Of Wizards and Wolves by Lisa Mangum

Author:Lisa Mangum
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WordFire Press

Which Wolf Will You Feed?

Tanya Hales

As I stood in line to gather my daily ration of star shards, the wolves in my mind let out soft whines of excitement. I could sense the three of them running around on eager paws and roughhousing. Despite my anxiety at what awaited me later today, I smiled.

Ahead of me, the other female trainees moved through the white, marble hallway and into the feeding room. I lagged behind, happy to be last. If I was lucky, there’d be an extra shard left, and the guards would be too busy chatting to see me take it. It was unlikely, but not impossible. And it would make the difference between hungry wolves and happy wolves.

Rena bumped her hip into mine. “Kimi! Have you finally decided which wolf you’ll choose tonight?”

Like me—and all the initiates at the facility—Rena was seventeen years old, on the cusp of adulthood. We both wore the standard-issue brown tunics with black pants and boots. Apparently the director had decided at one point that no one here would ever look stylish.

I gave her what I hoped was a mysterious smile. “I think I’ll leave it a surprise.”

Rena groaned. “That’d better not mean you still haven’t decided. Your time is up!”

Rena, of course, would choose the wolf of Creativity. She’d talked about it for years. She planned to become an artist like her mother.

Luckily for me, she pranced off to interrogate Victoria next.

I sighed in relief. No one knew I still had three wolves within me. We were supposed to only have two by now, and during the ceremony tonight, each initiate would choose the single wolf who would remain with them for the rest of their life, shaping their personality and talents.

But I had other plans.

I entered the feeding room behind the other girls. A channel of ankle-deep water flowed down the middle, and catching on the sides or the grate at the far end were glowing, white crystals that came from the peak of the Sacred Mountain.

Young men entered the room from the other side, closer to where their rooms were. Most initiates finished quickly, grabbing a star shard in each hand, the light vanishing as they fed the wolves in their minds.

As the other initiates left, I moved slowly, kneeling by the channel and trailing my fingers in the water. There were still a few people left, and I had to make sure everyone else was gone before trying to grab an extra shard for my secret wolf. Stealing shards was a criminal offense, and the guards at the door watched with sharp eyes and swords and bows, not distracted by conversation today.

I sighed. Picking up a cool, glowing crystal in each hand, I closed my eyes and entered my headspace. Although my physical body didn’t move, I found myself in a white room within my own mind. My three wolves bounded over, tongues lolling, to press their shaggy, gray bodies against me. Or more accurately, against my soul.

“Took you long enough,” Dominion said in his deep voice, sniffing at the shard in my hand.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.