Chapter 9

The two women were led to another courtyard where they were pushed together with dozens of other slaves. They all whimpered and kept their heads down, moving around as some were added and others were pushed up into large heavy wagons. Nova kept a tight hold on Veka for as long as she could. Thankfully, they were put on the same wagon, huddled tightly with as many slaves as could fit.

As they bounced along on the road, another young pup squealed and got Veka’s started. All of the women silently worked together to hush the pups when the Dire driving the wagon growled and barked back to shut them up. The hours were long and tense as they wound down the mountain through the trees. None of the women spoke and few dared to look about at their surroundings. Not that it mattered if they did, the road was unfamiliar to them and they had no way of knowing how close to their destination they were. They knew only that they descended the mountains that had held them prisoners for so long.

With each passing hour, Veka grew weaker beside Nova. It was everything she could do to keep the mother propped up even with help from those around her. Her rags were soaked with blood, and she faded in and out of consciousness as the sleepless journey continued through the night.

It was just breaking dawn when the wagons slowed to a stop. The back panel was pulled off and the faces that greeted the women were those of their own people. The commotion was sudden and intense as soldiers helped the women out, filing them towards buses that waited just a few meters away. General Khade’grr was yelling orders from atop a grand, antlered mount while more wagons rattled in.

Nova stayed, holding Veka tightly, whispering to her that they had made it. They were free. A female soldier noticed them and began yelling for a stretcher and a medic. Though Nova protested, the soldiers took Veka out of her sight, rushing her to another bus painted white that took off as soon as the stretcher was loaded.

Draped in a blanket, Nova sat beside a Fa’val who was whimpering and shaking, like many of the women. It was still a dream to them, some kind of trick. When the bus started up, roaring to life, it made a pup begin yipping in the back. Nova leapt to her paws, recognizing that healthy voice. The woman who had been holding him easily relinquished him.

“We made it, little one,” she whispered, snuggling the mewling baby. “Yer ommy’s gonna be okay.”

The ride to the base was not long. Filed out, the women were led to a large building where only female medics checked each of them thoroughly. A cold, numbing relief flooded Nova when she was told she was not expecting a litter. She had gotten used to the idea, and now, was even a little sad. When they asked about the pup, Nova begged them to find out what had happened to his mother. No one knew and they were too busy to go find out. They gave her clothes and clean diapers and told her to hold onto him for now.

At the end of the gauntlet, a blacksmith with a cutter removed each collar, piercing, and cuff with great care, tossing iron and gold over his shoulder with the same quiet bitterness, once in a while muttering how much he hated the Wogtal.

Freed from their metals, they were all given food and every pup got a bottle of milk. Despite her hunger, Nova felt too tired and overwhelmed to eat more than a few bites. Around her, many of the women felt the same, looking at their bowls before glancing about as though a Dire would leap from under a table to beat them for considering it.

At last, late in the day, she was given a bed in a large bunkroom. Some could stay awake no longer. Nova`s eyes burned but she could only stare at the slumbering, satisfied pup, her thoughts tumbling madly about all the events she had witnessed.

Perhaps she had been sleeping, but she had gotten no rest. She yelped awake when she felt something sharp piercing her ear. Snapping up, she realized that the pup had taken a firm grip on her ear and was growling hungrily as he shook his head and then tried to suckle. Still exhausted, she peered around as the other slaves were all coming awake. She was not the only one jerking up, all for their own reasons.

Several female soldiers at the door were quietly letting them know there was food available and offering permission for the well trained slaves to use the latrines. Sitting at a table with the other mothers, she stared blankly at the pup as he sucked down his bottle and wailed for a second.

After breakfast, Nova sat on her bunk, letting the pup chew vigorously on her fingers despite his tiny sharp teeth. All she could think about was Anubis and Veka, her thoughts madly jumping between her worry for them both.

“Nova?”

The soft voice made her snap around. “Jun!” She leapt to her paws and embraced the woman. Shocked, Jun was frozen, her eyes roaming about. “Oh Jun, I’m so glad to see you!”

Taking a moment to gather herself, she looked down at the wiggling, whining pup, and grew forlorn. “She was so weak.”

Gulping, Nova looked at her paws. “They took her away in a white bus. No one knows what happened. I’ve asked all the soldiers but no one knows. They just told me the white bus goes to the hospital.”

