. Her paws itched as her heart thrummed with anxiety. It was part of the reason she'd chosen to stay here. If she began pacing, she'd never stop.
She could only hope that Toivo wouldn't be deemed responsible enough for such a task. Or maybe he'd refuse to. Maybe he'd stand up to them and tell them that he wouldn't fight his old town, because it was wrong. So, so wrong.
She released a quiet sigh. It was futile hope, but she clung to it. Calder had told her to have faith in Toivo, and she was doing her best to follow that advice. He wasn't a bad wolf. He never had been. She had to believe that in the end, he would do the right thing.
Her eyes drifted to the sky. She'd noticed Angel pass over the labs a couple of times already tonight, looping as she searched for danger. Though the Airewylf's fur blended perfectly with the starry blanket, her white wings were easy to make out when you looked properly. Streaks of brightness against a dark backdrop.
A frown creased her snout. It had been a little while since Angel's last appearance, however. Could she have run into trouble? Had the night's battle already begun in another part of town, with Lexi helpless to stop it?
She cast a glance at Storm, and slowly shook her head. Such worries were pointless, even if they were warranted. Perhaps she'd merely been looking elsewhere when Angel last passed over. Or maybe the fearful chill of night was making the moments drag on longer than usual.
Tongue flicking over her fangs, she glanced back towards the plaza. The other side was cloaked in velvet black; she could barely even make out the stage at its centre, where Toivo had first appeared with his troublesome Pelt. The Chroma Pool's swirls were darkened, so that they seemed from here to be various shades of grey and silver rather than the bright colour they usually were.
Lexi shivered. She'd never believed in ghosts, but she was beginning to fear them regardless.
Perhaps Shadewylves themselves were ghosts. According to what Storm had discovered, there was a possibility that at least some of them had the power to become invisible. Stalking enemies, even the glow of their eyes hidden from view, impossible to anticipate.
Maybe she shouldn't have agreed to standing guard out here.
Another look towards the sky, and then to Storm, and then back to the plaza. Everything remained the same, as still and silent as it had been all night. Too quiet. Far, far too quiet.
I should walk over to Storm, she thought, glancing at the sky again. There was still no sign of Angel. At least we could talk about something. Anything but this suffocating silence.
She should have been more careful with what she wished for.
A howl ripped through the air, jolting Lexi forwards, causing a golden spark to leap between her paws. Her eyes shot to Storm. Her friend had finally stopped pacing, and now stood frozen, her eyes wide and ears pulled back.
The howl cut out, but not before Lexi could trace its source. It came not from the bleached plaza, but from behind, amongst the streets. Amongst the houses. The street to her far left, the one she'd tracked countless times, where residents she knew all too well lived in peace.
Tonight that peace was shattered.
At first, Lexi didn't even notice that she was moving. It felt like a dream, a nightmare, one filled with endless running as cries echoed ahead. Too far ahead. She was sure she'd had that dream before. But this wasn't a dream. This was real, and she needed to run faster.
Lightning spiralled inside her, condensing in her limbs. She sped past Storm, and skidded around the corner, leaving the lab behind. She entered the mouth of her own street.
With every step, she begged for the battle to appear. For the Shadewylves to be attacking some other place. Any other house. Anyone but them.
But nothing appeared, and with every desperate gallop she drew closer to the place her parents slept.
Until they did appear. Illuminated by a sweep of lamplight, a battle was deep in motion. Slices of shadow tainted with the sparking swipe of claws. Three Earthwylves stood against them, so that one of them tackled a wolf each. Scars bit deep into one of the brown wolves, but the other two were cleaner, less used to battle.
That was why the Shadewylves were winning.
That was why Lexi had to help.
Briefly finding a pause in her fight, Katana glanced up, locking eyes with Lexi's approaching form. She said nothing, but her expression was clear. I don't want to drag you in to this, but I need your help. I can't protect them alone.
