Wolf Who Rules

"Okay." Tinker pulled up the recordings she had made of Turtle Creek and directed them to her largest monitor. "Since I don't have a clue how I'm suppose to help my mother, let's see what he has to say about my biggest problem: the Ghostlands."

***

The great Westinghouse Bridge had fallen. The Ghostlands had lapped up against the center most support column and toppled it. Two of its four great arching spans now lay in ruins on the valley floor, slowly leeching to blue. The remaining two spans would soon follow.

Wolf gazed down at the ruin, trying to not to let dismay overtake him. "There's nothing you can do?"

Jewel Tears glared at the valley as if it personally defied her. "Not in time. At the rate it's expanding, it will involve the main river shortly."

She meant the Monongahela River, which flowed past the mouth of the Turtle Creek.

"The creek froze solid," Wolf said. "You don't think river will freeze?"

"If I understand this correctly, the worlds are mirror images." Jewel pointed out at the river. "Where there is a river here, there is one on Onihida?"

"Yes."

"I can't predict what will happen when the force of the river meets this, but what I fear is that the oni can make use of it. As they are now, the Ghostlands are a deathtrap. The forces are funneling downward, like the pit of ant lion. The river might allow the oni to pass unchecked through the Ghostlands."

"How soon?"

"Only a few more days." She turned away from the Ghostlands and him. "Something has to be done. They say your domi can work miracles. Since this is her fault, it would be good for her to fix her mistake."

Yes, he needed to talk to Tinker. He had faith that once she was given opportunity to study the situation, she would find a solution. He brought a second Hand just so he could have one of the sekasha "baby" along to operate the walkie-talkie.

"Find out where domi is," Wolf said to Wraith and turned back to Jewel Tears. "I want Stone Clan to keep their distance from my domi. After what happened with the black willow, I do not trust any of you near her."

Jewel Tears looked away, giving a slight huff of indignation but didn't deny the implication that they meant Tinker harm.

Wraith came back with unease clear on his face. Wolf bowed his leave taking and headed for his Rolls.

"What is it?" Wolf asked Wraith once they were out of the Stone Clan's hearing.

" Domi is at the scrap yard. The dragon is there."

Wolf's heart leap at the news. "She's fighting the dragon?"

"No. Apparently, she's-talking - to it."

***

"No, I'm not talking to it." Tinker said with much disgust in her voice. She smelled of apples, butter and sugar, and her face had mysterious streaks of color paste on it - but otherwise she looked unharmed. "It's giving me math lessons - and I think my head is going to explode."

"Math lessons?" There were times he wondered if his English wasn't as strong as he thought it was.

His domi's workshop was normally ordered chaos, but it now looked like a storm front had passed through it. The digital wall boards were covered with elaborate designs and fluid pictures. Print outs were tacked to bare walls, extending the boards to each side and up onto the ceiling. A television cycled through pictures of the Ghostlands. Machines either half built, or partially dissembled covered all the table surfaces and the floor was littered with magazines, engine parts, and chewed tires.

The only sign of the dragon itself was its long tail sticking out from behind the worktable, thumping against the floor with a force that shook the entire trailer.

"I think its math." Tinker tugged at her hair as if she wanted to tear it out. "Whoever said math is the universal language should be hunted down and shot. Or maybe they thought that sentient creatures wouldn't have the attention span of a gnat."

"So you're safe with it?"

Tinker glanced toward Stormsong instead of the dragon for some reason. "I - don't know. It seems playful as a puppy, but it has sharp teeth - lots of them - in a big mouth."

Wolf shifted sideways until he could see around the table. Tinker's nagarou, Oilcan, and the dragon stared at a television screen while they manipulated something in their hands. On the television screen, a small human female in a skimpy red dress fought a tall muscle bound creature with energetic kicks and punches. The fight ended abruptly with the words WINNER flashing on the screen and the female bouncing around cheerfully. Oilcan groaned and slumped to one side.

"He - he learns fast." Tinker shook her head. "I've never met anyone that intimidated me with their intellect before - but I always thought that the person that did would be more -"

"Human?"

Tinker waved her hand, as if trying to sift out a better word, and then nodded. "I suppose that would work. The language is a huge barrier to understanding what's he's trying to explain to me."

"Have you learned anything useful?"