The Winter Tiger Read online

  Every window, street or bar sign, any source of light was housed within crimson bulbs. The Tigers were not fans of having anything within the city not in keeping with their traditional colours red, gold and black. To an outsider, the Winter Tiger had no doubt that it would be an equally impressive and terrifying sight. A city to rival even the most imperious of cities from the annuals they kept of the mysterious and alien humans on Earth.

  An involuntary shudder ran through Winter’s long, muscular limbs, causing his golden armour to rattle, which in turn sent two cub Tigers scarpering from the front of a nearby bar. Two youngsters no doubt up to mischief. Winter couldn’t help but envy them.

  Earth was a world the Winter Tiger knew better than anyone, and yet destroying it hadn’t given him the closure or satisfaction he thought it would. It had been nearly thirty years since he set foot on Earth, not that a living soul knew he’d ever visited the planet. Thinking of Earth sullied his mind, a stain of doubt gnawed away, much like the enigmatic young Wolf.

  Star Wolf. It was a name that interrupted many of his thoughts.

  ‘Star Wolf,’ Winter muttered, gazing up to the endless night sky full to bursting with planets of other races. They had destroyed over a hundred and it wasn’t even a fraction of what existed in the known galaxy. Winter had work to be done and all this waiting around was a waste of his valuable time. ‘You there,’ he ushered over a greying Tiger, whose hunched spine had seen many years of hard labour, ‘bring your tuk-tuk about immediately.’ The stern-faced Tiger bowed, a slow and shuddering motion before he vanished around the corner behind a pile of wooden crates.

  ‘Here you are, Lord Winter.’ The old Tiger hacked and spat a globule of phlegm onto the street before coughing violently.

  ‘Shut up and drive you fool.’ The Winter Tiger clambered into the back of the rickety motor vehicle, his body covering the entire seat. ‘Take me to the Elder Temple.’ The haggard Tiger made hard work of climbing into the driver’s seat. ‘Now!’ snapped Winter as the engine spluttered into life.

  They vaulted forward and began weaving a path through the crowded streets. At first, Tigers complained but soon hightailed at the first sight of the passenger. Cowards in every direction. Winter clenched his paws and jaw in unison glaring at every Tiger they passed. A young Tiger cub, no more than three, smiled without fear as Winter caught his eyes.

  The Winter Tiger nodded back. ‘Perhaps they’re not all cowards.’

  THE WINTER TIGER STOOD before the largest golden structure Tigris had ever seen, perhaps the entire galaxy. It was a sight to behold in the shimmering moonlights of Tigris Luna I and II. The entire Elder Temple was made from real gold, mined right here on Tigris, unlike the fake paint used to line the streets of Tigrefell. The common Tigers were not worthy to tread pure gold on a daily basis — or so the Elder Three told Winter on many occasions. Their hatred for their own kind was staggering and yet expected of their near god-like status. The planet revered and feared them in equal measure, and with good reason.

  Thousands of steps were carved into the very structure itself and led to the summit of the pyramid, the Elder Three’s lair. A structure so big it put the famed Golden Temples of the crafty Leopards to shame. They were a race the Winter Tiger had unfinished business with. I’m coming for you Shadowfang.

  The Winter Tiger would not belittle himself by clambering up the endless staircase, as many Tiger was made to endure. As general of the Tiger forces, he was as close to being a god as a Tiger could be without achieving such lofty status. ‘You, over there,’ he clicked his left thumb and middle claw, ‘fetch a hovercraft and take me to the top.’

  The dozen armed Tigers on sentry duty turned to regard Winter. He took heart from the stony visages, no Tiger liked being told what to do, and nor should they.

  ‘Of course, General Winter,’ responded a near-black Tiger. His face had only two orange stripes. Each one ran from forehead through his eye and down to his jaw. He was one of Blackfire’s offspring, not that the former general had anything to do with his children. No, Blackfire’s proclivities lay elsewhere. But in keeping with Tiger law Blackfire had fathered half a dozen strong male Tigers, that Winter knew of anyway. The Winter Tiger had never heard any stories of Blackfire fathering female Tigers but that didn’t mean he hadn’t.

