The vision provided by the shared link was both a blessing and a burden. Imagine peering through a kaleidoscope at the myriad of ever-ging patterns, while at the same time paying stant attention to your immediate surroundings. Veteran wolf hags and warlords easily handled su obstacle with ease, battling champions and coordinating the advances of their own packs, never once failing to distinguish a distant threat from an immediate danger.

  With her eyes wounded, Kaisa didn’t even try, cutting herself off from the video feed and her sister and Sheeren to oversee the retreat. She and Widowmaker spun, thrust, stabbed and sshed. Both had no qualms about attag a nearby eo for opening, and both tried valiantly to shield their allies. Widowmaker represented a dark mirror in Kaisa’s soul, a less strong, less fast, but far more adept batant with an unparalleled sense of timing. They shared a for their subordinates, but instead ing their souls, it tore them apart.

  Is that me? Kaisa’s lips curled, fangs bared, and Widowmaker hissed, scowling, as the two intensified their exge, abandoning their graceful defense. Was this what I was being? A filth readily w beside monsters willing to harm and ensve cubs? And for what? The thrill of battle? How... pathetic.

  She met a swirling one-handed side ssh head-on and blocked it with one arm, remembering what she had learned from the autopsy performed by Dragena. The hordemen possessed an impressive yer of fat capable of stopping gunshots, and their biology dispersed kiic blows evenly, rendering them nearly immuo blunt trauma from a lesser oppo.

  But as with any New Breed, there was a small price to pay for superiority, and there was a dey, almost minuscule thanks to the khan’s timing, during a full spin, and Kaisa capitalized on that, stopping the bde before it could gain speed ihick vambrad ramming her paw into the space between a pauldron and the armrinning fiercely as she felt the hiss of electricity and the spurt of blood against her fur. She retreated without twisting her paw, driven by a sudden fear, and a long dagger sliced through the joint on her belly, drawing a line on her skin.

  “Yrating on my nerves.” Widowmaker’s long tongue plucked a lodged shard from her head and spat it into the exposed part of Kaisa’s snout. The wolf hag dodged, and Widowmaker closed in, exhaling a white mist and using a dual style. “No idea why. I enjoy this dance. Yet I hate you. Why? How you hate someone you just met?”

  “I despise you,” Kaisa admitted, coughing. A broken rib? No, simple nervousness about the price of losing. She represents important lessons taught to me, learned wrong. “Begone from my world!”

  She snarled, receiving an order from her sister, but silehe stirring objes and fell smoothly into line, dodging shots and m stars. Her legs carried her over the dead, a single kick hurling an open-bellied warrior into the APC for the refugees to help the woma inside.

  Her sister was corre her assessment. A stain on their honor for permitting the Gilded Horde to step on the west through the bridge was insequential and would py into their paws in the long run as the artillery will topple this passage. Separated from their allies, Widowmaker and Svetaker would fall if there was anyo among them capable of stopping them.

  Kaisa had her doubts about this part of the pn.

  “Cubs,” Soulless One had growled twenty seds ago, just before she faced the khan. Impatient One diligently grabbed the little ones and jumped off the edge, hooking to the bottom of the bridge with her legs and walking back to safety.

  Twenty seds. Twenty seds ago, Kaisa had dared to believe that they had a ce.

  Two giants fought in a circle of corpses. Soulless One and Svetaker did not collide, but rather erupted like two voloes, somehow ending up on opposite sides. There was no grace or subtle evasion, just pure, uing aggression realized through the endless attacks. her cared for defense; every ssh and thrust was calcuted to kill, the armor of both batants creaking, ks flying aside as if shot, ahey tinued, being the bea of bloodthirst of this battle.

  Around them was the killing field. Wolfkins and hordemen rolled on the ground, biting, grabbing, shooting. One warrirabbed a bondsman’s head, almost pierg his eyes, and staggered, falling off him, her chest full of holes. The bondsmen helped their ally to his feet, and Kirk shot two of them. A tower shield of an approag hordeman rose to break his neck, and Sheeren stabbed the man in the back. The New Breed shrieked in pain, trying to shake her off, but her paw burrowed its way to his spine n, took hold of it, and pulled the bones out.

  Legends worthy of songs rose and fell otlefield, inspired by the bloodlust of Soulless One and Svetaker. Their swings, punches, and kided with enough force to disable battle tanks; grazing sshes and stabs left wide craters in the ground that sent the batants flying. New Breeds did not die easily, and both sides evacuated their wounded. M stars went up and down, shattering cws, shardguns and rifles fired, jaws snapped, and people died. Over a simple bridge in the middle of nowhere.