With a deep breath, Jun reached down to tickle his soft ears, which caused him to try and grab her with his tiny pawlike hands. She allowed him to catch her and he promptly stuffed as much of her finger into his mouth as could fit, ballooning his cheeks with her knuckles. It made her smile. “At least he will know a good life. Master Anubis would never let him go, but now he’ll have a good life.” She touched a bulge on her belly as her own pups moved about and let out a sigh. “Master Caesar was happy to see me go. He ... he told me to give his pups a good life.” Her voice cracked as she struggled with her tears.

Swallowing hard, Nova shook her head. “It’s not fair. They didn’t want to be like the rest of their pack. I wish we could just ... do somethin’. Say somethin’.” Her voice grew even quieter, staring at the ground. “I feel just as helpless as I did there.”

A piece of paper rustled and Nova looked up. In her hand, Jun held a scrap with a great many scribbles. Offering it to Nova, she spoke in a hesitant whisper as she looked over all the names and more than a few Xs. “Everyone here signed it. But ... we ... we have ... lost our voices. You ... you weren’t touched by ... by The Maker. Perhaps if the Elders knew what it meant to us...”

Nova was suddenly filled with enthusiasm, taking Jun’s hands. “Oh, yes!” she cried out. “Of course I will!”

The slave tensed, staring at her in horror and glanced around before it suddenly clicked that there wasn’t a need. The expression of fear became realization which immediately turned to hot, heavy tears that rolled down her muzzle.

There was a whimper behind them. Then another. And another. Nova’s excited outburst had startled all the women in the bunkhouse and they had all looked about in the same fashion. Within moments, all the slaves made the same realization that no one was coming to beat them. There were no Wogtal here. The nightmare was over. The cacophony of broken whimpers and stifled sniffles was causing the female soldiers to wipe at their eyes as well, saddened by the relief and grief that choked the air.

Sucking in her breath, not knowing what else to do, emotion bubbled into her throat and Nova let out a small, warbling howl. Silence met her when she finished. All eyes had turned to her and it seemed as though they held their breaths. Gulping, her eyes darting around, she sucked in another breath and howled again. It cracked so she tried again, imagining how it was going to feel to howl with her own pack again. A strength came to her voice so that it filled the building. When she let out another, Jun began to yip, hesitantly adding her voice. The wave of yips and broken howls brought soldiers from all over the base to stand in silent observance at the doors and windows, hand over their muzzles as a symbol of respect for those who had been made voiceless. Even the General left his office to stand at the door, his head bowed, with a hand on his muzzle and the other over his heart.

After the women had exhausted themselves and quieted, some falling asleep, others milling about, an announcement was shouted through the camp that the trial was going to be starting in the morning because the prisoners were considered too dangerous to keep alive and anyone who would like to testify or just attend was welcome to do so.

Some female soldiers came in and began questioning the slaves about their packs. It took quite awhile to get such information from some of them. As there were only so many vehicles, they were loading up the closest first and would work out transporting those further away. Some of the slaves were not even wolves. The foxes lived a great distance from the plains, in the grand forests closer to the poles, while the otters lived in the many fjords and tributaries throughout the world.

As Nova lived a full day’s ride inland, she was going to be staying for a bit. Long enough to be at the trial. It weighed heavily on her mind so that she could not eat her dinner. Staring idly at her suckling ward that had no such qualms, she felt a presence and glanced up to find Jun sitting beside her. She smiled down at the pup.

“Have you heard anything?” she asked softly, ears swiveling.

Nova shook her head. “No. No one’ll tell me anything ‘bout her.”

With a sigh, Jun tickled around an ear. “Mistress Terra would’ve loved him as though he were her own.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Nova changed the subject. “Will ye be on a bus tomorrow?”

“No,” she whispered. “I don’t leave for 2 days. My pack is far north. I ... I was told there are almost no males left in my pack.” She let out a long sigh. “My son ... my brothers, all dead.”

Nova reached out and took her hand. “I’m so sorry, Jun.” They sat in a melancholy silence for a moment before Nova softly changed the subject. “Will ya stand with me tomorrow? Ye ... ye don’t have to say nothin’. I just ... I need someone there. I don’t think I could stand up in front of all those people by myself, but it might be our only chance to save ‘em.”

Before she could respond, a female soldier stepped in and peered around. “Is there a Nova in here?”

The soldier approached when Nova responded shyly. “Do you know Veka?”

