RONNThey don’t number much, but they certainly are a bunch. I still can’t believe Argell opted for us to cut and run. No matter how he puts it, he’s giving in to a threat that shouldn’t even be in the first place. And now more than ever, I see the need to take Keilen’s advice. If she offered it in the first place.I hear the sound of her feet before catching her scent; that of wet leaves and the faint sharp tang of magic. My nostrils flare in reaction as I ask, ‘What are you doing here?’ ‘What are you doing here?’ she asks right back, and in spite of myself, I chuckle. ‘You’re bold, I’ll give you that. It’s quite admirable’, I mutter. ‘I get that a lot’.She sits next to me but with quite a distance between us. She leans on the tree, and drops her legs so they swing over the cave mouth below us. We both look out at Eldad, as Hustin, Seirmon and the others escort the old and the young out of the huts in groups. ‘Are we all leaving?’ she asks. ‘No. I’m to stay behind with Gylen and Arg
RONNCaivan walks in casually, swinging the bottle with an easy movement that unsettles me for some reason. His black coat sweeps with the grace in his steps as he approaches us, his gaze centered on Keilen.She grins at him and holds a hand out for the bottle. 'You saved my life, black wolf', she says, prying the cover open, 'Who would've thought'. Caivan doesn't reply or regard either of us as he watches Keilen down the drink furiously. 'Veesa said you were unwell, but didn't say how much. What happened?' he asks with an even tone. She shrugs and I hold my breath. 'It's all sort of a blur, really. Where've you been?'He pauses, squinting at her quietly for a while. Then he directs his gaze to Saelyna and he smiles thinly. 'Good to see you back on your feet', he says. When she doesn't reply, he turns to me, his face once again a brick wall. 'I suppose it's good to see you, Ronn'. 'I suppose', I reply. 'I just met with Argell and Veesa. They're holding a meeting. You should come'. I f
SAELYNAArgell's place is lit up with sticks of fire hung around on the walls at strategic positions. Argell sits in his high chair ahead, while Caivan sits at a smaller one by his side, Veesa occupies her rocking chair still knitting, Jenna and Haron sit next to each other at the table.Cyran nudges me before I begin walking, slowly, towards the table. They were talking before we came in, and as soon as we sit, Argell continues like nothing happened.'And the network?' he asks Caivan. 'I haven't heard from them', he says, 'It would seem they are compromised. The shot was taken, not only at Xanwed, but at Lionel'. I hear Cyran let out a breath beside me, and I hold mine briefly. The Lord of Tussel was murdered. I can't or don't want to think about what that would mean for the south, with Tussel being one of the largest cities in Quindar. Caivan certainly makes it seem graver than I can imagine. 'The deer is wily. I wager
RONNTwilight has never looked so inauspicious as it does now. The camp is quiet, the most quiet I've heard in years as I head for the one hut behind the plateau. It's all very absurd. That we would slink back in the face of those cursed wolves. We have the advantage. And it ought to be used.I skirt the slope of the tableland carefully, and when I circle to the other side, I find Gylen in front of the hut. He sits cross-legged on the grass next to Laen, Allos and Farden, a small fire between them, with meat roasting on a spit.I consider my options. Sure they won't buy my idea, at least if I don't sell it properly. My second option, and the most agreeable, is to attack them. Take them out before they react, and then take the wolves. They could sniff me out on time, but the wind is in my favor; it's blowing north, against me.I flex my fingers as I tense for action. Before I move though, Allos asks, 'What is Ronn doing here?'. I pause. I'd certainly underestimated his skills, and now
CYRANIt's very disorienting, not to mention unusual and bad manners, the way they all stare at me. Argell and Caivan both have askant looks, Jenna, beside me, peers like she's seen me for the first time (or maybe she is, she had her eyes only for Saelyna when Veesa had introduced us), Veesa has worn that calculative frown, and Saelyna…Well, she's staring as well. I just wish they'd all stop.Haron sits up; he's the only one who's not been gaping, even though he's opposite me; and he leans forward. 'I suspect you haven't had these…visions for a very long time. Otherwise, Saelyna here would have noticed', he says gently, holding me with feeble eyes. 'Uh…' I'm not comfortable talking about stuff like this, not here, not now. I have just come out of a trance, I'm sure what I had said was horrible, maybe, but right now I just want to get out of this dark place. 'And you see us…losing. Again', Caivan says. I don't reply him. I'm still figuring out his deal. 'Just another thing to worry abo
RONNIt all happens in blinks; it moves like lightening, a flash of white fur and fangs, and its jaws clap down on Pedran's shoulder. I hear a sickening crunch, followed by his scream. Someone yells a curse, Edril leaps at the wolf, two others leap into the circle, their eyes glowing like sapphires in the dark as they attack Allos and Farden.I don't wait before letting my wolf out. Transformation hurts sometimes, but not when its swift, not when adrenaline takes over, when all I feel is the primal urge to attack. I flip the curtain in the back of my mind, letting go of all control.It's harder to rein the change this time, given it's the full moon. The sight around me lowers inch by inch as my calf stretches, my night view grows brighter, and it becomes hard to think. When my fangs rip out of their gums completely, I act on impulse, and I don't think at all.CAIVANThis was not what I had envisioned when I was on the road back from Qarax. Sure, there was bound to be some disquiet, bu
SAELYNAI don't trust myself to speak. I'm too jittery at the moment (actually I've been so for a very long while now, since the "meeting" had been called).It's Halden all over again. It's like a sickness, this fear, this haunting memory that follows me everywhere I go, that emerges like a pest at the first jolt. It hadn't been there before, not until that night with the mages. Not until I was almost certain death was near.We reach the hospice and I lock the door with shaky hands as Cyran drops Caivan on a bed. I blink thrice to adjust my view in the darkness but Cyran is already ahead of me; he finds a jar of fireflies and shakes them awake. 'Where's Haron?' he asks, casting quick glances around the empty hall. I hadn't noticed the old man slip away when we got to the hall. Neither had I noticed the pair of eyes peeking out at me from under the bed to my left. Blue eyes.'Fuck!' I curse aloud, and hold up my hands, ready to draw on the iden, ready to fire at will when the person sp
CYRAN'Why aren't you doing the healing?'I curse loudly, as I leap at the sound of Gylen's voice. Or it's his breath on my neck, I don't know which. 'Would you all stop doing that?' He raises a brow. 'Doing what?' 'Sneaking up on people like that, it's not healthy'. He smirks. 'So you're scared'. 'Who wouldn't be, winter wolves just attacked the village'. The habitual frown replaces his smile as he folds his arms. 'Yes, I suppose so'.I follow his glance back to the bed in the middle of the hall, where Saelyna has her hands on Pedran's shoulder. Blue light glows now and then when she moves, and the girls are in a sort of huddle around them. Save for Keilen, and the one called Charlin. They both sit opposite each other on the far side of the room, totally ignoring the other.Just then, the door bursts open and Veesa strolls in, the older wolvens following behind her. Her white hair streams behind her, soiled here and there with blood that I'm sure isn't hers; her face has a cut or two