004 The Dim Patronus

"Ohh, you again? Interesting!" The man was leaving the alley when she burst in there, and was now grinning at her as he turned and began to stroll towards her with a playful gesture.

It was only a game to him, and she was the toy.

Kitty stood there, shivering, shocked by the missing of her three unrelated families, and by the evil man in front of her.

She couldn't even find any strength to move, let alone taking a run, again.

"Oh? He finally came?" The man let out a slight exclaim, stopped.

He heard something over the earpiece he was wearing.

"You are so, so lucky today, little kitten..." His vicious eyes locking on her, but he was now taking small steps away from her.

Before she could find her voice again, or take even the slightest move, he turned and ran away fast, hurrying to somewhere apparently.

Kitty let out a long breath after his shadow disappeared for several LONG seconds, and let her body dropped onto the ground.

Their cabin was on fire. Though shabby and broken, it was a place they could finally call home, which was not something they could take for granted.

But now, everything was gone. The village, their cabin, her family. With tear rushing out of her eyes, Kitty did not dare to even think about what might had happened to them.

They were only so young! They had not enjoyed much of the miserable life forced on to them, unlike Kitty, who had seen a light of happiness before she lost her parents when she was 14.

She had nothing now, nothing but the slightest hope that maybe Emma was still alive, maybe Tony and Sarah escaped. She had to believe that. She had to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING, because she couldn't bear the stillness that suddenly seemed to have filled her world.

The man! The man that just left in a hurry! He was the biggest hope for the return of her family, IF they were still alive. She had nowhere else to go anyways.

She wiped the tears filling up her eyes and stood up again.

With the small village getting devoured by the huge fire, Kitty left the village behind, taking the direction the horrifying man disappeared to.

The village was now all quiet.

No more screaming, nor the loud "bangs" the mobs made when they kicked down doors and dragged out people hiding in houses. Only now and then one or two the cracks rose from the burning ruins of what the villagers once called home.

The man went to the square in the center of the village, where a small church stood. It was the tallest building in the village, also one of the few stone ones, which was where Kitty chose to hide in.

She knew the church inside out. Living on street, a church is the first place you get used to.

Looking down from the bell tower, she finally saw what saved her from the terrifying man earlier:

A huge silver wolf, who was now surrounded by seven as big wolves as himself.

The mob, ALL in black, ALL grinning at the silver wolf, were now quiet and on guard, eyes locking on their prey in the center.

Except one man. The man Kitty met, and escaped from twice today.

He was not part of the circle. He was standing on the statue of the village, looking down with a vicious smile: "Finally, Erebus, you are under my feet."

He stomped hard on the monument as he said the word "feet", and that was when Kitty noticed that the silver wolf resembles so much of that piece of stone.

Could he be? The protector of their village, the legendary alpha that the village took as their God, The Silver Lightning?

"Perses, you burnt down a village only to get a try at me?" The silver wolf was covered in blood.

A huge wound torn on the wolf's abdomen, he opened his mouth, yet his deep, firm voice that was born with dominance was not shaking.

"Without your twelve Dim Patronus to protect you, how big a chance do you have against me?" Perses answered with only another question.

The smug in Perses's tone started to worry Kitty. But to her surprise, Erebus didn't seem to care--

"And where did you send my cute little Patronus?"

"To do good deeds, of course. Saving some poor human here and there..." Perses smirked, making a quote with his fingers in the air when he said "good deeds", "only far away from you. Sorryyyy."

Erebus didn't answer, he squinted his eyes, noticing the girl in the bell tower.

Escaping just got harder because he couldn't leave the girl there.

That evil man! He was totally not sorry at all! Kitty thought to herself, getting down from the bell tower.

She hid behind the wall closest to the death circle, thinking if there was anything she could do to help her God's escaping.

"I was wrong about you though." Perses went on, assuming the silence of Erebus came from defeat, "I thought you could put up a better fight, unlike this, lying down at my feet like a dog!"

"Same here." Erebus finally replied.

"What? What's same he--" Perses didn't finish his sentence because Erebus suddenly jumped to his left and the wolf who was standing there flew out of the circle at Erebus's hit with a shrill cry.

"Take him! Take him down!" Perses was taken by shock before he could give orders again.

The mob around the circle all shifted and got into the fight. A dozen huge wolves jumped at Erebus with sharp claws and fangs.

Kitty let out a gasp and shrank backwards at the horrific scene:

Erebus shifted right there in the middle of the wolves’ swirl and jumped on one right beside him, leaving the wolves that were jumping at him crashing into each other and really turned into a pool of slime.

