shuddered once, and then was still.

“LET’S GET DOWN TO THAT FORTRESS AND MEET ANGE… I MEAN MIA, LET’S GO MEET MIA!” Balto yelled over the wind.

Aazule nodded, and the two ran down the hill.

 

Balto and Aazule were almost to the fortress, and were talking as they sprinted the last two hundred yards.

“So,” Balto said. :You and Mia have some ‘history’ she said.”

Aazule sighed and nodded.

“Not good, huh?”

“Let’s just say that the reason she and I are dead now is because I ran away from a fight.”

“Oh…” Balto said.

“Yeah,” Aazule said, sighing again. “She doesn’t like me much these days.”

“We’re here.” Balto said.

The two of them slowed to a stop, and gazed upon the courtyard of the fortress.

A red demon wolf walked around the inside.

“I got‘im” Balto said.

He ran at the wolf, and before it had a chance to cry out, hit it’s legs, rolling it over the top of him.

Balto sunk his teeth into the things neck, and it burst into red particles that quickly faded.

Aazule joined Balto below.

“I see you’ve met these before.”

Balto shook his head.

“I don’t know how I knew to do that, I… I just did.”

The two dogs looked at one another.

“Aniu.” They both said.

Balto looked up at the stormy sky.

“Thanks mom.”

“Balto look out!” Aazule yelled.

Balto ducked, and a razor sharp paw just missed his head, clipping his ear as it flew past.

Aazule jumped over Balto, and hit the demon, throwing it onto it back.

He then delivered the coupe de grace’ by severing its head.

The demon quickly faded.

“Thanks!” Balto said.

“I watch your back, you watch mine.” Aazule said. “We’re going to need each other’s help if we’re going to make it out of here alive.”

Balto nodded.

“Let’s head up top,” Aazule continued.

Balto nodded.

“That’s where it looked like Mia was headed.”

Aazule nodded.

“Exactly.”

Balto and Aazule started cautiously into the first passage way.

 

The two dogs made it to the upper chambers without being contested, and soon came to a room of cells.

“This is probably it.” Aazule said, stepping forward.

Then he saw Mia.

She was laying on the ground…

…not moving.

“Mia!” He yelled.

Balto’s eyes caught site of Jenna then.

“Jenna?”

He looked again.

“JEN!”

He ran toward her.

As he neared the cell, Jenna saw him, and stood up.

“No!” She yelled. “Balto it’s a trap!”

Balto skidded to a stop.

“What?”

He looked behind him, and saw Aazule crumpled on the ground.

“Aazule!” Balto yelled.

He turned back to Jenna.

“What’s going on?!”

Suddenly Balto was hit from behind, and his vision burst bright white, and then…

Blackness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 8

 

Balto opened his eyes and groaned.

He rolled over and half sat up.

“My… my head… hurts.”

Jenna ran to him, and knocked him over.

“BALTO!”

She licked him on the face and buried her muzzle in his neck.

“I.. I was so worried, I thought… well, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

Balto sat back up.

“Jenna?”

He noticed that she wasn’t wearing her bandanna, and there was a blue glow around her.

“JEN!”

He nuzzled her, but couldn’t feel fur, couldn’t feel anything…

“What happened to you Jen?”

Jenna’s eyes filled with tears.

“Balto, it’s horrible, what… what he did to me…”

“Who’s he?” Balto asked.

“Oh Balto… I’m so sorry, so sorry, I… I tried… tried to stop him… but… but….:

Jenna became unintelligible then, and Balto couldn’t understand the rest.

“Shh, it’s okay, Jen, everything’s going to be okay. We’re going to get out of here, and go back to Nome, and everything will be just how it was.”

Jenna sniffled, and hung her head.

“No… not the way it was Balto….”

She paused and took a deep breath.

“Nothing will be the way it was, never again…”

She got up and walked back to the other corner, where Aazule was still unconscious.

“Balto.”

Balto turned.

Mia stood behind him.

