CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Omega:
Rain soaked the pavement. City sounds echoed through the forest of brick and stone. The smells were stronger now; the fragrance of food came with the wind, thick and sweet.
Omega climbed onto the hood of a car, lifted his nose, took several short sniffs. He could almost see the scent in the air, like gold dust. It seemed to float in front of him, then trailed off down the narrow street, around a corner and into a nearby alley. He turned toward the Others, let out a short barka€”his command to follow. The pack watched him eagerly, backs bristled, tails curled, ears forward.
In a collective heartbeat, they were padding through a network of alleys, heads down, hunting. Dusk shadowed the city in morning half-light: a colorless world, a land that belonged to them.
He could almost taste it now, somewhere up ahead. A tiny stone city within a city; the wild dogs were weaving between stone sepulchers and mausoleums. The smell of death hung in the air, but it was old, musty. Another smell, strong and sweet, called.
Trinkets lay scattered in front of the whitewashed crypts. Shiny necklaces and flowers, candles and fetish bags. And baskets filled with sweet cakes.
Omega and the dominant female, his mate, ripped open the first basket together and then wolfed down the pastries drenched in icing. The other dogs began to tear open other baskets, and the cakes rolled out. Two of the males got into a fight, teeth shining in the murky light. Omega snapped a warning bark and growled. The brawling males stopped, hackles still up.
Then a noise sounded behind them, and two humans came out of the shadows.
The stench of fear surrounded them, metallic and sharp. The humans were looking at Omegaa€?s mate, a wild danger in their eyes.
Omega growled and tried to step between them and his female. But he was too late.
A crashing sound shot through the air and his female screamed, a high whine.
She fell to the ground. Blood. Her blood. Her life flowing out on dirty cement.
Omega leaped through the air, caught the first man by the throat and wrestled him to the ground. Sweet, dark blood. Bones cracking. The man yelled, fought, then finally fell still after a long shudder.
Another cracking boom shot out. A shock of pain struck Omega in his chest, then another caught him in the stomach. He tried to jump, to attack the second man, but the third shot got him right in the jaw.
Omega fell limp on the ground. Darkness was coming and with it, his old friend, Death. The dog looked at his mate, saw her feet twitching. She was going into shock. She was going to die. And then a wave of black washed over him, carried him away to the land of no tomorrows.
?
The second man panicked. Four more wild dogs growled, took a step closer. He dropped the gun when he ran away, dropped the knapsack filled with stolen cameras and wallets.
One of the video cameras fell out and switched on.
Red light focused. Lens open.
The recording started.
?
The Others chased the human until he vanished in the shadows. Then they returned, faithfully, to Omega and the female. They sniffed both bodies. One dead, the other dying. One of the males crouched down beside the dying female, pushed her with his nose, tried to make her get up.
But the dominant female wouldna€?t move.
?
Thunder sounded. A hundred miles away, somewhere on the other side of the Valley of Death. Lightning sparked across a black sky, then shot into his veins. Omega felt oxygen flooding into his lungs. Pain. The first breath always hurt. He didna€?t want to open his eyes.
He didna€?t want to see his mate. Dead.
Then he smelled it. Sunshine. Somewhere nearby.
He forced his eyes open.
There she was, his female. Still. Not moving. Not breathing.
He crawled to his feet, pain shooting through his muscles, fire in his veins. The Others cowered. They always did when he came back to life. He padded, soft and slow, over to her.
She was the only one who hadna€?t been afraid of what he was.
He lowered his head. Nuzzled her face. Licked her nose, her mouth. She was growing cold. He fought the pain that centered in his chest. Nudged her again. Saw a trickle of blood seep out from her side. He knelt beside her, laid his head on her chest, then licked her wound. Remembered a time when she had been brave enough to lick his wounds.
He licked her wound again.
Then he lifted his head to the heavens. And howled.
?
The video camera clicked and whirred, a mechanical beast that captured everything without emotion, without reaction. It watched, impassive, as the big, black German shepherd got up, resurrected from death. It hummed as he crouched beside the dead silver wolf, licked her wounds, then cried out in anguish.
It recorded everythinga€”
The dead wolf jolted back to life, her body trembling and shaking. The convulsions grew stronger, then finally faded.
Then the wolf got to her feet, nuzzled her head against the shepherd, her mate.
A few moments later, the pack of wild dogs padded off, shadows against shadow, black shapes against pale gray.
And the camera lay on the ground, with a flash and a whir, staring into the gloom of another dawn.