Wolfs Soul

by Jane Lindskold

  The leader was one of the few who did not carry spear, shield, or machete. He bore a sort of mace or flail, that looked as much ceremonial as practical. Kabot guessed that the leader trusted in his bodyguards, and, possibly, in Teyvalkay. This hung around his neck, one part of an elaborate necklace.

  Kabot intensified his focus as much as he dared without risking being detected himself. After careful examination, he decided that most of the necklace’s various beads, charms, and carved fetishes were only decorations. The strongest magical aura came from twin gold coins joined along one edge. Each coin was somewhat smaller than Palvalkay but, to Kabot’s magically enhanced vision, they blazed like eyes of fire. To normal vision, in contrast to the beads that made up the rest of the necklace, the coins were rather drab. They weren’t even the centerpiece of the necklace, but hung off to one side, slightly lower than the man’s left collarbone.

  Clever misdirection, Kabot thought. Or maybe I’m giving him too much credit. Maybe he himself doesn’t know what element holds the necklace’s magic. He certainly hasn’t been using it.

  The three rebels waited in absolute stillness in their blind, dreading being seen. However, although the militia members were admirably alert, they did not seem to expect trouble so close to home. They trotted briskly along, not in complete silence, but certainly not with the festival atmosphere of that earlier procession.

  “So what does that tell us?” Kabot asked his companions through a temporary link created through their mingled blood.

  Uaid replied, “They know where they’re going. While they’re not stupid enough to leave their town unguarded, the home guard’s a formality. The real question is shall we follow closely or wait?”

  “Wait,” Daylily responded promptly. “They may not be looking behind every tree, but they’re not careless. Once they’re away from safe territory, they’re going to be considerably more alert. I would guess that part of the reason for all that singing and dancing and music during the festival was to keep the wildlife at bay. This group—especially if they’re after someone—can’t risk making that much noise. Let’s trail them, keeping sufficient distance that we’re unlikely to be detected, but close enough that the predators will perceive us as part of the crowd.”

  Kabot agreed, thinking that Daylily’s obsession with appearing both younger than she was and like a storybook idea of a sorceress made it easy to overlook that she was his senior by a good many years and far from frivolous. If she had wanted, she could have taken over leading the group. Lucky for him that while she was passionate about gaining knowledge, that passion was unfocused.

  Somewhat stiffly, they climbed down from their tree and trailed the militia. Nerves already stretched nearly to breaking couldn’t maintain that pitch for long, so Kabot found himself calming. The uncertainty was over. They were doing something. When the militia met up with whoever it was they intended to attack—Kabot didn’t believe for a moment that this was merely an escort for a trade caravan or some visiting dignitary—then his group would take advantage of the confusion to make a strike of their own. Fifty armed warriors was more than Kabot wanted to confront, but the man wearing the necklace was lightly armed and surrounded by only six guards. Kabot would put himself and his allies up against six warriors anytime.

  Funny to think that these people might be planning to take on Wythcombe and his peculiar companions. They were doing Kabot another favor there. They’d supply him with Teyvalkay and, if he was lucky, remove Wythcombe from contention as well.

  If I’m lucky, Kabot thought. Well, I’m a firm believer in making my own luck.

  Laria was relieved beyond belief when Blind Seer, followed shortly thereafter by Farborn, emerged from the jungle to one side of the trail. She could tell that Firekeeper was, too, but the wolf-woman pulled up short halfway into one of those enthusiastic pounces with which she commonly greeted the enormous wolf. Firekeeper didn’t have ears to prick nor hackles to raise, but somehow she managed to give the impression of doing both.

  “Blind Seer say,” she began, holding up one hand to halt them in mid-step, “that hunters come. Or maybe these are not hunters but warriors, for they carry no bows or nets, but rather spears and swords. He asks, Kalyndra, if you know who they may be and if they might hunt us.”

  “Not without seeing them. Is there a way we might get a glimpse without them seeing us first?”

  Firekeeper shrugged. “Perhaps hide up in some of these great trees. If warriors go to Nalrmyna then we know along which trail they will come.”

