17.
Retaliation
“This has gone far enough.”
Palva was the first to speak at the Council meeting the day after the white renegade had killed Yielsa. The entire atmosphere of the pack had been shocked, miserable, and frightened for the past long hours. It was now midday; Alpha Liyra had emerged from her den, bleary-eyed and haggard, and called a Council meeting.
There was no fear of being overheard, for every other wolf in the pack had remained in their dens the entire day. No one wanted to leave, for fear of the vicious renegade that was no doubt stalking the fields for any stray wolf at this very moment. The redoubt was silent and oppressed but for the quiet murmuring of those in the Council, who had gathered in a tight circle in Liyra’s den.
“Far enough,” Palva repeated. Her voice was not angry and challenging, but hollow and without any expression. Her dull, pale eyes scanned the four other wolves clustered around her, all of whom were staring at the ground so as not to meet her gaze.
Palva did not need to say I told you so, for everyone knew that she had. Even Captain Leron, usually so outspoken and confident, was looking subdued.
Simetra, who was looking much better but for a few violet-bruised naked patches and a long red scar, was the only one who did not appear ashamed. Rather, she was glowering at the ground as though trying to burn a hole in the soil. Palva, seeing this, was discouraged. Yielsa had been one of Simetra’s best hunters. Simetra would want revenge on this renegade; Simetra would not listen to what Palva was trying to say.
Palva looked at Liyra, who was determinedly gazing up at the sky.
“You’re going to listen to me now,” Palva said with a tinge of bitterness to everyone. “…and you’d better be quiet until I’ve finished.”
Leron looked up as though he was going to say something, but for once he was unable to do anything but open and close his mouth like a lead-eyed fish under Palva’s pale, accusing glare.
“I am not going to waste time,” she said. “You know what has happened, and you know that it could have been prevented. I warned you, all of you, and you did not believe me. Now it has happened, something bad come of the deer hunting, just as I said before. What do you have to say?”
For a few uncomfortable minutes, no one made a sound. Liyra cleared her throat with a weak, choking sound, as though she had not spoken in a long time.
“Palva,” she said, with a hint of a plea. “Palva, please. You must understand. There was no proof, no possible way of us knowing—”
“No way but for my feeling,” Palva finished for her. “And what is there to understand? Believe me when I say that I already understand a great deal more than any of you. You didn’t, wouldn’t understand me. I tried, Liyra. You know that I did. But you would not hear a word of it. None of you.”
“But Palva! There was no proof—”
“Enough with the proof!” Palva spat, sounding angry for the first time. “Is Yielsa’s death not enough proof for you?”
Leron’s head shot up, grey eyes for once not so condescending and calm, but glaring.
“Stop there a moment, Gatherer,” he said in a low voice. “You wouldn’t dare to be saying that Yielsa’s death is our fault.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Palva said through gritted teeth. “That is exactly what I am saying. I am impressed and pleased that you’ve caught on so quickly.”
Growls exploded from the four wolves around her, and Leron was rising to his feet, dark brown fur bristling as he expanded and seemed to fill the den.
“You dare,” he said, grey eyes cutting down at her and voice rumbling with a hint of a growl. “You dare make such accusations, to put such blame, as if I would let such a thing to happen to one of my own, as if I wouldn’t do anything I could to protect, to—to…why, you arrogant—”
“It is not blind accusation, Captain. It is fact.”
“She was murdered, Gatherer. It was the renegade that did it—the renegade is to blame.”
“And yet,” Palva continued. “It would never have happened had you all listened to me when I told you there was danger in hunting the deer.”
There was silence. The other wolves exchanged glances, their stormy anger giving way somewhat to shame. At last, Liyra spoke again.
“What do you say, Palva? Tell us. We will listen to you.”
Palva whipped her tail, looking unconvinced as the other wolves nodded in submissive agreement. Leron, who was still standing with stiff legs, sank back down. Palva glared at him until he looked away. The scent of his rage burned in the air like smoke.
“Fine then,” she said. “You say you will listen. Well, it’s too late for that. But you may be able to smooth this down if you listen to what I say now.”
Liyra shifted; she looked uncomfortable. “What do you want us to do, Palva?”
“Agree to the renegade’s terms. That’s all you can do, now.”
“Agree to her—” Leron sputtered, rising again. “Are you insane?”
Palva said nothing to him, but looked to Liyra for her reaction. To Palva’s fury, the alpha was looking apprehensive about what she had proposed.
“I know what you are thinking, Liyra,” she said, forcing her voice into a level tone. “You don’t want to back down to that renegade. You think it will make you and your pack look weak.”