  ‘Ready when you are, sir,’ said Blackfire’s spitting image, only more youthful and less scarred, sat atop a small hovercraft big enough for three Tigers. They floated up in near silence, the only sound the gentle humming of the engines. Once at the top the Winter Tiger disembarked out onto the lavish, tropical courtyard which led into the heart of the Elder Temple.

  ‘Wait here for me.’ The Winter Tiger didn’t turn around to get a response or acknowledgement, his soldiers knew better than to disobey him.

  Neatly spaced palm trees, on either side of the huge opening, provided some shade from the scorching sunlight during the day. Now, at night-time, they created intricate patterns from the moonlight sneaking through their leafy gaps. The faint illuminations only heightened the secluded nature of Winter’s surroundings, this was his favourite time to visit the Elder Three; and that was saying something.

  Gorgeous red anthuriums surrounded the palm trees and in the centre of the opening sat a golden statue of three enormous Tigers, in strong proud poses, naked and reaching for the stars. A water feature, full of lily pads, encircled the statue and provided the only seating. Winter moved to the centre and perched down beside the water, tracing his hand through the cool, calm surface to send ripples floating away. In these rare moments of tranquillity, he savoured the floral scents and the buzzing of Crickets in the grass beds framing the waiting area.

  The Elder Three’s minions would know of his arrival and would come to fetch him when the Elders were ready, which as it turned out was nearly an hour later. Not a problem, usually, but tonight Winter had to endure the tortured screams of young Tigers inside the temple meeting their untimely demise.

  And for what? They were sacrifices, which prolonged the lifespan of the Elder Three and all their collective wisdom.

  The sweet perfumed scent of the Tiger minion reached Winter long before the slim, sinuous featured Tiger approached him. ‘The Elders will see you now, General Winter.’ Words spoken with a hint of scorn, by a slave who believed himself untouchable as a favoured Tiger of the Elder Three.

  Fool.

  The Winter Tiger stood, towering over the finely robed slave whose crimson silk robes wafted in the night breeze. Winter rolled his neck and the audible cracks of his spine caused the skinny Tiger to jump. ‘Lead the way,’ Winter shot out a paw to grasp a thin wrist, he squeezed hard to force an involuntary yelp from the, ‘slave.’ He released his grip, spinning the Tiger around shoving him in the back and to be expected the skin and bone Tiger fell to the floor and before he could get up Winter gave him another order, ‘Stay on all fours.’

  Obedience came, though the Tiger’s eyes betrayed fury buried deep beneath layers of tradition and rule. The slave padded forward on all fours, a primal movement and yet ridiculous to behold, his silk robes snagged on his claws.

  At the entrance to the inner reaches of the temple the Winter Tiger shoved the pathetic Tiger to one side. ‘Away with you slave. Next time I see you I shall kill you.’ The gentle patter of claws accompanied the Tiger’s retreat into the dark tunnels, the only light coming from fire torches pinned into the walls every so often. Pathetic.

  With every step, proudly taken on hind legs, the Winter Tiger caught the reek of

  fresh blood. The all too familiar smell intensified as Winter moved deeper into the temple, down the long winding tunnels he descended. Every guard, albeit half-naked in nothing more than golden metallic loincloths and vests, nodded respect to their military leader. Winter didn’t bother acknowledging any of them, these weren’t real soldiers they were glorified babysitters and general playthings for the Elder Three. Every time the Winter Tiger wandered these tunnels the hypocrisy of it all turned hi
s saliva to bile, which sent a wave of sickness and rage through him.

  And yet he had to play their games, he didn’t have the numbers to overthrow them.

  Yet.

  After fifteen minutes of walking he came out into the cavernous hole buried deep within the Elder Temple. The space mirrored the outer structure, a smaller pyramid protected by the thick gold outer-shell. Across the back wall, three gigantic black stone thrones housed the Elder Three. A flight of golden stairs lay before for them, a mere twenty steps and yet each one was half the size of a Tiger. In the centre of the room, cut into the base of the floor, was a rectangular pool full to the brim with a thick crimson liquid. All around the pool rivulets spread out, disappearing at the edges of the room, snakes of inconsistent patterns, like the roots of a tree and the flow of blood trickled down them. Body parts were strewn in every direction; it was near impossible for the Winter Tiger to tell how many dead Tigers lay there, dozens at least.

