Beyond the Palace Ch. 09

Beyond the Palace

by Davina Lee

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Author's Note

The last chapter ended on a bit of a cliffhanger.

Matoaka had just freed the young woman from the ropes that held her tied to the tree. But even as Matoaka took to her feet and raised her staff to join the fight, the defensive circle of shrine maidens was being squeezed tighter by what seemed to be an endless stream of knife wielding men from The Palace.

Though just as it looked as if all was lost, the old mother who watches over the shrine maiden's encampment caught the scent of danger on the wind and sounded the alarm with a long, loud howl.

Are the shrine maidens cooked? Will the old mother's call bring much needed reinforcements? Will they arrive in time? And just what will that reinforcement brigade look like?

Let's find out.

* * *

Chapter 9: The Jaws of the Wolf

The old mother assigned to watching over the miko lowered her head and pricked her ears. Still no sound of horse's hooves came. She sniffed at the air. The scents carried on the wind from the girl pups had not changed. The hackles on the old mother's neck rose for the second time that night.

She raised her head to the moon and let loose a sustained howl.

In the distance, a second wolf mother answered the call. And a moment later, a third. When the old mother heard the fourth repetition of her message, she began her sprint down the hill from where she kept watch.

* * *

The last of the flares had fallen to the ground and hissed out. The parachutes that slowed their descent lay limp in the dirt. But the men had started a small fire and its light was gradually increasing as pieces of dry leaves and sticks were being fed by a group collecting kindling.

Just beyond the illumination of the dancing flames, Matoaka squirmed and wriggled as two men held her by the wrists. A third was measuring out a length of rope in his hands. Matoaka's staff had been kicked away out of her reach.

The young woman Matoaka had defended sat propped against the base of a tree, her head lolling. For the second time that night, a rope held her fast to the trunk.

Beyond the young woman, Matoaka set her eyes on Chihiro. Chihiro was on the ground and bleeding from a gash across her thigh.

"She needs medicine," hollered Matoaka.

As Chihiro was being dragged over to be sat against a tree next to a pair of subdued shrine maidens, Matoaka watched Rei pull her leg back and kick the man in front of her. The sound of her foot against his knee echoed like a branch snapping. And as he went down, Rei finished with a kick to the crotch.

Matoaka turned her gaze to the man in front of her who was holding the rope. She settled her eyes on his kneecap. As soon as he turned his attention to the rope in his hands and away from her, Matoaka pulled her own leg back.

As Matoaka was shifting her weight to her opposite foot, another man stepped up beside Rei and knocked her to the ground with his fist. Rei went down and he snapped his gaze to Matoaka. "Ĉu vi volas iom da ĉi tio?" he said.

Rei looked up, spitting blood. The man she had knocked down with a kick held a blade in his hand now. Two of his friends moved beside him with coils of rope in their hands.

Matoaka gritted her teeth and let her own kick fly. A sound like a snapping twig reached her ears and she smiled. The man who had knocked Rei to the ground turned and marched toward Matoaka, wearing a scowl.

* * *

The old mother ran down the hill as fast as her legs could take her. She darted past the encampment where the miko made their dens. The scents of the girl pups had faded. There was no smell of their supper and no sound of their voices.

The old mother kept running.

* * *

High atop a bluff in the distance, the old mother who kept watch over The People pricked up her ears at the sound of a sustained howl cutting through the night air. She sprang to her feet. The scent carried over the wind along with the call was unmistakable. The scent of girl pups, some of whom had been with The People only recently. And among the mix of scents, her own girl pup.

The old mother raised her head and howled to acknowledge the call. She then turned and darted down the switchback trail, picking up speed at every straightaway and skidding around the corners, kicking up stones and dust. She sprinted down the path, through the trees and toward the stream.

The other wolf mothers, camped beside the stream with their new pups, were already on their feet, hackles raised. After a brief series of snuffles and nods, a single wolf mother moved closer to herd the girl pups together. She stood in front of the pups, while the other two old grays watched the approach of the old mother coming down from the bluff.

