Page 2 of Fangs
Wolf packed up his rifle, slung it over his back, and exited the rock quarry. The sun had begun to set, bathing the entire desert in a beautiful orange and pink, the blistering heat dropping to something pleasant. He traced his footsteps back out of habit, careful not to leave tracks. He loved hunting and wasn’t bragging when he said he was good at it. He was the best hunter in Carth despite being one of the youngest. When he hunted, everything just made sense. There was nothing but him and the desert, the hunter and the prey.
Carth came into view, and he admired how the warm, reddish-brown adobe wall and houses blended into the desert landscape like camouflage. Inside the wall, the dwellings were stacked on top of each other like towers of blocks, and from a distance, the terraced formation almost looked like rolling hills. As he neared, the homes disappeared behind the twelve-foot wall that towered over him. He greeted the guards at the gate, swallowing his urge to snap a terse reply when they teased him for coming back empty-handed again.
He was winding through the narrow streets and thinking about the dinner waiting for him when he heard her scream.
He knew it was Em—knew it in the same unexplainable way he knew how to find whatever prey he tracked. He started running, his heart in his throat. She kept screaming, and he felt a tiny flash of pride. He’d taught her that. Scream as loud as you can. Don’t stop, even if it seems like no one is coming. His one act of blatant disobedience was teaching her to fight. For months now, he’d gotten her up before dawn and taught her not just the moves and footwork but all the dirty tricks she could use to make up for her small stature. The raiders often stole young girls and women to sell as slaves or whores. He’d heard the stories. The raiders taking her was one of his worst fears, and he was willing to risk a public caning if it meant she could defend herself.
It couldn’t be a raider, though, because her screams were coming from high above on the roofs. One of Em’s common transgressions was climbing onto the private roofs of the upper class and running and jumping across them like they were her own personal playground. Wolf scrambled up a set of broken pallets and grabbed the balcony above, hauling himself up to reach the next one. Someone inside the house shrieked, and he grimaced. He’d deal with that later. Right now, he needed to get to Em.
By the time he got to the roof, he was sick with panic and adrenaline. He followed the sound of her panicked screams at a sprint, dreading what he was about to find, but nothing—nothing—could have prepared him for what he saw. Em was crouched over a body, and the metallic tang of blood filled the air. As he got closer, he realized with a sickening bolt of horror it was Dune. Dune lay on his back with one hand clutching his bloody gut and the other trying to push Em away. He was screaming, too, but weakly.
“No! Stop! Please stop, Em! Stop!"
Everything slowed as his feet pounded across the hard-baked clay roof, and he scanned the horrible scene. Dune’s terrified eyes cut to him. One of Pa’s knives lay bloody and discarded on the roof next to Ember. Blood formed a puddle beneath his brother’s body and splattered across the roof as Dune raised his bloodied hands and tried to smack Em’s hands away. Dune’s lips formed Wolf’s name, and Em’s head swiveled to look at him.
Wolf crashed to his knees beside them, shouldering Em out of the way and pressing his own hands against the wound—no, gods—the giantgashin Dune’s gut.
“What happened? What did you do?” he screamed at both of them. When neither answered him, he glanced from the blood gushing between his fingers to his little sister beside him. The fear and theguiltin her eyes felt like a knife to his own heart. “Em, what did you do!”
“Wolf!” Dune choked out, his voice a horrible gurgling noise. “Help me.”
Wolf’s gaze snapped back to his brother, and he stared, horrified at the death creeping into those familiar blue eyes. He’d seen death fill the glassy eyes of dying deer and rabbits and antelope after he killed them. He knew Dune was dying, even as he began shaking his head, trying to deny the truth in front of him.
“No, Dune! Dune!” He was sobbing now, his carefully made plans for emergencies scattered to the wind. He didn’t know what to do.He didn’t know what to do!
Dune cut his eyes back to Em, but the fear that flashed across them didn’t fade. He gave one more shuddering breath and went still, his blue eyes open and staring at their ten-year-old little sister. Wolf followed his gaze, his entire body going numb with shock. Em still knelt beside him as though frozen, staring at Dune with tears rolling down her face.
“Ember!” Wolf barked, and her eyes shot up to meet his.
Again, he couldn’t deny the horribleguiltfilling her green eyes. He gasped in a breath to demand answers, but she bolted to her feet andran.
It was something like instinct that had him scrambling up after her. It sure as hell wasn’t his brain. His head seemed to go quiet and empty, like when he trailed his prey. She was fast, but his legs were much longer, and he caught up to her in just a few strides. He tackled her to the rooftop, not even feeling the pain as his arm scraped against the rough surface. She fought him like a panicked animal.
“What did you do! What did you do to Dune?” he screamed and pinned her to the ground.
She stared up at him with wide, terrified eyes, her tiny chest heaving with sobs, but she didn’t say a single fucking word.
If her behavior is not curbed, it will only grow worse.
“Emmy!"
He heard people coming, shouts and footsteps pounding across the roof toward them.
“What did you do!”
You must understand, Wolf. If you allow Ember’s willful spirit to fester, it will corrupt her very soul, and she will be forever lost.
Wolf wasn’t sure who pulled them apart, but he started fighting to keep them from ripping his sister away. For a moment, he wasn’t sure if he was trying to protect Em or to force answers from her with his own two hands. Then the enforcers were there, black robes billowing as they walked and faces hidden behind their black helmets, and everything seemed terriblyreal.
The enforcers hauled Em away without even speaking a word. She sobbed, but she didn’t fight or scream. Maybe she also felt that heavy weight of reality sinking in. One of the inquisitors in his deep blue robes told him they were taking her to lockup. Hands patted his shoulders, and concerned voices asked him questions, but he pushed past them to walk back and crouch beside Dune’s body. The gash in Dune’s stomach was long and deep. He’d taught Em to aim for the gut, to stab and jerk the knife through as many vital organs as possible. She’d always been a good student.
He stood and numbly walked to an empty corner, where he heaved up the contents of his stomach.
Wolf wasn’t sure how much time passed before Pa arrived. He didn’t notice until a heavy hand clapped on his shoulder, startling him. Pa stared at Dune, and pain etched into his face for a moment before it disappeared under the carefully crafted mask of the councilman. The crowd thinned upon Pa’s arrival, and Wolf didn’t blame them. Pa cut an intimidating figure on a good day. He was tall and broad, and his greying blond hair made him look anything but feeble. When he spoke, his voice was like quiet steel.
“What happened?” It wasn’t a question so much as a demand.
Wolf recounted everything he’d seen, realizing an inquisitor was recording the information. Several more inquisitors crouched and lifted Dune’s body when he finished. Wolf had a sudden insane urge to lunge forward and rip Dune’s body out of their gloved hands, but he swallowed it, watching them disappear with dry eyes.
