Grits of sand blew in the wind, stinging my face and sifting through my fur. There was no scent of rain on my nose . . . the air was hot, and stank like fire and decomposing animals.
I squinted my eyes, looking out through dark lashes. The bright, cloudless sky contrasted the cliffs, rising up around me like an ocean of red and blue, cut by a straight line of black. The black ran for miles to the left and the right . . . I couldn't find the source of this endless black river. A blue and red shape held up by a pole was decorated with white human words.

Hare had told me about this black river. Although there were no beasts thundering down it now, I could feel the fiery monsters' rumbling, running faster than any living creature.

This was the great road, built by humans: Eyeseffendee.

A great gust of wind made me wobble. I crouched down and closed my eyes tightly to shield myself.

When the gust calmed down, I cautiously looked up. A pair of russet-brown paws stood ahead of me. I raised myself slowly and stood face to face with a stern-faced coyote.

"Good to see you, Astor." Hawk said.

My first instinct was to growl, but I quickly realized this wasn't the Shifter. His eyes were kind and contemplative, not greedy and spiteful.

"Hawk!" I barked. "You're really here . . . The Shifter . . ."

"I'm aware of what happened." Hawk smiled sadly. "While I am upset, I know that my tribe is in good paws, as long as you are there."

I frowned. "What do you mean, as long as I'm there?"

"It would seem that fate, or some other, larger force, has called me someplace else. I'm not happy about it, but I have work to do, and so do you. Your work is in the Piedra tribe; you must be their chief."

My throat closed off. What did he say?

"Ahhh," I choked, grabbing a hold of my voice, "What?"

"You must be the chief of the Piedra tribe. I apologize, if I wasn't clear enough." Hawk said calmly.

"I-no, I-I can't be a chief. No, I can't do it." I stammered.

"I think you can. But if you don't mind me asking, why not?" Hawk asked. He was sincerely interested to know, which made my eyes misty. I missed him as my chief, and as my friend, more than I realized.

"I . . . I'm a loner. I don't belong with the Piedra tribe. They wouldn't want me as their leader, anyways. What about Negrita? Or Horizon? It's his birth right, he should be chief."

"Both good options," Hawk sat down, curling his dark tail over his paws, "but Negrita has his heart elsewhere. He left Errehsona, his home land, many years ago when his sister was shot and stolen by humans."

I didn't know Negrita as well as I thought I did. I knew he was from Errehsona, a land to the south west of Kolorato, but I didn't know he had a sister.

"Oh." I muttered.

"And as for Horizon," Hawk said with an air of irritation, "He is too prideful. He thinks he deserves the position of chief simply because of his blood. It is tribe law that the eldest child of the chief or their mate is leader, but tribe law also states that if the chief's children are not fit for the position, someone else must fill the role."

"So what if he's cocky? He'd be better than me." I said.

Hawk smiled, like I had said the wrong thing but he would quickly correct me. "Those who feel they should not be leader are best fit for the position. Those who believe they should be leader, bring their fellows down by pride. It's true that Horizon has leadership skills, but being 'cocky' won't help our tribe."

I looked down at the red earth. It didn't feel quite real; a cold, weightless sense whispered from it, replacing the normal warmth.

"Go back to the hollow, and you will find that our tribe needs you, more than you could imagine."

I remembered the Shifter and looked up quickly. "What has he done?" I growled.

"The Shifter and my brother have united with the Fuego tribe. Under the power of a few, prideful coyotes, they and the tribes from the surrounding territories have been enslaved."

"What!" I barked. My heart crawled with fury, twisting with disbelief.

Hawk nodded gravely. "The Shifter is building an army; the strong will fight for him, and the weak will be his slaves. Unless you stop him."

My heart picked up speed. I imagined poor Hare, unable to keep up because of her limp and her aching joints, working in the hot sun under the Shifter's ugly watch. I imagined Sego fighting for her life against foes that were not her own.

"I can't be their leader, but I won't let the Shifter or Snake do this." I said.

Hawk sighed. "Such determination. I understand your insecurity; I didn't think I would be a worthy chief either. Go fight the Fuego, the Shifter and my brother. Save my tribe. I can't force leadership on you; that will be your own choice, but please consider it."

I hesitated for a moment, then quietly said: "I will."

"I'm glad." Hawk stood up. "And before you leave here, to return to reality, one more thing:"

"Yes, Hawk?" I asked, standing up as well.

Hawk smiled. "Take care of my daughter. You're a good kid; she deserves you."

"Yes, sir." I replied.

<----•••---->

The sensation of cold drops on my fur was what woke me from my sleep.

Thunder rattled the sky, shaking it like brittle branches in a storm. I opened my eyes when I realized water was not only spattering my pelt, but pooling around me slowly, blending the red dirt with my caramel fur.

I heaved myself up slowly. My muscles were tighter and more sore than they had ever been before. Moving made it feel like my bones were breaking. My skin stung with raw scratches from the horrible creatures. Everything either burned with pain, or was broken beyond feeling.

A horrible snarl curled through the air. I turned my head painfully towards the source.