  Svetaker smmed a shoulder into Soulless Ohrowing the woman bad instantly crag her breastpte with his cleaver. The shaman didn’t give in; not a whisper escaped her lips, and she stepped on the sver’s leg, blog a kick, and stabbed both paws into his chest, reag the ribs. A headbutt threw her off before the cws could hook. Explosions covered the duo, knog everyone around them aside, and Kaisa blihrough the ringing in her ear, uanding that they had reached the dividing line. She had ordered them to prepare in advance, following Warlrite’s advice to expect the shittiest things to happen.

  e to think of it, Ygrite was right about a lot of things. Kaisa thought as Widowmaker recoiled, toug a burn oemple. Grenade unchers have saved our hides more than oraps are an excellent way to thin out a herd without getting your fangs dirty. And as for her st lesson… Kaisa’s cheeky eyes narrowed. Everything in her was screaming to jump at the khan, knock her to the ground, and ssh her to death. She knew better now, already spotting several hordemen hurrying to their leader, and jumped in the air.

  Grenades flew through the empty space, tossing Widowmaker down the road like a rag doll and sileng her scream of anguish ihunderous discharge. Kaisa’s brother and two other males hastily reloaded their ons to the encing pats of their nded wolf hag. Damn it, it’s wonderful to be a part of the group! The wolf hag thought, summoning back the HUD.

  Blows that rang louder than any other noise cleared the area at the ter of their battlefield. Svetaker and Soulless Oill fought, their armors full of open gashes, the skin around the wet cerations vulsing at the touch of the shockwaves. Two giants too stubborn to die, they persisted. Soulless One caught Svetaker’s arm under her armpit, dislog the bone in a single violent twist and bending the steel sleeve, nearly snapping the arm. She gasped, her legs leaving the ground as the cleaver impaled her belly, raising the shaman. The tip of the cleaver protruded from her back, damaging the peor, and the hum of the shaman’s armor disappeared.

  “Meat or death?” Svetaker asked in a calm voice. A red streak ran down from under his helmet.

  “D-death,” Soulless One whispered. “On my terms. Packs! Back!”

  Kaisa plied before she thought, even before she heard Widowmaker’s warning cry. It was a rule she had been taught since birth. Obey the shamans ihing; they know better. She grabbed several wounded, cautiously notig Widowmaker, and the woman nodded, l a rifle she had taken from her subordinates. An unspoken trued in an instant, and the Horde and Recimers surged away. Only Svetaker hadn’t uood yet.

  Soulless One reached her ow and pushed a paw through the opened crack; her cws sinking into her own flesh.

  “Is this a suicide attempt?” Svetaker asked, twisting his cleaver to widen the wound and pulling his dislocated arm free from the weakened hold. “Cowardice. What do you think you are doing? Your fate…”

  “Denying them to you.” A stream of Soulless One’s blood covered Svetaker’s helmet. Her paw plunged deeper into her chest, and Kaisa heard the bones ch. “Do not mour is a shaman’s duty to sacrifice to preserve the future! Impatient One! Not perfe! Do not strive for the unattainable! Focus oion and progress at your own pace! Anissa! Choose and it! Decide for yourself!”

  “Svetaker, run! Something’s off!” Widowmaker yelled.

  “No one impedes Svetaker…”

  “I promised you.” Soulless One’s defiant tone shut him up. Svetaker let go of his cleaver and took a step back, raising his healthy arm in prote.

  Kaisa didn’t know much about the shaman. Apparently, the woman was a close friend of Janine’s, and she visited her on the crawler, inquiring about how the shamans raised the cubs in her vilge, f the frustrated wolf hag to repeat and crify every uain instance. She then paid simir visits to the other recruits from the same vilge, often apanied by Lacerated One.

  There was an order from the higher-ups. Soulless One had to be retrieved and delivered to R&D in case of her suddeh, no matter what sacrifices the packs had to make to prevent her body from falling into the paws of enemies or outsiders. Kaisa asked for crification, as the shaman was nowhere he level of a warlord, but in the chaos of the invasion, her request was buried as an unimportant matter. She received the answer right now.

  The shaman glowed. Light poured out of every cra her armor, a smell of freshly cooked meat wafted from her, and a stream of light focused on the sver’s face. She stood, the whiteness burning, dev her wound, her arms spread wide, and Kaisa could’ve sworn she saw a brief smile of relief on her disappearing lips. Molten streaks ran down her body, the intense heat reag even the Wolfkins as they shoved the barely moving APC away.

  A fsh of pure white licked everything in sight and flickered te. A psma explosioroyed the entire se of the bridge, cutting it ly in half. Its edges shriveled, glowing red and drippial down the yon. Svetaker could not escape the bst and flew down, his armor overheating, his cloak disappearing, his hand trying in vain to grasp something as he howled in frustration and pain.