  Kalyndra nodded briskly. “I know the sort of tree we want, a broadleaf whose foliage will conceal us from those below. We can choose one that offers a line of sight on the trail, but not right over it.”

  This was quickly done. Laria and Ranz assisted Kalyndra and Wythcombe up into the tree Kalyndra selected. Laria thought she had seen large trees during their journey through the mountains in which Wythcombe had retired into his hermitage, but those sky-reaching giants seemed spindly compared to these solid, wide-leaved jungle trees, some of which had limbs wide enough that she could have slept stretched out on them. Rusty was perfectly content to join them aloft, especially after Firekeeper handed up a few leaf-heavy boughs.

  “So he can eat but not shake the branches. Farborn says the warriors be here soon, so stay quiet. No matter what you see, do not stir until they have passed by and I give sign.”

  Laria frowned. “But Firekeeper, what about you and Blind Seer?”

  Firekeeper grinned wickedly. “We hide down here, so we can follow. If they see us, we vanish into jungle—away from where you hide, no fear. Farborn will perch where he can keep sharp watch over.”

  Laria had to be content with that. She found herself wishing that Arasan and the Meddler were there. The one would say something soothing, the other obnoxious. Either would be better than this slowly building, silent tension. Even Rusty seemed to sense it, and stopped tearing at the leaves, contenting himself with chewing his cud.

  They heard the footsteps first, audible more because of their number than because the approaching humans were being particularly noisy. Then they heard a few voices, again not raised, but whoever was speaking apparently felt no need to keep silent. When the source of the voices came into sight, Laria felt no doubt that these were warriors, not hunters. She couldn’t have said why, since long spears were a good choice when attacking a creature much larger than a human, but she knew. The beginning of the column walked in pairs, but toward the middle the band widened so that a single man could walk flanked by two others.

  These two were more heavily armed and armored than the rest, as were the two in the pair ahead, and the two in the pair behind. Clearly these were elite warriors. The one these elites guarded was a man who, in vivid contrast, was the most lightly armed of the entire company. His only weapon was a mace whose ornate embellishments showed it was meant for ceremony, rather than hitting anything, but Laria wasn’t fooled into thinking him harmless. She had grown up surrounded by spellcasters, and she fancied that the ornate necklace the man wore must be his focus.

  She glanced over at Kalyndra, shocked to see that older woman’s usually tranquil expression was distorted by a teeth-bared snarl of barely contained rage. When Kalyndra saw Laria looking at her, Kalyndra mouthed: “Hohdoymin.” Laria squeezed her features into a grimace of sympathy. So that man walking so calmly along, surrounded by his guards, was the man responsible for the deaths of the community that had taken him in, given him an education, and believed him a friend.

  Wythcombe frowned deeply as he studied Hohdoymin. There was no rage in his expression, as there had been in Kalyndra’s, rather the intense thoughtfulness that Laria had seen when he faced a particular arcane puzzle. Something about Hohdoymin, perhaps?

  As the war band passed, Laria tried to locate Firekeeper and Blind Seer, wondering what she would do if someone spotted the wolves. Should she try an arrow shot, or should she trust Firekeeper’s brag that she and Blind Seer could vanish into th
e jungle? Holding still might be best. After all, what good would Laria do anyone if she gave away that there were four humans and a goat hiding close by? But if the wolves were overconfident and got into serious trouble, well then, all bets were off.

  The war band went by, vanishing down the trail without realizing how closely they were observed. Laria was getting edgy, wondering why Firekeeper and Blind Seer hadn’t come for them, when two men and a woman trotted cautiously down the trail, clearly following the warriors. Laria had never seen the men in person, but she recognized the taller of the two from the message he had left for Wythcombe. This was Kabot, in the flesh and looking a lot less confident and dashing than he had in that arcane image. The woman was the same who had rained fire on them back at the ruined tower in Azure Towers. Her hair was green now, but there was no mistaking her. The other man had a strong, stocky build, black hair shading to iron grey at the temples and a spade-shaped beard, also streaked with grey. All three possessed the ragged look of people who had been living rough, but they were stalking Hohdoymin’s war band with the careful confidence of predators.