Whether she had that reassurance or not, Lexi would have flung herself at them anyway. There was no way in all Sylvera she was leaving her parents to fight alone.
Lightning zipped down her paws as she leaped, tracing a high arc in the air. It found a home in the wolf her mother fought, sending a jolt through the Shadewylf's body and forcing it to the ground.
They writhed together, Lexi using every ounce of strength she could muster, but the Shadewylf was stronger. He shoved her sideways so that they rolled, her being pressed against the earth. She barely even had a chance to fight back, however, before a brown paw collided with the Shadewylf. It pushed him away with a clean swipe, lifting the weight on her chest. Lexi sprung to her paws, shoulders tensed as she stood ready at her mother's side.
"You shouldn't have come, Lex," her mother said darkly, shooting Lexi a glance. "Get somewhere safe." But her brave words didn't hide the glimmer in her eyes, the one that was grateful to be standing beside her daughter.
Lexi offered her mother a grim smile. "Only when you're safe."
Her mother pushed the Shadewylf down, and she stepped in to send a bolt of lightning to form a golden web over his black fur before vanishing within and digging into his limbs. Together, they could do this.
The Shadewylf slashed his claws, forcing her to jump back to avoid her chest being sliced to ribbons. But before she could launch back in to help her mother, another black shape flew from behind a tree, forcing her to roll out of the way, further from both of her parents.
This one was bigger, heavier, and pushed Lexi to the ground with ease. She struggled, attempting to extract herself sideways when pushing upwards proved pointless, but the wolf's grip was fiercely tight. Her claws felt like pup's playthings as she flung them helplessly at the Shadewylf. She was trapped, and the more she struggled, the more her shoulders ached from the tightening grip.
A low growl slipped from her throat. She wasn't going to lose like this. Narrowing her gaze, she focused hard, and then with a burst of strength latched her claws into the Shadewylf's leg. It lasted barely a second before the strike was forced away, but the contact was long enough for a streak of lightning to shoot from her claws and disappear beneath a veil of black fur.
The wolf's paw jerked back, and Lexi rolled away, a clump of fur left behind as the wolf lunged to grab her. She bounded far enough away, then whirled around to face her opponent, trying to steady her breathing.
The Shadewylf was far stronger than her. She couldn't win this fight alone. Her gaze swept the street, but each of the others were engaged in a battle of their own, of no help to her. Claws pierced her heart as she noticed Katana stumble back from a powerful swipe. They dug deeper as she noticed that her father's flank was striped with scarlet.
But she could do nothing to help them either. The Shadewylf she fought was barreling towards her, lips curling back to reveal deadly fangs. Tensing, Lexi kept her gaze steady, ready to jump aside at the last moment. She'd heard that worked with larger opponents. But reading about it in the old war scrolls was far less petrifying.
Yet before the Shadewylf could reach her, they were jolting sideways, shuddering from the impact of electric sparks. Ones not of Lexi's doing.
A streak of gold had come to her rescue. Storm tackled the Shadewylf downwards while they were stunned, more lightning coiling around her paws. A small smile tugging at her snout, Lexi raced over.
Her claws slashed a line across the Shadewylf's snout, producing a hiss of pain. Her next strike was blocked, but Storm managed to land a blow in her place. With the wolf trying to fight their way off the ground rather than Lexi, the battle felt so much easier.
But it couldn't last. Victory never lasted on the battlefield, not in Lexi's experience.
The first sign was the glint in the wolf's eyes, and the tension that Lexi felt as she shoved at their shoulders. The second was the black paw that appeared in the corner of her vision, moving too quickly to duck, holding too much strength to fight.
It made contact with her flank, and suddenly she was flying sideways, her winded yelp failing to prevent her from crashing into Storm beside her. They were both thrown against the compacted dirt, landing in a tangled heap.
Behind them, the wolf rose, and their advantage ended.
They scrambled to their paws to face the fight again, neither of them ready. Storm's paws were trembling. Yet still Lexi felt her lean across as they both stood upright, standing just a step in front of Lexi, showing no sign of backing down. She had always admired Storm, but today she seemed more impressive than ever.
