Shieldwolf Dawning by Selena Nemorin Page A

with food. Without her we would be nothing. To Kairuhan we offer our thanks and praise."
    "Blessed be," the crowd in Parade Square said as one.
    "Please kneel for the Oathing," Croak said.
    The swains bent down on one knee and bowed their heads in reverence. Merganser had told Samarra what to expect next. The pledge she was about to make was one that would bind her to the Shieldwolves for life, and she was fine with that. She didn't have a choice anyway. Where else would she go? What else would she do?
    She closed her eyes as the Elders led the swains through the oath. "These are my words. Bear witness to my oath," Samarra said. "I have heard the call of the wild and now my journey begins. It shall not end until my passing. I am the shield that protects the world. I am the wolf that runs fierce in the darkness. I pledge my life to the Shieldwolves, for this day and all the days to come."
    When they finished, the swains remained with their heads bowed for what felt like hours.
    "Please stand," Croak said.
    Samarra risked a glance at him. He was looking at something in the trees. "Cass," she whispered. "What's he doing?"
    Cassian was quiet. When Samarra couldn't get his attention, she resigned herself to drawing patterns in the grass with the tip of her boot, jumping in shock when Irik burst out screeching at the top of his lungs.
    "Take cover!" Croak shouted.
    Parade Square erupted in screams. "Fire ant! Fire ant!" Swains scrambled in every direction.
    Samarra remained unperturbed. "It's only a baby; what's the big fuss?"
    "Over there, dummy." Cassian pointed at the trees.
    Samarra turned around and her face instantly drained of colour. "Oh…"
    A fire ant the size of a small pony had emerged from the trees and was readying itself to charge at them. Instinctively Samarra pushed Cassian behind her and shielded his body with her own, but he moved back to her side with what seemed to be stubborn resolve.
    Merganser leaped off the stage and made a sign in the air with the tip of her staff. She knocked her staff on the ground and Parade Square was blasted with an ultrasonic boom that pitched short wavelengths through the area. The creature stumbled around, dazed and confused.
    " Aa-ai-aeee, aa-ai-aeee ," a veteran Shieldwolf shrilled.
    "What do we do now?" Samarra raised her fists as the Shieldwolf, a female archeop, landed in front of them. Samarra’s body was tense and her feet were ready to kick.
    "Get ready." Cassian struck a fighting pose.
    The fire ant locked onto its target and charged. Smoke poured out of its armoured back and its antennae flashed blood-red with rage. The archeop thrust out her glowing staff and summoned a shield of diamond from the ground. Samarra counted down the seconds before the fire ant hit the shield head-on.
    The fire ant was thrown back by the force of impact and its exoskeleton burst into flames when it hit the ground. Fire licked the air. The shield dimmed and shifted, but the archeop held firm. The fire ant stood deathly still, its antennae — which were now more brown than red — fixed on the shield. When the flames had all but disappeared, it lowered its head and took its baby into its mouth. Keeping both antennae locked onto the figures behind the shield, it backed away slowly.
    When the fire ant disappeared into the thick of trees, the archeop unbound her magic. "Well, that could have been much worse," she said with a sigh of relief. Her snowy feathers were combed back from her pretty face, and her long, slender beak was adorned with green and silver beads that refracted the light.
    "Thank you," Cassian said.
    Samarra couldn't help but stare at the archeop's talons, all painted in silver.
    "They are useful when gripping onto branches," the archeop said when she noticed Samarra staring.
    "Thank you very much for helping us." Samarra smiled politely, though she blushed.
    The archeop took a handkerchief from her breast pocket and bunched it under Cassian's nose. "Inhale. I am not