As Matoaka's wolf mother approached, the two beside the stream were already in motion, picking up speed to form up beside her. The trio bounded through the shallow water and tore through what remained of the tree cover, leaping over any obstacles. They sprinted past the lodges where The People made their dens. And finally, they emerged into the open prairie, the tallgrass bending to part around them as they ran.

* * *

Matoaka moaned as she raised her head and blinked her eyes. Blood ran warm down her face. She tried to move her hand to wipe it away, but the rope around her wrists and elbows stopped her. Another length of rope encircled her waist, keeping her back pinned to the trunk of the tree behind her.

Matoaka let her head sag, but moved her eyes from side to side. Three men were keeping sharp watch over her and the other shrine maidens she could see. Another pair was coming into the clearing with firewood. Two more were pacing around engaged in conversation.

"Kion ni supozeble faru kun ili?" asked one of the men.

"Revenigu ilin, jen ĉio, kion mi scias," said the other.

"Esti venditaj kiel infanoj? Ho! Mi ne dezirus tian filinon. Ĉu vi volus?"

Matoaka ignored the chattering men and those collecting kindling. She fixed her eyes on Chihiro. Chihiro was tied to a tree like Matoaka and the others.

* * *

The trio of wolf mothers ran through the prairie, using the dim light of the moon to judge the obstacles in their surroundings, and the scent of the girl pups to know which way their path lay.

As they ran, the howling in the distance continued unabated.

Another pair of wolf mothers approached the path on a dead run from a direction side-on to the moon's light. An undulating gap in the prairie grass showed their progress. The sound of their panting grew louder as the pair formed up beside the trio already on the move.

* * *

"Chihiro?" hissed Matoaka.

No response.

Matoaka fixed her gaze on Chihiro's leg. The flow of blood had slowed and was turning to a ruddy crust around the wound.

"Chihiro? Can you hear me?"

"Vi tie. Kio estas tiu bruo?" said one of the men who had been collecting kindling. He dropped his armload beside the fire and turned to walk toward the tree where Matoaka was tied.

"Kion vi diras, knabino?"

Matoaka let her head loll and avoided looking the man in the eye.

The man stepped closer. He pulled the knife from his belt and held it with the tip up and the blade facing toward Matoaka. "Mi parolas al vi."

* * *

The first of the wolf mothers arrived to join the one who kept watch over the miko. From their position on the ridge, the pair stared down at the firelight in the distance, heads low and hackles raised. Pacing slowly, they waited for the others to arrive.

Behind them, the tallgrass prairie swished and parted as a long, straight path was carved by a half dozen wolf mothers running at top speed.

* * *

"Mi parolas al vi," said the man with the knife. "Kion vi diras, knabino?"

The man stepped forward, his blade glinting in the firelight as he rolled it in his hand. With the toe of his right boot, he kicked at Matoaka's foot.

"Mi parolas al vi," he repeated.

* * *

The wolf mother who watched over the miko stared into the distance, counting those around the firelight and beyond, separating them by scent. As her eyes passed over one of the girl pups, she caught a flash of light from something in the hand of the man standing over the girl.

The wolf mother took another sniff at the air and let a low growl rise in her throat. With the fur on her neck standing on end, she started down the hill.

* * *

"Hej! Kion vi diris?" said the man, rolling the knife in his fingers as he stepped around Matoka's feet to stand above her. "Mi paro--"

His remaining words were cut off by the old mother leaping from the border between the brambles and the clearing. Sailing through the air with her jaws wide and her front paws held extended, she knocked the man to the ground and latched onto his wrist with her teeth.

The old mother thrashed her head until the blade the man held tumbled to the ground. The man's eyes went wide as he stared at the blood streaming from his wrist. By the time he managed to cry out, three more wolf mothers had pounced from the shadows.