  Laria looked anxiously over at Wythcombe, worried that he would forget they couldn’t confront Kabot without alerting Hohdoymin’s warriors. To her relief, although the old man’s expression was fearsomely alert, he showed no sign he was about to do anything impulsive. Ranz was holding Rusty’s tether, his gaze locked on the three rebels, his expression one of fixed fascination. Kalyndra was so intently focused on where Hohdoymin and his band had vanished down the trail that she visibly started when the new arrivals crossed into her field of vision.

  Laria put a hand out to steady her, and Kalyndra patted her hand reassuringly. Everyone froze as Kabot and his two associates approached, came abreast, then continued on without noticing that they had been seen.

  “What…” Ranz was beginning, the word more a shape on his lips than a sound, when shouting came from the direction where Hohdoymin’s band had vanished, followed by a wolf’s howl cutting through the hot, still afternoon.

  Blind Seer smelled excitement and aggression rising from the warriors, but very little fear. He had caught similar scents from human soldiers who knew they were going into danger, but felt equipped to deal with it. This seemed an argument in favor of their being the same group that had attacked Nalrmyna at least twice before. These men and women were confident that whatever challenge awaited them was something they could handle.

  When he and Farborn had first seen this armed band coming down the trail, Blind Seer’s first duty had been to warn his pack. Now he had the leisure to more carefully analyze these probable opponents.

  Humans were like wolves in that they usually had a leader, but a human leader did not always physically lead. Even if the presence of bodyguards hadn’t indicated who this pack’s One was, Blind Seer’s ability to scent magic would have directed him to the man who walked with easy confidence at the center, protected as a herd of elk protects their calves. As Blind Seer sought to isolate the leader’s scent, he discovered something very interesting. Although the man did have some magic of his own, the far stronger magical odor rose from the complex necklace that spread over his neck and shoulders. Something about its scent seemed familiar, even though Blind Seer felt certain he had never smelled this specific odor before.

  Had Blind Seer not been analyzing the scent trails so carefully, the spellcaster wolf might have taken longer to catch the fresh scent of the three humans who stalked the warriors. As it was, with his senses open to catch every detail, he was almost rocked back by the strength of four magical auras, all different, all so powerful as to nearly overwash that of the necklace the war band’s leader wore. He knew three of them at once: Kabot, the woman who rained fire, and the unknown man. No surprise, these, but the last…

  Blind Seer stiffened when he realized why the scent of the necklace had been somehow familiar. It was that which had had lingered in Nalrmyna. Between one breath and the next, Blind Seer knew what he and Firekeeper must do. Quickly he summarized what he had learned, then continued.

  “Firekeeper, I want that necklace.”

  A human might have asked why he felt so strongly about this, but Firekeeper accepted that in this hunt for things of magic he was the One and she his first hunter.

  “Then we must take it before Kabot and his pack decide to attack. Now?”

  Blind Seer considered. There were advantages to waiting until dark, but the humans would also know that they were handicapped by darkness. For that reason, he doubted that Kabot would wait until then. The war band—Hohdoymin’s until they learned otherwise—would reach the plateau long before night. Nalrmyna was human-built, so humans would be at an advantage. Neither the clearing at the base of the trail, nor the trail itself would be as much in the wolves’ favor as this thick jungle. Moreover, when Blind Seer and Farborn had scouted, there had been no scent of Kabot’s pack. Therefore, this was unfamiliar terrain to them.

  He decided. “Firekeeper, I do not want Kabot’s pack to close the distance between them and these warriors. With Farborn’s help, I should be able to startle these humans for long enough that I can tear the necklace from the leader’s neck, then reach cover.”

  Firekeeper touched her bow and pointed at the war band, effectively saying, “I have my bow. I could shoot a few of the warriors and still be in place to keep Kabot’s pack away.”

  “No. These warriors are prepared for human-style attack. Surprise is better. Here is what I have in mind…”

  He told her. From the branches above, Farborn chuckled. “I like it, Blue Eyes. I will fly with you in this.”