A short bus ride to another base and some walking through a large white building with many beds, and Nova had her arms around Veka. Though she was attached to many tubes and wires, she had the strength to hold her pup. Smelling his mother, he began to squirm and mewl. Looking down at him, she informed Nova in a forlorn whisper that she had been so torn and infected inside that the doctors had to remove her uterus to stop the bleeding. This would be her only pup.

“I thought of a name.”

Nova gasped, perking up and wagging her tail a little. “Tell me!”

“Parval. Like the story.”

“Oh! Parval the Grand! As tall as a tree an’ break boulders with his jaws an’ drink whole rivers. I know that one. A great name for ‘im. He’s grown just since we’ve been here.” She then told Veka of the trial and of the paper with all the names she had folded and tucked in her pocket.

With her ears laid back, Veka sat quietly a long moment. “I ... I’ll go with you,” she whispered. “Mistress would want it.”

Licking her between the ears, Nova pressed foreheads with her. “Ye are so brave. Thank you.” Promising to take care of her pup, Nova was returned to the bunkhouse just after dark.

After laying Parval on the bed gently to not wake him, she was surprised to find Jun waddling towards her. With a soft smile, and an even softer wag of her tail, upon hearing the news of Veka’s survival, the older woman took Nova’s hand. “I’ll stand with you.”

The morning dawned a dreary grey with a chill breeze that swept down from the mountains. It carried the hint of smoke, with a touch of something foul and familiar.

A crowd had been gathering in one of the large buildings. Nova and Jun were escorted by several soldiers to sit on a raised platform facing the table the Elders would sit at. Veka was pushed in in a wheelchair still hooked to a bag of fluids. When the Elders entered, all between 50 to 70 years, Veka attempted to rise the way everyone else did, but the Supreme Alpha put out his hands and insisted everyone sit so that there was no reason for her to stand.

Then the prisoners were dragged in. In chains and muzzles, at the end of control poles, all of the immediate Zaroff pack were dragged, prodded and forced into the open space left for them. Through the crowd bubbled a spiteful growl that Ivan returned with a show of his might only to be shocked into cowardly submission on the ground much to the crowd’s amusement and encouragement.

Nova’s breath caught to see Anubis. Disheveled, broken and bitten, he gave no resistance and kept his eyes on the ground. She wanted to whimper and go to him, but she felt Jun take her hand tightly. On the other side of the group, another black form with only a white swirl to see him stood hunched down and equally depressed. Caesar’s only resistance was that he did not wish to stand so close to his mother. Though her golden satin and fur lined dress was torn, Shiva stood like royalty, dominating the room with her sharp glare.

Despite her short time as a slave, those piercing eyes were enough to make Nova’s blood run cold and she found she could hardly breathe much less speak when Khade’grr finished his speech and turned to her.

“For 45 years, Shiva Zaroff, your pack has caused many an Aroogar to tremble in their homes. For over 4 decades, your pack and your pack alone financed, organized and executed a slave trade the likes of which our species has never seen before, using methods not only inhumane but down right evil. Our only disappointment is that the ‘Slave Maker’ does not stand here with you to face justice for his crimes.

“To better understand the horrors you brought to our people, only these 3 Honored Free had the courage to join us today. Please, do not be afraid. Tell us what you came to say.”

A female soldier that had been working closely with the freed women since they had arrived rushed to him and whispered urgently by his torn ear. “Eh? Their stare? Of course! Have the prisoners turned around.”

“Even better,” another Elder spoke out, “put ‘em on their knees before the Honored Free!”

“Yes! Absolutely!” chimed in another. “They are scum. They hold no rank here. They’ll not hold any control over anyone here.”

As they were forced about to the cheers and jeers of the crowd, the brothers glanced up, ears perking when they saw Nova, Jun and Veka together. They went easily to their knees, sitting on their ankles and crouching low for good measure.

“Is that better, Honored Free?” an Elder questioned softly.

Though the other 2 women hardly acknowledged him, Nova nodded, trying her best not to stare at Anubis. The room went silent when the Elder again asked for her testimony. All eyes turned down respectfully, but Nova still had to gulp and she had little strength to her words.

“I ... I was only a slave for-for a short time. Not, um, not nearly as long as the others. But ... I--I saw enough to--to haunt me the rest of my life. I--I can’t ever be who I was before. No one who--who saw it--who lived through it, can ever be who they were before. I ... I’m sorry, I...” Her voice cracked as she shuddered in memory, panting with anxiety. The Elders gently encouraged that she take all the time she needed and the crowd was silent.