He didn't wait for them to react but shifted into his wolf form again right there, on the back of the wolf who was breaking its neck to try to bite him, and jumped out of the circle. The poor wolf under him was stomped into the ground, being used as his stepping-stone.

Kitty froze in awe, watching him easily taking care of the wolves who were still part of a scary army few seconds ago.

"Same here, because I was wrong about you too. It's my fault that I came late to save the village because I thought you were at least human enough to spare your own people." Erebus turned to Perses after he finished with the several wolves who still had enough courage to attack, or, still able to anyways.

"MY people? Don't you see them still worshipping you even after they were assigned to me?!" Perses screams at the top of his lungs, obviously upset at the fact that his trap and sacrifice didn't get him Erebus like how he wanted.

"With good reason." Erebus said with a freezing cold tone, squinting at Perses with danger filled in his eyes.

"I'd rather have my people to burn in hell rather than having them worshipping you!" Perses yelled.

"They are only your people if you keep your oath of protecting them." Erebus shook his head.

"What... what should I do now..." Perses's tone took a sudden turn and filled with sadness.

Erebus sighed and kept his silence, but Kitty could see from where she was standing that Preses's regret was only a ruse because a wolf was sneaking up to Erebus from--

"Behind you!" Kitty forgot she was hiding and screamed, jumping out from behind the wall.

This action saved her because there was also a wolf behind her, who smashed his claw down at her at the same second but missed only because her sudden jump.

Erebus turned his head at her scream, and Perses took this change to shift and clawed him hard on the back. Erebus was slammed into the ground as he shouted: "Come to me!"

Kitty followed his order and ran forward without thinking twice and Erebus quickly stood up and ran towards her. He took her into his arms and dodged only half of a second before the wolf lurking behind Kitty could get to her.

"Follow them!" Perses screamed at the few wolves that were still able to move. Erebus held her with his fangs as he ran towards the woods outside the village.

"There's a bluff at the end of this road!" Kitty yelled when Erebus took a turn at a hidden route in the woods.

Erebus didn't turn or slow down. Kitty could see shadows at both of their flanks, forcing them to stay on this death path.

"Scared?" Erebus put her down by the foot of a tree and asked.

"Not with you here." Kitty shook her head. Her eyes fell on his body and couldn't move any further. Staring at his silver fur with blood dripping off of it, Kitty was restraining herself hard from stroking him.

Erebus got the look in her eyes and chuckled. To her surprise, he lowered his head and rubbed it against her face before she could finish the struggle she was having with herself.

Kitty's ear tips went flush red.

"You cried." Erebus sit by her side, as if not noticing the wolves lurking around them, lessening the circle.

"They took my brother and sisters." With a wronged face, Kitty told him with tears filling up her eyes again.

"..." Erebus didn't say anything this time. He knew there was no chance of anyone surviving Perses's claw.

"Any more escape you want to try before you die?" Perses asked with a polite tone.

"Nope, I'm not going anywhere." Erebus lazily lied down between Kitty and Perses, his head on his arms, his eyes on Kitty. Kitty's eyes were fixed on the scarlet claw marks on his back.

"Look at me!" Perses was totally riled up by Erebus's ignoring him.

Kitty almost jumped up at his roar, but Erebus touched her leg with his nose: "It's okay, trust me."

"I am an alpha too, you should not have ordered me in front of my people. I would not have to take your life if you didn't insult me." Perses yelled at Erebus with a shriek.

"You would have killed them if I didn't--" Erebus sighed but Perses wouldn't let him finish:

"They were only humans! And you chose their no value lives over my pride! Do you have any idea what that felt like?!"

"You should not be an alpha if you really think so. Our oath is to protect our people, ALL our people." Erebus finally turned and looked right into his eyes with a serious look.

"You and your hypocritical principle! You can all go to hell! Get him!" Perces yelled at the wolves and they charged at Erebus all together.

The next second however, the wolves were flying through the air with painful shrilling screams.

"What the-- ?" Perces stopped and looked around.

Nothing.

Nothing except the fact that all his wolves were now howling in pain on the ground.

"What did you do?!" Perses yelled.

"Well, honestly? Nothing. You are not blind, are you?" Erebus finally stood up, stretching.

"Erebus! I will--" Perses sentence was yet again cut off, and this time he finally saw what was happening--

Dim Patronus!

It was Erebus's legendary Dim Patronus! Several huge dark wolves loomed out of the darkness, surrounding Erebus.