  “I don’t like it,” Firekeeper countered, “but given what we know and what you wish, this seems best. I warn you. As soon as Kabot is dealt with, I will be back to you.”

  “I expected no less, beloved. Keep yourself safe. Remember that at least Kabot’s female packmate can use her magic to fight.”

  Firekeeper squeezed him tightly, then vanished to intercept Kabot’s pack. Farborn bounced excitedly from crystal-sheathed leg to crystal-sheathed leg, then glided from branch to branch as the great grey wolf moved like a shadow through the undergrowth. They paced Hohdoymin’s war band until Blind Seer had a sense for their rhythm, who was edgy (not really anyone), who was alert (the two on point, the two to the rear, the rest were secure in the security of their herd). When the band came to where the trail widened slightly so that, without realizing they were doing it, the humans spread out just a little, Blind Seer gave Farborn the signal to strike.

  He didn’t wait to see if the little merlin did as he had promised, for Farborn was still intensely eager to prove himself. If anything, he would be likely to do more, rather than less, than had been requested. Blind Seer knew that the best way to keep the merlin from foolishness was to give him no opportunity.

  Farborn skimmed across in front of the war band, just close enough to distract. The pair of warriors on point jumped, but here Farborn’s small size was all to the advantage. The warriors were beginning to chuckle, ready to laugh about having been startled by such a small bird, when Blind Seer made his leap. The warriors all carried their spears in their hands, machetes or maces at their belts. Therefore, in close combat, the wolf had the advantage. Nonetheless, if he could, Blind Seer didn’t plan on harming anyone. Instead, he dove into the gap between two who walked along the edge, then between the two bodyguards. Lastly, he crashed his not inconsiderable weight directly into Hohdoymin’s legs, knocking the man flat onto his back.

  Hohdoymin hadn’t even fully landed on the soft earth when Blind Seer seized the necklace. The wolf had already noticed that the magical odor came most strongly from one side, while the other was no more magical than any other strand of beads and gewgaws. The cord was heavy as such things went, but nothing to the fangs of a wolf. He sliced through it as neatly as if he had used a dagger, grabbed both sides of the necklace in his mouth so as to not spill the beads. Then, while the disoriented humans were still recovering from this unex
pected invasion, Blind Seer slipped into the thick greenery on the other side of the trail. It was done so quickly that he was still putting distance between himself and the war band when he heard Firekeeper howl.

  Firekeeper waited in the deep shadows near the trail for Kabot’s pack to close the distance between themselves and Hohdoymin’s war band. Her considerable respect for how dangerous spellcasters could be had been enhanced during the days they had travelled with Wythcombe and Ranz through the ruined lands of Rhinadei. Given that they were stalking Hohdoymin’s group, surely Kabot’s pack would be ready to attack.

  Moving slowly to brush a particularly annoying multi-legged insect from where it was crawling over her bare forearm, Firekeeper eased to where she could see the approaching trio. As she did so, she realized that her pack knew very little about the abilities of Kabot’s companions, and really very little about what Kabot himself could do. That was strange, since surely Wythcombe and the elders of Rhinadei must have collected information about these rebels. Was the one who had drawn that horrific thunderstorm to hover over Mount Ambition among the three who now made their way so noisily along the trail?

  Ah well, the wolf-woman thought. Too late to ask now. Surely we will be done with these three quickly, now that Wythcombe has them in his reach. He will take them back to Rhinadei, so their own pack can deal with these dangerous outliers.

  Firekeeper smiled when she heard Farborn set the first part of Blind Seer’s plan into action, quickly followed by shouts of consternation when Blind Seer in all his lean, shadow-with-fangs magnificence leapt into the midst of the armed band. But Firekeeper’s pleasure at the fearsome impression her partner was certainly making did not make her less alert. She knew to the breath when Kabot’s pack realized that the situation had altered. Now one of two things would happen: either they would flee for cover or they would try to take advantage of Hohdoymin’s war band being distracted. She watched as they came to a quick halt, peering ahead with wide eyes.