  ‘Ah, General Winter, thank you for joining us.’ The centrally seated Elder, the fattest and oldest of the Tigers waved a hand in a circular motion. ‘Come closer. We hope you’ve not been waiting long.’

  As with every other meeting the Winter Tiger had to suppress a growl at the formalities and fanciful lies laid out before him. The Elder Three waited for no one and made everyone wait for them.

  The Winter Tiger took measured steps forward trying, and failing, to avoid standing in blood and gore. He couldn’t help but notice the smirks from the ten Tigers stood on guard duty, yet another bunch of vain Tigers only fit to savage and maim cubs. They were no warriors and Winter would see their kind eradicated. He swore it every time he came to the ostentatious Elder Temple. Each wall housed elaborate awnings, depicting the Elders greatness and the Tigers absolute devotion to the Tiger cause.

  The Elders were beyond names, above them in Tiger folklore, and as such the Winter Tiger began addressing all three, ‘Not a problem, I am here to serve you in all your wisdom.’ The words burned in his throat, lies, as he knelt before the golden stairway, ‘I trust you are,’ he paused, looking around at the murderous carnage, ‘replenished.’

  To the left of the fattest Elder sat the skinniest, though still grossly overweight in Tiger terms, his fat belly sagged over a soiled loincloth. The Elders weren’t interested in fancy attire when dwelling in their Temple, not that they ever left. Winter hadn’t seen them outside of this temple since the Apex Wars, decades ago. The weight they had gained in that time was considerable. They’ve gone soft.

  The ballet between rulers and general danced along a knife-edge.

  On the right was the naked Elder, he never bothered with clothing, which was unfortunate given how his genitalia drooped over the edge of his stone seat, wobbling when he spoke. ‘Very good. Winter. Our evening swim has done us the world of good, the effects will become clearer in the morning.’ The naked Elder leaned forward. ‘And don’t you forget it.’

  A not so subtle reminder their black magic and blood-spells did have a restorative effect on their gruesome bodies; hence the reason they had ruled Tigris for nearly two hundred years, or so the legends went.

  At this meeting, it was the turn of the skinniest Elder to question the Winter Tiger over his lack of children. ‘When can we expect White Tiger cubs? We’ve been beyond patient with you.’

  ‘You’re not getting any younger,’ said the fattest Elder.

  A brief tut left the smallest Elder before he continued, a seed of contention between the Elders perhaps, ‘Quite.’ He stroked at his greying beard and ground his long, yellowish-black teeth across each other. ‘You know Tiger law, we’ve told you repeatedly, how many times must we remind you?’

  At least once more.

  ‘I understand.’ Winter nodded and closed his eyes, controlling the rage surging through his limbs, squashing down the desires to slit the throat of every Tiger in the room. ‘But as you well know leading our forces is a time-consuming occupation. Even more so now we are finally at war once more.’ His subtle dig wasn’t missed, and his speech was cut short.

  ‘It is not finally!’ boomed the Elder Three in unison. ‘You do not question our decisions.’ The repulsive, fat Tigers shook as they spoke collectively.

  The fattest Tiger stood up, something Winter hadn’t seen one of them do in years. ‘We know what you’ll say. White Tigers are rare and potentially gone, well, we’ve had enough of your excuses. If there are no White Tigers left, you will breed with a Tiger.’

  The Winter Tiger exhaled and the Elder Three smirked.

  ‘And you will continue to breed with your daughters, and their daughters until there are White Tigers on our planet once more. We need both fire and ice in the coming centuries.’

  You don’t have the numbers. Winter cautioned himself, and it was the only reason he didn’t leap forward and murder the Elders. What good was a fleeting victory within this Temple only for the foolish zealots to bring down upon the Winter Tiger thousands of Tigers hell-bent on revenge for their fallen idols.

  You don’t have the numbers. Winter bowed and made his exit, yet.

  4. The Fortress of Lupus

  Space was infinite and immovable, unless of course, you paid attention. Star Wolf stood on the busy flight deck of Lupenroad, focused on every moving dot out of the floor to ceiling window, each one a Wolf spacecraft. Hundreds had been deployed, at Star’s request, and spread out at precise and even gaps around Lupus, the Wolves homeworld.

