//------------------------------// // 641 - The Lone Wolf // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// Watching Bolverk slowly choke to death was more satisfying than Solvei had thought it would be. In front of her, the brawny wolf was struggling to remain upright, his breath coming in wheezing gasps as his claws dug uselessly at his necklace. Even as Solvei watched, he scratched bloody grooves into the thick skin of his neck, trying to get purchase around the ever-contracting wire before it cut his air off completely. The reward for his effort was another strangled inhalation, barely managing to breathe in for a half-second before his labored intake of air ended abruptly. A glance to the side showed Solvei that the rest of her family was staring at the spectacle as well, watching Bolverk’s drawn-out strangulation with expressions ranging from amazement to grim vindication. Those were emotions that she could relate to; Bolverk had always been an intimidating wolf, not just because he was big and ugly, but because he lived out in the wilds all alone. For Solvei, the smallest of her parents’ children, being alone and without a pack was something to be feared, akin to death. It hadn’t been for nothing that most of the stories that her father had told them – the stories handed down by their ancestors – had been about working together and staying loyal to their pack. But when Bolverk had come back for the final time, he’d used that togetherness against the rest of her family. He’d spread the sickness he’d gotten from the Red Man to the others, using his position as alpha to stamp out all dissent. Worse, he’d announced his plan to attack the ponies, disregarding the wisdom that their grandfather had died to learn. And that wasn’t even the worst of it, she growled as she watched Bolverk’s eyes grow more bloodshot, his tongue hanging out as the necklace tightened further. He refused to face me himself when I challenged him, as our ancestors dictated. He threatened to let my family starve if they didn’t help him. And he actually used FIRE! After all the terrible things Bolverk had done, it was only fitting that his end would be slow and painful like this. “That will kill him, right?” Tilting her head, she glanced at the black shadow with the glowing eyes that was Lex. “It won’t stop until he’s dead?” Lex gave her only a brief glance before looking back at Bolverk. “It should continue to shrink for roughly ten minutes,” he answered, his voice calm and emotionless. “After that, the instructions built into the necklace’s magical channels should reassert themselves, and it will resume its original functionality. But by that point, he should be deceased.” Solvei heaved a sigh at that, relieved to hear that this was indeed the end of Bolverk. “How did you know you could make that thing he’s wearing do that? It was something to do with your seidr, right?” The question was a wistful one, as she found herself wishing that her father – who, if Lex was correct, had been a seidrmadr himself – had figured out how to turn Bolverk’s secret weapon against him. If Lex noticed the forlorn tone in her voice, he didn’t react to it. “His necklace didn’t tear whenever he pulled a bead off,” he explained. “Instead, it rejoined itself, adjusting its size so that it remained taut around his neck. Figuring out that I could simply override its operating parameters, causing it to behave as though it were continually having beads removed and contracting accordingly, was eas-” “NNNNNNNNRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!” Bolverk’s sudden roar cut Lex off, making Solvei – along with the rest of her family – jump as he suddenly redoubled his efforts to save himself. Pressing his wings against the floor in order to keep his balance, he lifted both forelegs to his neck, putting both claws to the necklace as he dug at it with all of his strength. His muscles rippled with effort, veins throbbing as he again clawed at his own neck in an effort to procure a hold on the shrinking collar…and this time Solvei could see the bloodied tips of his claws curl around the edge of it, pulling it ever-so-slightly upward. Lex apparently noticed it too, because in an instant the necklace was surrounded with an aura of churning violet as he struggled to pull it back down. Bolverk didn’t even seem to notice his efforts, straining for all he was worth as he dragged the necklace further up, this time to where his neck met his jawbone. “Solvei, go!” Unlike before, there was audible strain in Lex’s voice now. But Solvei barely noticed, instead feeling a sudden surge of strength and vitality spread through her, recognizing it as the seidr he’d used on her before so that she’d have the power to fight her family. “I’ve restored your combat enhancements! Kill him now!” “R-right!” Fighting off her surprise at how Bolverk’s seemingly-assured death was suddenly in doubt, Solvei rushed forward, hoping to lock her jaws around her enemy’s neck a second time. Even if I can’t tear his throat out, I can at least prevent him from taking that thing off before it kills him! But Bolverk didn’t give her a chance to make good on that. Despite the fact that he was low on air and devoting all of his strength to pulling the necklace off before it killed him, he still managed to react to the sound of her paws rushing toward him across the stones, instincts forged from hundreds of solitary hunts kicking in and causing him to roll away from her, sweeping his wings out wide. It didn’t accomplish much – for all that Bolverk was a large wolf, the bones in his wings were still slender, and the membrane itself was thin – but it was enough to keep her teeth away from his throat, forcing her to brush aside the leathery curtains and buying him a few more seconds to try and free himself from the deathtrap squeezing his neck. Just a little further now… “Oh no you don’t!” snarled Solvei. With his wings out of the way, she had a clear shot at his neck, and nothing was going to keep her from it, jaws wide as she leaped forward. That was when Bolverk did the last