A dark, lanky figure lumbered over me. A horrible scent crawled through the metallic air like maggots, burning my eyes. Great antlers scratched the sky, topping a long head with ugly eyes. Pink foam rolled from its lips, beading on the sand.

The wendigo had found me.

I made an effort to get up and run, but my legs would only allow a feeble flop. I was out of strength and motivation, both mental and physical. After my failed attempt to stand up, there was nothing I could, or wanted, to do.

So I layed there in the dirt, feeling defeated and shameful. Here I was, giving up on my tribe again, because I didn't have the strength to fight. Hawk's words, now feeling quite hollow, rang through my mind. I wasn't worried about the approaching wendigo; I was only worried about the fate of my enslaved tribe.

A fierce scream pierced the air like lightning. The wendigo didn't seem to hear it, but my heart lifted with hope; had someone come to save me?

A flurry of excited yips filled the air around me, then flashes of red and gold took the wendigo to its knees.

"Stay away from its mouth! Don't let it bite you!" A male barked out.

I was confused at my luck, but wasn't going to complain.

half a dozen coyotes piled on the wendigo, restricting its strong movements. I could tell the coyotes were skilled fighters; they moved with fierce agility and precision, but they were struggling to keep the large creature down while avoiding its snapping teeth. The wendigo whacked two coyotes away with a hard thud, and unknowingly battered at least half a dozen with its sharp antlers.

"Quick! Trap its legs!" The male cried out again.

Three coyotes were able to snap on three of its limbs, leaving a scabby arm flailing. I got up, ready to do something-I don't know what-but a large caramel coyote jumped before I could. He landed a sharp bite on its neck before the wendigo could bite him.

"You've got it!" A female yipped.

"Hold tight, Candor!" A bronze coyote called.

The wendigo thrashed violently, but it didn't looked panicked. It didn't care about death. It only cared about feeding its never-ending hunger.

"Get its heart, it won't die unless the heart is destroyed!" The bronze coyote called again, struggling against the wendigo's cloven foot.

A russet coyote jumped on the ugly creature and tore at its chest with sharp teeth. With shocking speed, he dismembered the rattling rib cage.

I turned away from the shrieks of the wendigo. It made a horrifying, soul-crushing and sanity-destroying sound; worse than rabbits being eaten alive or pups being tortured.

I covered my ears, but the horrifying scene was done after a long moment.

It was quiet again, with nothing but the trickling rain and the ringing of my ears. I looked up to see the four coyotes stepping away from the carcass, and the russet coyote standing over a pile of glittering shards, breathing heavily. His muzzle was red, but the remains by his paws shimmered an ethereal blue.

Its heart was made of ice . . .

The golden coyote looked over to me. His green eyes, set by a stern, angled face, looked familiar . . .

"Are you alright?" A yellow female asked me, drawing my gaze away from the big coyote.

"What? Oh, yes, I'm okay."

"ASTOR!"

Saguaro ran to me, kicking up sand in a flurry and her tail spinning rapidly. She tackled me, toppling both of us to the ground.

"I'M SO HAPPY YOU'RE STILL ALIVE!"

She licked my face, yipping happily between licks.

"Sarah-Saguaro, I can't breathe! Get off me!" I said grouchily, but wagging my tail as well.

"Oh, sorry!" She pulled away to let me sit up. "I'm just so excited to see you!"

"Even after everything I said?" I muttered, glancing at the red scars beneath her eye. "I-I was so . . . so mean to you, after all you had done for me."

Sarah's eyes flashed with hurt, but they were quickly replaced with forgiveness. "Oh yes. Yes you were. But I think I understand you now, at least a bit. And guess what? I found the Guerro!"

"Wait, what? Really?" I asked, wagging my tail.

"Yeah, turns out we weren't too far from them. They had moved out since the spirits visited them."

"Which was quite a long time ago, at least a generation or two." The bronze coyote said, walking closer to me. His fur was flecked with age, but it glimmered with strength. His green eyes, softer than the large coyote's, looked me over. "You must be the famous Astor. Saguaro can't stop talking about you."

I nodded shyly, and Sarah attempted to formulate a convincing denial.

"Let's get back to the cave. We've spent far too long with this demon." The bronze coyote gestured to the mangled wendigo carcass.

Sarah and I followed the coyotes back through the muddy desert, running to escape the flash flood. The yellow female and the russet coyote ran in the back, either to shepherd Sarah and I to safety or to make sure that we didn't fall behind.

We made it to our destination as the water rose to our ankles. A small, square cave, barely large enough for a single coyote, cut into the side of a hill. It would have been impossible to see from most angles because of the large boulders around it. I wouldn't have been able to find it if I hadn't been led to it.

"Follow me, yearlings. It's tight, but will open up." The bronze coyote called out over the rain.

He ducked into the dark cave, folding over his ears so they wouldn't scrape the ceiling.

"You can go first, Astor." Sarah said.

"No, I think you should. I'll be right behind you." I replied.

"That's reassuring." Sarah said. I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic, but she dipped in after him. I followed closely behind her.