“Balto, I need to talk to you.”

He walked over to her.

“Balto, how much do you love Jenna?”

“More than anything.” Balto said. “I’d die for her.”

Mia sighed.

“Balto… I’m afraid there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m going to be blunt.”

She took a deep breath and let it out.

“One of them is going to die.”

“Who?” Balto said.

Mia tossed her head toward Jenna.

“Oh no…” Balto said. “Which one?”

“That’s up to you.” Mia said. “Balto, you’re going to have to make a choice., one of them is going to die, they cannot both exist… by the rules, it should have been impossible in the first place, Jenna should have stayed dead, but.. but you got lucky… and now you have to choose.”

Jenna started coughing, and Balto saw her throw up some more of the blue light.

“What’s wrong with Jenna?” Balto asked.

Mia sighed.

“Balto, I told you… one of them is going to die, the choice as to who? That’s up to you.”

“Balto sighed and turned to look at Jenna.

He sighed.

“Alright… I’ll do it tonight.”

 

Balto woke up that night, and walked over to Jenna.

H knelt beside her and looked at her.

“I’m sorry.” He said quietly, careful not to wake her.

He looked over to the other Jenna, and then back to the one in front of him.

“… but I can’t lose her.” He said.

He opened his jaws wide, and started to close them on Jenna’s throat.

Balto could feel the blood flowing beneath the fur of her neck, and then could taste it, as his teeth started to puncture her skin.

Suddenly he stopped.

Balto pulled back and fell to the ground.

“I.. I can’t do it.” he said.

He looked at her sleeping there, her chest rising and falling with each breath, and could also see a thin streak of blood, her blood, on her neck, staining the white fur a deep crimson.

“I can’t do it…”

A tear slid out of his eye.

“I’m sorry Jenna… sorry…”

He stood up, and walked back to the corner, where he collapsed and softly cried himself to sleep.

 

The next morning Jenna woke up, and felt a stinging pain in her neck.

She looked at herself, and saw a streak of dried blood, running from her neck all the way down her leg to her paw, where it joined a small stain on the floor.

“What happened to me?” She thought.

About that time, one of the red demon wolves walked in, and addressed her.

“His lordship would like a word with you.”

“Me?” Jenna asked.

“Yes you!” the demon hissed.

She nodded, and the cell door swung open.

Jenna walked through, and it shut again.

She looked back at Balto, who was still sleeping soundly.

“I love you so much…” She thought.

Then she turned and followed the guard.

As Jenna stepped into the room, she saw a black and white dog standing in front of a fire place.

She looked to her left and right, and saw two of the wolf demons standing beside the door.

The thing that caught Jenna’s eye though were the two white dogs flanking the black and white one.

They were beautiful…

They looked almost like Mia, but their wings were cut off about halfway.

The black and white dog looked up.

“Leave us.”

The two white dogs turned and walked toward the door.

Jenna shivered as they passed, and looked down to keep from meeting their gaze.

She felt an evil, unlike any she had seen, experienced, or even heard of, emanate from them.

The wolf demons followed the two white dogs out of the room, and left Jenna and the black and White dog together… alone.

“Join me Jenna.” The dog said.

Jenna walked forward until she was beside the dog, and stopped.

She looked up, trying to see if she would recognize him, but she could not see. His features were masked by shadows, and she could see his face only briefly in the flickering firelight.

“Look at it Jenna….”

Jenna turned her gaze to the fire.

“… I used to think it was so awesome… fire.”

He sighed.

“… now all I can hear are the screams….”

Jenna decided she probably didn’t want to know why.

“Jenna, I called you in here to save you.”

“Save me from what?” Jenna asked.

“Balto.” The dog said.

“Balto? He.. he wouldn’t hurt me, he loves me.”

“No,” the dog said. “He loves Jenna.”

“I am Jenna.” She responded.

“No,” the dog said again. ‘You look like Jenna, you smell like Jenna, heck, you probably even taste like Jenna, but you

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