  “The crazy bint actually did it! Hurray to Soulless One! Glory and eversting memory to our sister!” Sheered pressed fio her helmet in a salute.

  “Honor her sacrifice!” Anissa and Kaisa said together, and their lenses met. As the stronger wolf hag, Kaisa was expected to assert dominance, but she bared her ned surrendered authority to the more experienced woman. “Get the civilians off the bridge; rouse our Normie allies so the medics could save lives. Stay o; they are…” She stopped, without looking back. “Away from the bridge, now!”

  Massive figures appeared on the bridge, advang slowly and leveling their ser ons at the group. Walkers, three of them, had stomped over the Horde’s wrecked vehicle, ing to reap their harvest. Kaisa pushed her family forward, staying behind with the males to carry those who could not walk, and watched as the light glowed in the barrels. It was impossible to avoid light, but she could still save lives by dodging the aim-dodging…

  Whistles stopped her. Shells rained down upon the easterion of the bridge, pulverizing both the walkers and colpsing the damaged se as the hordemen, led by Widowmaker, struggled to escape. The khan turned and blew an air kiss to Kaisa, unmistakably finding the Wolfkin even in the panic. Then she sheathed her on, slung four soldiers over her shoulders, and ran away.

  The battle was over.

  “Thank you for saving my hide, everyone,” Kaisa said ter, standing still while her brother worked gently on her poor eye. She had never known that he knew anything about medie. Then again, sidering how she had behaved, it wasn’t surprising that he had chosen that trade. And she roud of him.

  “That’s what family’s for,” her brother joked.

  “Y-yeah, sure. Family.” Kirk bristled. “W-wolf h-ag, with your permission.” He bowed, and she nodded.

  Kirk turned his ba her ao help treat a nasty, wide, gaping gash reag the bone on Sheeren’s arm. Two Normie medics tried to cut through the sturdy armor, and Kirk offered his help. He pried opeorn ends of the wolf hag’s vambrace, gasping worriedly at the darkness inside.

  “What?” Sheeren’s jaed over his helmet. “Am I not good enough for you?”

  “W-wolf hag, there is a rot on your arm…”

  “You are the one who has a rot! A brain rot!” Sheeren said defensively, pushing the bleeding limb to his nose, ign the medic’s pleas. “There! Sniff! A wound. I tried to dye my stupid brown fur to look more like Mum.” She sighed. “Overdid it a bit, yeah. The damn paint darkened my skin up to my elbows and knees.”

  “Oh!” Kirk smiled, and for ohe ers of his mouth didn’t twitch. “It’s kind of cool, actually.”

  “Thanks! Wao…”

  “You used Delta paint.” A medic grabbed his head, reading Sheeren’s medical history on the dispy of his portable helmet. “Where did you evehat? We ’t even produce it; where in the world did you find a of such paint as a child!”

  “Why, is it rare?” Sheeren rolled her eyes and tapped behind her ear, pretending that it was stressful for her to reach it. Kirk hesitantly scratched the ear, shrinking ba anticipation of a bite, but the wolf hag just rolled her eyes.

  “It was used to paint the hulls of starships and could withstand the temperature of a sun. Yeah, rather rare,” the medic said.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to our weirdos,” a medi the Third told her colleague.

  “The child used the substance because it looked pretty… The resulting chemical rea caused a shift in pigmentation,” the medic groaned, carefully extrag a damaged impnt from the wolf hag’s arm. “I’m not sure who I want tle. You for risking your health for nothing, your irresponsible parents, or both.”

  “Done.” After the treatment, a medical patch ced over Kaisa’s eye, and a pleasant, cold sensation spread from underh it. “Don’t take it off and don’t lick the eye for six hours. You’re a tough girl, sis, but let’s follow the instrus.” Her brother pced a paw on her shoulder. “And about our family… They’ll e around.”

  “There is no need,” Kaisa softened her voice. “What I have done…”

  “I five you.” He shrugged.

  “But why?” she whispered, not wanting to bother Kirk. It was adorable to watch how he kept missing social cues, much to Sheeren’s fusion. The woman fshed her cws in front of his nose again and raised her eyebrows at his silence. “I brutalized you. As an older sister, I should have knower and cared for you instead of giving in to my impulses.”

  “Listen.” He took her by the . “You were a victim, and we were victims.”

  “I was the abuser.”

  “And that abuser is now dead and buried, hopefully. I have decided to stop bming and hating. I don’t think I’ll ever fet, but the past is set in stone; we ’t undo it or ge it. What we do is learn from it and ge ourselves. I give you a paw of peace. Let’s try to be a family again and do it right this time.”