  Star planned to make Lupus the central point for the Band of Breeds and their amassing army. Strategically it made sense. The Wolves were committing the largest force to the war effort and Lupus itself sat in a reasonable position within the galaxy. Far enough away from Tigris to remain safe and close enough to ally planets to be a sensible assembly point.

  That didn’t stop the grumbles.

  Kodiak, the Brown Bear and leader of Brunneis Ursa, complained at length his planet should house the army, if not at least the Band of Breeds. Star had shot down both suggestions. Brunneis Ursa was even more spread out than Lupus and provided little in the way of resources. Plus, splitting the thirteen members of the Band from the thousands of troops was beyond stupid.

  How can he suggest dividing the forces? Star had kept the question to himself.

  The next to question his decision, and publicly, was none other than the Red Lion, which was problematic to say the least.

  Or so Star thought.

  ‘Star, I understand your reasoning for surrounding Lupus with ships.’ The Red Lion wore a resplendent sleeveless crimson surcoat with the proud golden Lion, side on with front paws up, sewn into the chest. The enormous Lion placed a thick paw onto Star’s shoulder. The Lion’s arm tensed a little and Star couldn’t help but glare at the many scars lining the exposed golden fur. ‘It’s a smart move, you do not have the defence systems on the planet, and this is the safest course of action to protect Lupus. But we’re after bigger things now, aren’t we? You need to think beyond your own species, the fate of the galaxy is at stake.’

  ‘You mean like you did on Leo.’ Star winced at his outburst, fearing the worst. He turned to regard the Red Lion expecting to see fury in those enormous red and black eyes.

  ‘I was a fool to hideaway and sulk.’ The Red Lion moved away from the window and wandered into a more central position on the flight deck, catching the eye of every Wolf and those present from the Band of Breeds as he did so. ‘I should’ve destroyed the Tigers decades ago.’

  ‘You’re not the only one!’ Shadowfang sat atop the ventilation shaft running toward the entrance to the flight deck. The powerful Leopard hopped down, in a lazy yet graceful roll to land on his hind legs. His razor-sharp claws clanked when they hit the floor. He was another animal who had opted to sport his planet’s surcoat, a gorgeous purple littered with sporadic black rings encircling white dots. Pardus’s house emblem, a black Leopard face with white eyes sewn into the centre of the fabric. Star noted how many of the Band of Breeds had reverted to their
house colours, as if the impending war demanded them to do so, loyalty in the face of abject horror.

  ‘Aye, he’s got that right, Red,’ said the Night Badger, who didn’t bother with house colours. The Night Bader was one who didn’t like the ceremony of such things. “No one fights in such attire so why parade around in the stuff,” he’d told Star Wolf one night. Instead, he continued with his black leathers and chainmail, never removing his axes from their hilts on his back. Unless he needed to clean them, which he did most afternoons. It was pretty much the only task he did in the daytime, much to the annoyance of the crew and Band of Breeds. ‘Don’t worry, many an animal aboard this ship could claim they should’ve stopped the Winter Tiger decades ago and yet here we are. Now is the time to act.’

  ‘That’s rich, coming from a lazy Badger!’ Kodiak was in a foul mood and didn’t wait for a response. He stomped off, his ridiculous cape flowing behind him. Worst still the Bear still opted to wear the boots that looked suspiciously like Wolf pelt, another thing Star left unsaid. His war effort hung by a thread and he needed every creature he could muster. No doubt Kodiak was headed to the makeshift den they’d created for him in the landing dock.

  ‘Charming.’ The Night Badger chuckled as he took a seat to the right of Star’s vacant captain’s seat.

  ‘Indeed.’ The Red Lion’s dislike of Kodiak was all too obvious, but Star didn’t press why, nor would he banish one or the other. He needed both and many more. ‘But you’re still wrong to use Lupus as a base point. It’s a waste of ships for one. Relocate to Leo and utilise the Wolf fleet to go on the offence.’

  ‘It’s a good idea but it’s what the Winter Tiger wants, he wants,’ me, ‘us to chase him randomly across the galaxy splitting our forces where he can. We need to solidify a platform and expand our forces and then when we have enough seek him out.’ Star realised a hush had descended over the flight deck.