Still, Lexi slid forwards to close the distance, standing level with Storm. She wasn't going to be protected, not anymore. She knew how to fight, and even if they were destined to lose, she wasn't going to back away and hide again.
Her eyes roamed the street. Both her mother and father were coping with their battles - neither of them showing any signs of overpowering their opponents, but they were still going, and that was all Lexi needed. For them to hang on a little longer, until she could open a path out of this chaos.
She was just sliding her attention back to the wolf they fought when she caught sight of Katana. The Earthwylf was pinned firmly beneath black paws. Her squirms were weaker than they should have been, and her eyes were far too unfocused. Fangs were reaching for her neck.
"So long, Earthwylf," the Shadewylf snarled, and with a shiver, Lexi recognised the voice.
As the big Shadewylf charged, Lexi dived aside, leaving Storm alone. Her aid was needed elsewhere. She cast a glance back to make sure Storm was okay - she had swung away and slashed at the Shadewylf's paws - before leaping towards Katana's attacker.
Lexi caught the Shadewylf by surprise, and so her claws managed to find a home. A line of blood opened up. They both toppled to the ground, Lexi pushing hard to keep herself on top, a jolt of electricity pinning the wolf down.
She glanced hurriedly back. However much she willed it so, Katana did not rise. Her eyes had slid closed now, and if she was twitching, they weren't large enough for Lexi to notice.
Claws reached up to slice at Lexi's snout. She dodged sideways and pushed hard, pinning the Shadewylf beneath her.
"Get off me, Thunderwylf." The Shadewylf's growl was smooth and silky, distinctly feminine, but with a coarse edge that matched the sharpness in her eyes. This was Zarola, one of the three hunters who had almost found her and Toivo out in the forest. Lexi had expected the battle to be a little more difficult, but Katana's efforts must have taken something out of Zarola, and when Lexi looked again at her chest she realised that her claws had dug deeper than she'd thought.
"Not a chance," she hissed back, planting her hind paws firmly on Zarola's stomach and forcing her downwards with all her weight. Then, leaning forward, she laid her claws across Zarola's neck, perfectly placed for a killing swipe.
The glare in Zarola's eyes faded, just a little, as fear dilated her pupils. She glanced left, searching for help. Lexi followed her gaze.
She barely contained the flinch as she recognised yet another of those hunters, though this wolf brought with him another wave of chills. Deimos' yellow eyes flashed as he stepped back from one of Lexi's mother's strikes, his fangs flashing into a smile of twisted delight. The same look he'd given her the moment before his claws struck her side and gave her a first taste of battle's pain.
But Lexi wasn't a scared pup lost in the woods anymore. She was a fighter, and one with a wolf's life pinned beneath her claws. Checking that Zarola was still secured beneath her, she raised her head and stared straight at Deimos.
"Deimos!" she called out, something of a hidden smile lacing her tone. Both he and her mother paused, eyes locking onto her. She didn't let herself wince as those yellow eyes pierced into her. He would not beat her again. "Look what I have!"
There was a moment's pause as her words sunk in. Deimos' gaze drifted to Zarola's neck, and his eyes widened. A flicker of fear, not as well-hidden as it should have been, zapped across them.
"Leave her alone," he growled, but there was a quiver there. The same quiver she remembered hearing when Toivo had first used his powers.
Lexi cocked her head to the side, adjusting her grip as Zarola squirmed beneath her. "How about this," she said, losing her original playfulness. It had no place in such a scenario. "You and your friends leave my parents alone, and I'll leave her alone. That way, nobody dies." She shrugged. "Keep fighting, and I'll kill her."
She wasn't sure if that promise was true. Killing a wolf was hardly a desirable concept, Shadewylf or otherwise. But she hoped the conviction in her threat was enough to sway him.
For the briefest second, the fear remained. He looked genuinely afraid of her. He looked ready to agree.
