Duality

part nineteen

Mila woke on uncertain terms. The first thing she knew was that she was alone: not even an earthworm crawled near her. On her next exhale, Mila realized there was plain dirt under her back, meaning she'd switched powers with Ashton.

Sitting up, Mila pressed a hand to her head, feeling dizzy. Normally when she regenerated she woke refreshed, but she felt like she'd gotten up too soon. She made a point to stand slowly, trying to piece her memories together. She could see signs of a struggle on the ground, where she'd fallen and Anna had choked her.

Anna was nowhere in sight.

Looking to the sky, Mila nearly swore at the moon that didn't tell her how much time had passed. There were no footprints in the dirt, no sign where Anna had gone. Mila almost turned for the hut before she remembered Anna's question.

Is he with you?

Anna's confession had made it seem like she wanted Mila's powers, but apparently she'd been after Ashton the whole time. That probably meant something important-like she still wanted to be with Mila, as she put it, in an "impure way"-but Mila couldn't think about that with her head pounding. Besides, she needed to find Ashton.

If he'd gotten out of the woods he might be okay. Otherwise, Mila's suffocation had probably doomed him.

The woods looked unfamiliar as she stumbled through them. Ashton could be anywhere. At risk for attracting Anna, Mila didn't call out, heading toward where she hoped was the town.

She stumbled right into the wolves.

Her senses tipped her off right as she felt fur brush against her hand. She'd never felt so disoriented before, and hastily stepped back until she flattened against a tree. Maybe if she didn't move, the wolves would forget about her.

"Easy," she whispered to the wolf she'd bumped into, which snapped at its friend. All the wolves chimed in, biting and snarling. They focused on each other, but they could turn at any minute.

Their noises settled into a growl, and the wolves looked to her expectantly. "I'm leaving," she assured them. Warning heard, loud and clear: they didn't want her around and she didn't want to be around. She inched by the nearest tree, planning on hiding behind it until she felt confident she could run.

She recognized the wolf that pushed forward to nose into her hand. The black wolf she'd tried to convince to track Ashton before.

Feeling unduly hopeful, Mila asked, "Can you take me to Ashton?"

Though there was a language barrier between them, she swore the wolf dipped its head in understanding. She chalked it up to Ashton's powers and took a step away from the tree, making the wolves in the back rearrange. "Show me."

She had no explanation except that they included her into their pack, for the time being. The wolf from before loped off into the distance, one wolf fell into step with her, and the other two took their spots at the back, making her feel like she had a place among them.

The only problem was, she was not a wolf, and even on her best day, she couldn't run like one. With her head pounding, she ran for about five steps before she had to stop.

Noses pressed into the backs of her knees and hands, either trying to diagnose her problems or urge her on. "I can't keep up," she said, looking at the lead wolf, already so far in the distance. Not a second after she'd spoken the words, she heard the distinct gait of a hooved creature approaching.

"Doll," Mila exhaled, breaking into a smile. She felt like laughing at her luck.

Mila tried to jump onto Doll's back and fell about a foot short, stumbling back. Without prompting, Doll kneeled so that Mila could climb on with less difficulty. She wound her hands into Doll's mane and hoped she'd be able to hold on.