Feeling Jun’s grip tighten a little, she gathered herself. “I can’t give ye details. They were simply too many and ... too terrible. It--it steals my voice to think of it. But, in all the torture, there--there were some who didn’t--didn’t want to be part of it. The 3 of us,” she squeezed their hands, glancing at them “well, the only reason we can stand here is cuz our masters, they treated us with mercy, an’ ... we think they should be shown the same mercy they showed to us when it could’ve gotten ‘em in a lot o’ trouble.”

The Elders glanced at each other. Khade’grr peered at her curiously. “Which of these dogs were your ... captors?”

“Mast—uh, A-Anubis, C-Caesar and ... and Mistress Terra,” she spoke the name more softly than the others.

Looking at the papers before them, a tan Elder with large round glasses sneered. “Well, Terra Zaroff was reported killed in action. As for Anubis Zaroff ... he was a soldier. Perhaps he was kind to you, but he was certainly not kind to those he stole and sent to this Slave Maker.”

Staring at his back, Nova responded softly, “he never sent anyone to the Maker.” His ears perked up, his back straightening a little. “He ... he couldn’t. Not after what happened to his sister. She ... she was a victim, too.”

Reaching into the pocket of her jumpsuit, she took out the paper and held it up for a soldier to take to the Elders table. “The Maker stole so many voices, S-Supreme Alpha, s-sir. This ... was the only way they could speak. We--we all want ‘em to know that the danger they faced for their mercy weren’t for nothin’.”

The Elders leaned together and whispered to each other, while Khade’grr looked down at the little scrape in his hands, holding it as though it might have been a snowflake he was trying to keep from disappearing.

“Honored Elders!” called out a female soldier, stepping forward and saluting. “I would like to share a story of the battlefield that may be relevant.” She continued when given permission. “My squad was captured up by the north slope about 6 weeks ago, and after the dogs murdered the men, they took me and put me in a cage with some girls from the packs around there. When we were stopped for them to rest, there was a big, black Dire that came over, and we thought for sure he’d pick one of us to torment but he ... he left us some sharpened bones. I was able to pick the lock of the cage, and we escaped. I can’t tell you for certain that this is the same one, but he was black as the night and all I could see of him were his eyes, that bright gold. If this is him then I ... I owe him my life.”

The Elders decided to call for a short recess to discuss what to do with the new information. During their absence, the crowd began to get rowdy with the prisoners, throwing paper at them and calling names. The guards did nothing to stop them until the door opened once again, quickly shushing the crowd as the Elders returned to their seats.

Once there was silence again, the Supreme Alpha stood so that his smooth voice could be heard easily. “Shiva Zaroff. You have called the Aroogar ‘weak,’ ‘lesser beings’ and ‘worthless.’ All because we are small and because we are compassionate by nature. Well, I intend to enlighten you in these last few hours of your life.

“The pack I Alpha lives beside the ocean, and we trade openly with the Fa’val. We are a prosperous and bustling port. One of my sea faring brothers” he idly indicated the Elder sitting beside him, “told me of a small fish that lives along the bellies and among the fearsome jaws of much larger and aggressive fish. And yet, they are not eaten and they are not hunted. These bigger fish defend their weaker, smaller friends. Why is this? Because those small fish are helpful. Because they are valuable. They do a job that other fish don’t. Their value does not lie in their size or their strength but in the efficiency of their duty. They stay with the bigger fish so long as they are not eaten and they perform their duty. Those fish that do eat these small helpers are sickly, infested, and starved, much like your troops, who were oh so eager to offer us their assistance for full bellies and better conditions than you were offering them. We sent them home with blankets and medicine and tools, which they told us was more than you offered them. Some have even stayed behind to assist us in our rebuilding.

“So, much like this small and ‘weak’ little fish, it is through our gentle, helpful nature that we amass allies who have much greater strength than ourselves. That mercy you spit at has been the greatest strength of our species.”

There were cheers and agreements through the crowd, strangers patting each other on the shoulders. The noise quickly died back down as he continued.

“That said, before I became the alpha of my own pack, I grew up in a pack that was regularly abusive. I did not share their values but to openly defy was to be punished. While their violence created control, it did not create loyalty. In the end, it was through mercy and kindness I amassed many loyal packs, and it was that same ‘weakness’ of mine that has helped bring you, oh great Bitch of the Mountain, to your knees before us! The Zaroff have fallen and the Khade’grr Allegiance has prevailed!”