Then something else flooded out to cover it. His eyes gleamed. "Your parents, you say?"
Lexi didn't have time to react. One moment, her mother was stood watching, eyes darting between them, shoulders tensed. The next she was being thrown to the ground, the movement so swift it was impossible to track, and Deimos was on top of her.
And his claws were resting on her neck.
A smile danced onto his snout as he mirrored her tilted head. "Two can play at that game."
Lexi's breath hitched. She met her mother's eyes. They were narrowed, fierce even beside the terror of approaching death, willing her to do the right thing. Her mother's life didn't matter. What mattered more was Lexi's own life, and keeping the town safe.
She realised that no fighting was taking place anymore. All had turned their way to watch this face-off take place. Her father took a step forward, then stumbled back, his paws shaking. His gaze was unmoving in its rest on her mother.
Lexi tightened her grip on Zarola's neck. She fixed her mother with a hardened gaze, pressing her fangs together. I love you, she whispered, hoping the words were legible in her expression. Your advice has always been superior to any other. But I can't do what you say. I can't do the right thing.
Killing a wolf opened a void in her chest. Watching her mother die only widened it, swallowing her heart. If both of those things came in a package, she chose to do neither.
She looked down at Zarola, a hiss building at the back of her throat. But that was as far as her aggression could go. She took a step back, then another, her hind paws making contact with the earth. Her claws slid away from Zarola's neck.
"Alright," she said slowly, voice heavy with shame. Her one heroic move had failed, and so badly. She dared to look up at Deimos, trying to conjure again her fierceness in glare. "You win."
"Good." Deimos' eyes glinted their brightest yellow yet. "I love to win."
He leaned backwards, retreating from her mother's neck. Relief, temporarily shoving away the cold doubt, rose to the surface within Lexi. She waited, breath held, unsure of how to progress.
In one swift swoop, Deimos suddenly lunged forward, claws flashing out. But his paws never cleared the ground. Instead of leaping towards Lexi, he dived down to restore his grip on his current victim.
Her mother flinched, trying to roll sideways. But she couldn't. There wasn't time. It was quick, too quick, so suddenly quick.
Claws sank into her neck, and there would never be time again.
Lexi lost herself after that. It never registered that her mother had just died, right before her eyes. It never registered that she was incredibly outnumbered, and weakened from fighting, and never strong in the first place. All that flooded through her was pure, intense lightning, and it willed her to move. To pounce upwards, and to grab that murderer, and to hold on tight.
Deimos didn't have chance to escape her grip. If her mother had suffered quickly, then so would he.
Something impossibly bright seared Lexi's eyes. Fire screamed in her veins. A shrieking, desperate cry shuddered from beneath her. Deimos' voice, but destroyed, mangled, turned to something that felt only the pain it deserved.
Then it ended, and Lexi fell, silence heavy within her.
It took several seconds of blinking before the sheet of light fell from her eyes, and she could see again, though the world was still painted in faint blurs. Her whole body shook, and though she tried to still her limbs, they were caught in an eternal movement as the fiery heat within them hissed away. She blinked again, and squinted, making out two streaks of shuddering gold. Her paws, barely stable enough to support her.
The ground below them was midnight black. It shook along with her paws, the spasms beating in time. A curl of smoke seemed to coil away, but it could have merely been a smudge of grey leaking into her shaky vision.
Or it could have been a result of the scorched skin that smouldered beneath the carpet of black.
Something locked around her hind leg, tugging her backwards. She staggered along with it. A shout of, "Run!" sliced through the tangle of nothingness filling her mind, and she obeyed, her sprint riddled with tripping steps. But she was running, following the wolf of gold that led her on.
Lightning didn't surge through her, not anymore. Emptiness replaced it. She ran on nothing but raw instinct, and even that felt frayed. Her paws still shook.
Her lightning had implanted itself in another. Death filled its absent spark.
Her mother was dead, and for Deimos, the cost was dear.