Matoaka looked up at the wolf mothers. After watching them form up as a pack of four to advance, Matoaka focused her eyes on the shining blade, now lying on the ground, as the chaos erupted around her.

Four more wolf mothers soon joined the fray and made any resistance offered by the men short lived. The ones who had drawn their blades lay on the ground with bloodied wrists. Those who did not were being herded against trees by two pairs of old mothers working in tandem.

Matoaka pushed her leg out, reaching for the blade with her toe. She managed to kick at the handle, but only succeeded in sending the knife spinning.

Amid the snarling of the wolf mothers, two of the men decided to make a break for the trees. Their escape was a brief one and they soon ended up in the dirt, flat on their faces.

Matoaka kicked at the knife handle once again, this time getting it to spin closer to her. She dropped her heel atop the hilt and bent her knee to drag the blade closer.

A sudden yip came from one of the wolf mothers and Matoaka looked in the direction it came. As she focused in, two more wolf mothers sailed through the air, pouncing a man from behind. The third wolf mother limped away, but soon crouched to resume her advance.

Matoaka returned her eyes to the knife and rolled it with her foot so the blade was facing up. She leaned to one side and tucked her leg underneath her, dragging the knife over the ground as she did.

The half dozen men who remained standing had scattered and were deep in the cover of trees. Four of the wolf mothers formed up and set their collective sights on the first of them. In a tight knot, they sprinted toward him.

Matoaka managed to get a bit of the rope that held her to the tree trunk positioned over the upturned blade of the knife. She began to wiggle back and forth.

A sudden shout, followed by a loud crashing, arose from just beyond the trees and then fell silent. The pack of four wolf mothers turned as one and dashed to their next target.

As the final strand of rope was severed by the knife at Matoaka's side, she rolled to bring the rope binding her wrists over the blade. After a few carefully executed passes, Matoaka pulled her hands apart, flexing her wrists. The rope around her elbows fell next.

Matoaka pressed a hand against the tree trunk as she took to her feet. After a quick look at her surroundings, she bent to pick up the blade. Moving with speed and determination, Matoaka made her way to the young woman who the shrine maidens had come here to free.

A blood curdling scream rose from beyond the trees and the pack of old mothers changed their direction once again.

"Sorry," said Matoaka, to the young woman lashed to the tree. "Not exactly the rescue we had planned."

The young woman looked up, meeting Matoaka's gaze, and once her hands were free, she threw her arms around Matoaka's neck.

Matoaka was just separating herself from the young woman's embrace when an old gray with blood staining the white of her muzzle approached. The young woman beside Matoaka shrank back.

"It's okay," said Matoaka, turning to the young woman at her side. "It's okay. It's just my mother."

The young woman said nothing. She didn't move her eyes from the gray.

The old mother crouched down, lowering her eyes and pressing her chin to rest on her front paws. She let out a short series of high-pitched whines.

"You're not scary, Mother," said Matoaka, reaching out to scratch behind her wolf mother's ears. "She just doesn't know you, that's all."

The old gray turned her head to press into Matoaka's palm with the side of her face.

"We might want to wash the blood off, though," said Matoaka, wrapping her arms around her mother's neck for a quick squeeze. The old gray responded with a long lick over Matoaka's face.

Matoaka flashed a grin and then moved to lay her cheek atop her wolf mother's head. "Thank you, Mother," she said. "I love you, too."

* * *

Afterword

In case you haven't guessed, the moral of the story is... Thou shalt not mess with a wolf mother's girl pup. Not if you want to make it back to The Palace in one piece.

And by the way, the language spoken by the men from The Palace is Esperanto. You can look up the translation of their words if you want, but nothing they say is key to the story. Mostly idle threats and talk of selling the girls off as children back at The Palace. It's left intentionally opaque to ramp up the feelings of unease.

The musical selection for this chapter is Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney. Find it on your favorite streaming service.

There's one chapter left. See you there!