Chương 53: The Price of Faith

Bambi I was helping Whiskers organize the prayer flags. Someone had to retie them after yesterday's wind. That was when Splinter came running. I'd never seen the rat move that fast. He was usually so dignified, so composed. Now he was sprinting across the clearing, his eyes wide with panic.

"Bambi!" he gasped.

"Bambi, they're attacking!" I dropped the cloth I'd been holding with mana.

"Who's attacking?"

"The Wild People! They're going to Abe's cabin!" He was breathing too hard to continue. My heart went cold. Abe.

"How many?" I asked, already moving.

"I don't know. At least a dozen. Maybe more." Splinter was shaking.

"I was foraging near the territory edge when I heard their screams. I saw the smoke and ran here as fast as I could." At least a dozen Wild People. Against Abe, who was unconscious from mana exhaustion. Although our information network wasn't expansive, we made sure to keep track of Abe. My only consolation was the fact that Pierre was there as well. However, one human-wolf wasn't going to be enough. They needed help. Now.

"Buck!" I called out, my voice carrying across the church grounds. I'd enhanced my voice with mana to make sure everyone heard.

"Agnes! Everyone!" Animals emerged from dens. Some dropped from branches. Within seconds, I had an audience.

"The Wild People are attacking The Great Trash Panda's cabin," I said. My voice was steady despite the fear flooding through me.

"He needs us. Who will come?" For a moment, there was silence. Then Buck stepped forward.

"I will."

"And I," Agnes said immediately.

"Me too!" Whiskers squeaked.

"Obviously," Thumper said, hopping to the front.

"He gave us second chances. Time to return the favor." More voices joined. Dozens of them. Within moments, nearly every animal at the church was volunteering.

"We can't all go," I said.

"Some need to stay and protect the church. But those who can fight…"

"If it's one of your powers, call your brothers and sister," Buck interrupted. He looked at the assembled animals.

"Those of you with herds, packs, flocks, call them. Now." The effect was immediate. Animals scattered in all directions. Bird songs erupted across the forest. Howls echoed through the trees. The area was overrun with movement. Within minutes, they started arriving. Deer came first. They were Buck's herd, responding to his call. Then squirrels, dozens of them, led by Agnes's family. Rabbits poured out of warrens I didn't even know existed. Birds circled overhead, everything from sparrows to hawks.

Even some animals I didn't recognize as part of the church showed up. There was a family of foxes, a badger, and three possums who weren't Mort or the others.

"Why are they coming?" I asked Splinter quietly.

"Word spreads fast in the forest," he said.

"The Great Trash Panda gave them all second chances. Some directly, some through you. They owe him." They don't owe him anything, I wanted to say. He never asked for worship. Never asked for this. But there was no time. The animals were assembling, organizing themselves with a coordination that surprised me. Buck was directing the larger animals, deer, a few wild boars, even a black bear. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

The last few animals were those I hadn't resurrected, but were those with mutations. They'd sought sanctuary within the church. Here, they had found friendship, even if some of them considered each other predators or prey. Agnes had the squirrels spreading through the trees. The birds were forming wings, ready to dive and harass. Just seeing the support I was receiving made me want to cry.

"Bambi," Buck said, approaching me.

"You should stay here. Where it's safe." I looked at him. At this noble buck who'd been one of the first to believe in Abe. He'd helped build the church as well as one of the leaders who helped organize the followers into something resembling a congregation.

"No," I said simply. There was no way I was going to stay behind.

"The Great Trash Panda would want…" Buck started to say.

"The Great Trash Panda is unconscious and surrounded by enemies," I interrupted.

"I'm going. I can help." Buck studied me for a moment, then nodded.

"Then let's go save our god." We moved through the forest like a flood. Over a hundred animals, maybe closer to two hundred, all racing toward Abe's cabin. The larger animals charged through underbrush. The smaller ones used paths and tunnels. The birds flew overhead, scouting ahead. I ran with them, my hooves finding purchase on roots and rocks, my divine energy letting me keep pace with animals half my size and twice my speed. Through the trees, I could smell it. Smoke and the acrid stench of poison.

Please let him be alive. Please. We burst from the tree line to chaos. Abe's cabin was burning. It wasn't completely engulfed yet, but flames licked at the roof and smoke poured from the chimney. One side of the cabin was burning. The metal shutters were down. Pierre must have activated the security measures, but I could see Wild People trying to pry them open, smashing at them with crude weapons. More Wild People circled the cabin, shouting in their harsh language.

And in the clearing, standing between us and them, was something else. It was massive. Easily eight feet tall, hunched and grotesque. It had the body of a woman but the head of an owl. It looked something like an owl, twisted and wrong. Its eyes glowed with sick greenish-yellow light. I didn't know what it was, but it set off every instinct I had to run away. The creature turned toward us and screamed. The sound was piercing, unnatural, full of hunger and rage.

"Charge!" Buck bellowed. The animals surged forward. I'd never seen anything like it. Squirrels dropped from trees onto Wild People's heads, clawing at eyes and faces. Rabbits darted between legs, tripping attackers. The deer charged in formation, their antlers lowering like lances. Birds dove from above, talons raking exposed skin. The Wild People were caught completely off guard. They'd been so focused on the cabin that they hadn't seen us coming. But they recovered quickly. They were tough warriors.

They fought back with weapons and claws and teeth. As for their bows, they were almost useless in close combat. Blood sprayed. Animals screamed. A Wild Person swung a club and caught a rabbit mid-leap. The rabbit hit the ground and didn't move. No. I ran toward the fallen rabbit, divine energy already gathering. Before I could reach it, three squirrels dropped onto the Wild Person's head, scratching and biting until he fell. More animals were falling. A sparrow was knocked out of the air by a backhand.

A young deer's throat was slashed by a Wild Person's knife. An opossum I didn't know was crushed under a boot. And I couldn't save them all. Not in the middle of battle. Not when I had to focus on staying alive myself. The monster waded into the fight. Its massive talons swept aside animals like they weighed nothing. A fox lunged at it and was batted away with bone-breaking force. Two squirrels tried to blind it but its beak snapped, catching one mid-air.

"Fall back from the big one!" Agnes screamed from her tree branch.

"Focus on the Wild People!" That's smart, I thought while trying not to weep at our losses. I had tried to resurrect one of my children, but apparently, I could only bring them back to life once. Seeing this, I concentrated on those I could save. As for the monster, it was too strong, too dangerous for me or the other animals to deal with. But the Wild People were mortal. Buck charged a Wild Person who was trying to start a new fire. His antlers caught the short man in the chest, driving him back into a tree.

The impact was sickening. Thumper, along with a dozen other rabbits, as well as other creatures, swarmed another Wild Person, overwhelming him with sheer numbers until he couldn't fight back. Agnes was coordinating the squirrels in the trees, raining down pinecones and sticks and anything else they could throw, forcing the Wild People to keep their heads down. The battle was turning. The Wild People were retreating, pulling back toward the forest. Some were dragging their wounded. Some were just running.

The monster shrieked again, furious at losing its prey. It grabbed a Wild Person and bit into his chest. The man screamed once and went limp. The creature dropped him and lunged at Thumper's group of rabbits. Buck intercepted it. I don't know what he was thinking. Maybe that he could slow it down and give the rabbits time to escape. Maybe he thought his divine blessing would protect him. The monster's talons caught him across the flank. Deep. Too deep.

"NO!" I screamed. Buck stumbled. He tried to turn and fight, but blood was pouring from the wound. Then his legs buckled. The monster raised its talons for another strike. And then something impossible happened.