“Of course that’s why!” Leron paced before her, and Palva watched, grim, as he fought to maintain his rapidly-thinning façade of control. “There should be no question—no question—of what we must do now. We cannot give in to her now; I know these kinds of wolves, and they leap like scavengers upon any sign of weakness. No wolf would respect an alpha who would back down to exaggerated and worthless threats!”
“Exaggerated?” Palva said, raising her brow. “Worthless? Captain, must I remind you that so far her threats have been fulfilled? She has already killed Yielsa, and it will not be long before—”
“Give her what she gave,” Simetra interrupted, her face stony. With a shudder, Palva knew what she was talking about.
“No, Simetra,” she said, turning to address the glowering chief Hunter. “We can’t do that. It would not work—it isn’t so easily done—and we must get out of this situation while we still can. It’s still possible that we can escape this. All we can do is—”
“We will and we should!” Simetra spat. “That renegade killed one of my hunters! It would be justifiable to destroy her as well. That beast deprived us of a fine hunter. We must get revenge.”
Leron’s eyes lit up at the word revenge. He halted in his pacing and spun to face Simetra, the fur along his back rising as his face began resolving itself into a sort of half-smile.
“Yes.” he said. “That’s what I have been waiting for. Oh, well done, Simetra!”
Simetra did not reply, but scowled at him with as much hatred as she had for the renegade. Leron, however, did not seem to notice this.
“The renegade is a murderer,” he continued, now addressing a rather surprised-looking Alpha Liyra. “And you recall the punishment that you set seasons ago, in order to control fighting in the pack. It served us well then; it will serve us well now.”
“If it had served us well, then you would not be standing here, Leron!” hissed Palva. “Nothing is that simple, and you know it!”
“You are changing the subject, Gatherer,” Leron said, his voice unchanged. He did not turn to face her, but instead watched Liyra, who was observing this exchange with a sort of glassy thoughtfulness. “This is unsurprising. Every appeal you bring up before the Council must turn into another of your constant attempts to discredit me. I told you; everything that happened in the old lands, in the marsh—I only did what I thought was best.”
“Best for whom?”
“The pack, Gatherer, the pack,” Leron said, the pace of his voice beginning to rise again with impatience. “But this renegade—”
“Whose pack, Leron? Yours? Liyra’s? Surely not Karvo and Solora’s—not after such
unfortunate accidents. It makes me wonder, though, whose wolves you’re speaking for now, now that you’re so eager to lead them towards more death, now that—”
“I think,” Leron said, his voice rising above Palva’s. He was still facing forward, grey eyes gleaming in the dark, as though pretending that Palva were not there. “I think it is time we stop pretending that the Gatherer understands the struggles of wolves who don’t commune with the stars. It is clear that her dream-world is quite a different place from the world we live in.”
“How dare you!” Palva snarled, thrusting her way in front of Leron, who did not recoil. Her pale eyes flashed. “You idiot, you…you stupid, blind leech—Now you pretend that I didn’t foresee Yielsa’s death? Now—”
“Palva,” Liyra said quietly. “That is enough.”
Palva fell silent in astonishment. The rest of the Council stared at her, save for Leron, whose eyes remained fixed on Liyra. The alpha sighed and lowered her head.
“The punishment is death,” Liyra said, her voice low and weary. “Death. Murderers must die.”
“Listen to me!” Palva said, knowing that she had lost control of the conversation. “It will not work, mark my words! The only way is to agree to the renegade’s terms and form some sort of compromise before this goes out of our control.”
“No,” Liyra said, turning to Palva. “Listen to me; I am the alpha. I have gotten us into this, and I shall bring us out. You were right about the danger, Palva, and you have my fervent apologies, but in this case we cannot back down. I am sorry. It would be a signal of weakness, and soon the renegade would be making even more demands of us.”
“How do you know that? You don’t. I told you before, and I was right. And still you won’t listen to me!”
“No, Palva,” Liyra said, as though she were soothing a sulky pup. “This time, Captain Leron is correct. And how can there be danger in killing this renegade? She is only one, and we are many. Our troubles will be over quickly.”
“Our troubles are only beginning! Guidelights, Liyra, killing this renegade will do nothing in our favor.”
“Kill her,” Simetra spat from the corner.
“Kill her,” Sirle said from the shadow of the boulder.
Liyra sighed and looked from Palva to the rest of the Council, who were all bristling with the furious, electric energy that Leron had spread. From his corner, he was seething with excitement, teeth bared in a wide smile and steel eyes gleaming with fierce joy as he watched her, silent.
Palva could not believe this. They would not listen to anything she said, no matter how many times it led them into peril. She could see that it was useless arguing any longer; the four wolves around her were snarling and snapping their teeth without realizing what they were doing. Leron had incensed them, and now they were all growling for the renegade’s blood.
Irate, Palva turned and stalked away without another word.