thing she was expecting. Bolverk knew that he was about to die. His vision had already grown hazy, his lungs felt like they were on fire, his limbs were gradually losing feeling, and Solvei was right in his face, ready to either rip him to pieces with the power that her spirit had given her or simply prevent him from taking off the accursed necklace that was choking him. Either one would be the death of him; he could either pry her jaws apart the way he had before, or he could keep tugging at the necklace. He couldn’t do both, which meant that no matter what happened, this was the end. If he’d been able to breathe at that moment, he would have laughed. How many times had he been here? How many times had he stared death in the face, fighting for his life against the creatures of the wild? How many times had he been in situations where he should have died, only to pull through, not because he had some spirits giving him special powers, but because he was too tough, too strong, and too stubborn to give up? He’d long since lost count. With his father having gotten himself and most of the rest of his pack killed by the ponies, Bolverk had been hunting almost as soon as he’d been able to walk. Food needed to be procured, for himself and his runt of a brother and their mother, who’d been lamed by the ponies and grew progressively more crippled with each passing year. So he’d hunted alone, with no help from anyone, putting his life on the line while Frode had stayed behind and listened to their mother’s useless old stories. Every fight had been a lesson. Whether it had been something simple like learning to stay upwind of prey, or something more complex like luring them into a stream and then using his breath weapon to freeze the water around their legs, he’d become a better and deadlier hunter, able to see paths to victory against any enemy. Like the one he saw right now. Solvei was lunging forward, jaws wide open, going for the kill. It was an amateur move, one that committed all of her momentum to the attack, clearly thinking that she didn’t need to worry about protecting herself. After all, she had power from her spirit ally, and he was too busy trying not to choke to death. It must have looked like an easy win to her. But as she got to within a few inches of him, Bolverk lowered his head – putting his face right in front of hers – and put all of his remaining strength into pulling on the necklace. He could already feel it giving way, and as it reached the back of his head, he knew he’d be able to slip it off of himself…and then follow through on the motion and slide it around Solvei’s neck. Judging from the look of surprise and horror blooming across her face, she’d realized it too. Stupid runt, he sneered inwardly. You’re just like Frode, thinking that you can borrow strength from a spirit to make up for your own weakness. But when both of us have spirits, the victor is the one with more experience, and that’s me! “I…win…” he rasped, lips twisting into a cruel smirk. He could already see Solvei trying to twist in place, muscles curling to abort her ill-considered charge, but there was no way for her to change her direction in time. With one last surge of effort, Bolverk heaved the necklace up, putting the last of his strength into it as he pulled it to the top of his neck- And hit an obstruction. “No,” announced the spirit Solvei had called Lex, his glowing eyes locked onto Bolverk as his formless body floated forward. “I win!” What’s happening?! Barely noticing as Solvei fell back, Bolverk felt a sudden surge of panic fall over him as he couldn’t pull the necklace over his head, the motion blocked no matter how frantically he tried. A second later his final burst of effort was expended, and he felt the wire dig harshly into his throat again, cutting off the small amount of air he’d been able to draw in. What’s happening?! Collapsing to the ground, he didn’t bother getting up, instead glancing back as he put his claws to his neck, blood running cold as he realized that he could feel something else there now, encircling his throat like a collar. It was hard and unyielding, more so than stone, but its surface was as smooth as ice, without being cold. From the edge of his vision, he could see that it was pure black, with smooth edges and facets, almost like crystal. Recognition fell over Bolverk then, recalling what Turid had told him yesterday, about how the pony seidrmadr had created black crystals from nothing before giving Solvei the power to drive them off. He’d thought little of it at the time – they’d only mentioned creating small spikes from the ground and walls, which were of little concern even to weaker wolves like them – and had promptly forgotten about it. But the pony, or spirit, or whatever he was, called Lex hadn’t forgotten. That this was his own fault wasn’t something Bolverk could accept, however. No! I didn’t make a mistake! This is wrong! he howled silently as he saw white paws pad in front of his field of vision. I’m the strongest now! The alpha! I have a spirit that’s more powerful than any of Frode’s! I’m supposed to win! It was the same perversion of the natural order all over again. His brother, the little runt who couldn’t even hunt for himself, had always been the one enemy he’d never been able to defeat, and now his runt daughter had inherited that legacy… “It’s over, Bolverk.” In front of his eyes, Solvei leaned down, her expression as cold as the snow her fur resembled. “Now you’ll answer to our ancestors for what you’ve done.” Bolverk tried to stand up then, but there was no strength in his legs anymore. He tried to call out to the Red Man, hoping he’d appear out of nowhere the way he usually did, but when he opened his mouth not even a whisper escaped. He tried to flap his wings, hoping to at least fly back and put some distance between himself and his enemies, but all he managed to do was make them twitch feebly. And when Solvei’s teeth filled his vision a moment later, there was nothing he could do but close his eyes and hope that dying wouldn’t hurt too much.