Elef took three other members of the pack with him to explore the upwards trail. They had to pass the ravine to get to it. As they passed, Elef took a deep breath. I knew it. That is Jacard’s scent. I know it is.

“You smell that? It is Jacard. He went down, not up.”

The other wolves took deep sniffs.

One of them, Rokel, with sandalwood fur, turned his head to the ravine and walked to the edge. “You may be right. I can smell something or someone. But we do not have a way down until Daqul gets back.”

Elef joined Rokel. “That is not entirely true. We do not have a way up. Going down is easy.”

Rokel shook his head. “I do not think Hightower would approve of any of us going down.”

Elef barked a laugh. “Honestly, at this point, I do not care what Hightower thinks. If it means saving my friend, then he will get over it.” He then slid himself into the ravine. It was slippery going down. He used his paws to break his fall. When that did not work, he switched to human form. The snow was colder, but the hands and feet hindered his fall better than paws. Halfway down it was a sheer drop. There was nothing to grab onto. He shifted into wolf form, tucked himself into a ball, and braced himself for the impact. The thud sound that came from the ravine was heard at the top.

Rokel peered over as far as he dared. He could barely make Elef out. “Are you okay?”

Elef regained his senses and looked up. “Not sure. But I will be. I may have broken an ankle, but it will heal soon enough. I am going to scout around. Give me a minute.”

The surrounding area was just a cut in the mountainside. Then he spotted darkness, a cave entrance. He limped into the cave.

The cave smelled, but most importantly it smelled of Jacard. The smell was stronger here. He searched the area. Jacard was not here, and even stranger his smell stopped at the back wall.

Elef searched the wall, looking for a hidden alcove or door. After a few minutes, he kicked the wall in frustration.

He returned outside and yelled to Rokel, “He was here, no question about it. When Daqul gets back, we need to investigate further. There is something strange about this cave I found down here.”

Rokel closed his eyes and shook his head back and forth. “We will update Hightower. We will be back as soon as Daqul returns.” He and the others headed back to the rest of the pack.

Several hours later, Daqul returned to the pack with the ropes.

A loud shrill cry sounding was heard from the sky. A giant bird with a wingspan of twenty feet dropped from the sky towards the pack. It looked like a bald eagle, except its head was covered in feathers. It had a plume three feet high, the body was extremely muscular, and its talons were the size of motorcycles. Many members of the pack backed up. It was almost to the ground when it shimmered and a tall man with long blond hair and a short beard landed lightly on his feet in the middle of the group. “Sup.”

Hightower padded over. “Roc, it is good to see you.”

Roc reached down to a bag tied to his leg and pulled out some clothes. He got dressed in shorts and a T-shirt. “Yep, Daq filled me in. Jacard lost. Elef in a panic.”

Rokel and the others that accompanied Elef arrived. Rokel updated everyone and explained where Elef was waiting.

Hightower shook his head and growled. “Damn it, Elef. I swear that mutt is going to get himself killed.”

Several surprised looks came from members of the pack.

Daniel whispered. “Hightower, isn’t that a bit extreme. Calling him a mutt? In front of everyone? That is harsh.”

Hightower pushed Daniel away with his shoulder. “Listen up. We have order and rules to protect the pack and its members. We all have to follow them. Now let us go get him, and hopefully Jacard, and finish this.”

The pack and Roc went back to the ravine.

Elef continued his search of the cave. He smelled Jacard. His scent was prevalent. There were several additional scents, all were female. Two, in particular, were stronger than the others but there had been several. Jacard, what have you gotten yourself into? All the scents ended at the back of the cave. Did they walk through the wall? That is not possible.

Elef had tried everything, kicking, punching, looking for a secret door. There was nothing here. Where did everyone go? In frustration, he howled at the wall. It was a loud, piercing wail. Nothing happened.

From outside he heard his name. Hightower, at the top of the ravine, called out. “Elef.”

Elef exited the cave and shifted to human form. “I am down here. I found Jacard’s scent, along with the scent of several women.”

Daniel laughed. “Well, no wonder he did not come back. He was having too much fun to come and find us.”

Elef shrugged. “I do not think it was like that, Daniel. Plus, I smelled electrical flames, like burnt oxygen.”

Roc jumped off the edge. Halfway down, he briefly shimmered into his other form—just enough to spread his wings to break the fall—and turned back. “That could be magic. It can produce that exact kind of scent. Show me, Elef.”

“Magic? Are you trying to tell me that magic is real?”

Roc raised his left eyebrow, perplexed. “So we can use your spirits to change into animals, and yet you do not believe in magic?”

Elef thought about this for a moment. “You have a point.”

Roc investigated the cave. “Yep. Sure of it. Magic was used here. Probably to go somewhere else. The whole group left the same way.”

Elef sighed. “Then where did they go, Roc? Where?”