  Kaisa didn’t know what to say. She simply hugged her brother, and for a brief sed, all was right with the world. The fear of failing to live up to her role as a leader, the grief for her lost troops, and the worry of turning bato a monster receded, and she dared to believe that she could atone for even a fra of the things she had done.

  “Late as usual!” She heard Anissa say.

  The wolf hag stayed in the rearguard with the wounded ahe stro parts of her pack, uhe and of Kaisa’s sister, to esost of the refugees orucks to the headquarters. This area was retively safe, but Anissa wanted no surprises, and the group took cover in a cave he yon. The Ice Fangs vehicles provided additional cover by pg force shield geors around the area. Their knight-captain took over the defensive perimeter, while the Wolf Tribe scouts climbed the yon’s side to watch for any attempts to cross, and the white-furred kept a close eye on the skies. So far, they had reported that the Horde forces had retreated to the town and that a small detat had left in an unknown dire.

  “Two minutes,” Anissa muttered, distracted from reviewing the reports. “They cimed they would arrive in two minutes. It was three and a half. If it hadn’t been for them, she…”

  “Cease your hysterics,” Impatient One said, sitting cross-legged. Two rescued cubs slept on her knees, stirring in their sleep.

  “Where are any dead Ice Fangs? Over two dozen of our kin have died. We were supposed to be replenishing our ranks in the Core Lands, but the war is thinning our ranks even further. I hear the soldiers’ suspis that the Ice Fangs seek our total extermination…”

  “Then, as leader, you should quell them rather than succumb to the poison of despair, Wolf Hag.” The shaman raised her voice a little. “What good will e from fracas? Deys happen in war. Do not look for treasohere is he Horde killed them, not the Ice Fangs. Your brother has sacrificed his life for an Ice Fang. Honor his choid trust his judgment.” She closed her eyes and exhaled. Her snout mellowed, her bandaged paw tinuing to ruffle the boys’ heads. “The soldiers had reported the sightings of the sver. Perhaps we should take a small pad go hunting.”

  “Out of the question, Impatient One.” Anissa’s tone was respectful, but she didn’t bare her throat. “If we go down, so the Horde, and any scramble risks us being swarmed and murdered. We have our orders.”

  “Right you are, Wolf Hag.” Impatient One nodded. “His death won’t e from our cws, but it’ll e, regardless.”

  “Is that a premonition, Shaman?”

  “No. Yes. Both.”

  “He is alive?” The rger boy, T, shook away his dreams. “I heard him r, promising to get to us in my sleep. And there is no one who stop him from g our skins.” He touched Impatient One’s wrist. “ you…”

  “Don’t give up.” The care and warmth in the shaman’s voice surprised Kaisa. She had expected to see a heavy sp and hear a few teeth fall, but Impatient Oouched her forehead to the boy’s. “Never dare to surrender. As long as you live, even if your body is stolen from you, there is a ce for revenge.”

  “But I am too small to beat him!” T argued.

  “Then do a pro move ahe adults ha.” Anissa loudly reloaded a shardgun. “You’d be surprised hoeople are willing and able to grind the bastard into a powder.”

  Kaisa wao offer her own encement, but decided against it. As spoke louder than words, and Svetaker had done a grave insult to the Wolf Tribe. Let him e, Soulless One demonstrated the way this creature fought, and she’ll bleed him dry, tearing tendon after tendon until his wretched soul joins the shaman in the Great Beyond, where she will gnaw at him until the day of rebirth or parting.

  Best not to keep Soulless One waiting.

  She jumped to her feet when she saw a bright yellow glow outside. It wasn’t a sun; the knight-captain turned his head to the north, and ihan a breath Kaisa was standio the man, her mouth wide open. A thundering pilr, thin in the distance, rose on the horizon, toug the clouds. They were kilometers away, yet the billowing wind spped her muzzle and the ground rumbled a little. Rocks tumbled down the slope, spooking the scouts, and they climbed up.

  “Is this the Horde?” Kaisa whispered, trying to imagine what could have caused su explosion. “Had they used another of their ons…”

  “No.” Anissa joined her, smiling mirthlessly. “It is Bogdan’s funeral pyre.”

  “Bogdan’s…” Kaisa stumbled. “I don’t uand. The granny Warlord Janine has returned. I thought…”

  “My brother’s dead. I’ll never hear him ever again.” Anissa pressed a paw to her ow, her fingers squeezing the metal a little. Her artificial eye dimmed, zooming in on the r cataclysm. “e, Kali. Let’s load everyone up and head back while the Horde is stalled. I doubt we’ll have much time ter.”