‘Unlikely. We are on a different continent, remember. Don’t worry, I’m not about to introduce myself. Do you know how many times my family has been lured into a trap baited by one of our own kind? No, I was always advised to steer clear so don’t worry on that count. What’s more worrying though is that if their abilities are being used by the other side against us, we might not get clear easily.’ She paused to eye him. ‘And for an untrained journeyman wizard with only sensitive skills, creation of that ditch was amazingly unexpected. I just hope you’ve not given our enemies yet another reason to come after us.’
‘I didn’t think of that. You may be right,’ Jim sighed ruefully. ‘Well, not much we can do about it except try and disappear.’
They hastened to do just that.
6
The Wolf Man
Three days later, Amelie stopped them in a dark shadowy forest glade. The moon was up but barely penetrated as far as the forest floor. Here they could at least see each other.
‘Well, we haven’t managed to shake our pursuers. They’re catching us up.’
‘I know. It must be that damn animus we sensed at the battle. The rest of his little team we could shake fine. Maybe we should split up,’ Jim said reluctantly. ‘See who he’s after. We may have better luck diverting him that way.’
‘Are you sure? Very well, follow that star and you’ll get out the other side of this forest,’ and she pointed directly ahead of them. ‘I’ll catch up with you. Good luck,’ she added softly and before he could say anything she left him.
Jim watched her quickly disappear into the gloom and wondered why she’d so readily agreed to separate. The forest seemed even more oppressive and forbidding without her, but he forced himself to continue on their original course. The last thing he needed was to become completely lost in this forest and then miss the chance to meet up later. He tried not to dwell on just how alone he’d felt having fallen into enemy hands last time. At least with a friend around things never seemed insurmountable. Only ten minutes or so later he heard the hunters behind and began to run. But directly into his path stepped the reason they had been unable to shake their pursuers. A huge grey animus wolf came forward and seemed to smile to see him.
‘Hello there,’ Jim said. ‘Any particular reason you’re tracking me?’ and when there was no immediate answer he added, ‘or can’t you manage speech?’
‘Where’s your female?’ The wolf growled.
‘My female?’ Jim queried. ‘She was never mine. She took her own path a while ago.’
‘Where is she?’ the wolf growled, more fiercely.
‘She didn’t say where she was going. What’s your interest in her anyway?’
‘I have my reasons,’ he growled and before the wizard could guess his intention he leaped at him knocking him to the ground. He snarled warningly, his bared white fangs inches from Jim’s throat. ‘Where is she?’
‘What do you want, dog boy?’ Amelie spoke from the shadows.
‘Show yourself,’ the wolf commanded, turning towards the sound of the voice and his interest in Jim gone.
Jim got to his feet and retrieved his pack. Amelie’s voice had seemed lower and more resonant than her normal speaking voice. To Jim’s ear, tuned to what that might mean, it kindled some hope.
‘Why should I obey you?’ Amelie’s angry voice now issued from a new direction. They both hastily turned. ‘Do you consider yourself my superior to try and order me? Huh, tracking me! How dare you, dog boy,’ she hissed dismissively. ‘If you continue to track me for your masters, you will regret it,’ she promised darkly. ‘Jim?’
Jim hastened to the sound of her voice, but so too did the wolf. They beheld a human sized eagle, her wings partially open and sharp eyes fixed on them. She snapped her huge sharply hooked beak threateningly at the wolf warning him to keep his distance. The wolf however seemed transfixed by her appearance. Whatever the reason for the wolf’s hesitation, Jim quickly took the opportunity to climb onto her steeply sloping back. He nervously wrapped his arms about her and the eagle immediately leapt skywards. The wolf simply watched them go. Jim thought he looked completely shocked.
Amelie didn’t fly for long, she didn’t have the strength, but the distance they traversed was more than twice what they could have done on foot in the same time. Even more importantly, their trail was now broken and the wolf would not be able to see clearly where they’d gone for the dense trees. They landed and she collapsed into human form once again. This time Jim carried her.
He found an old forester’s lean-to shelter and they slept like the dead for the rest of the night, snug out of the wind and rain and with a wall at their backs for the first time in days.
‘Amelie,’ Jim asked when she finally woke late next morning. ‘Why do you think that wolf seemed so shocked when he saw you? He didn’t even try to stop us escape and it was you he was after.’
‘I’m not sure. Perhaps he can only take one shape and was expecting me to be as limited as him. If that is so, then he now knows he is no match for me.’
Jim eyed her; she was not bragging, but simply stating a fact. ‘Yes. He probably imagined that anyone able to get out of being treated like and ridden like an ordinary horse would not have been on that battlefield. He probably saw me rush into the thick of the battle and pick up a person where a horse should have lain.’ He sighed ruefully, ‘I’m afraid there were probably quite a lot of witnesses, not least of who was Lord Dirk.’
‘You said before that he saw me change.’
‘Yes. He didn’t seem surprised either. He helped me get you up on the horse that knocked you down so I could get you back to his tent.’
‘What did he do then?’
‘He was obviously worried about you and curious as hell, but he had to return to the battle. You know the rest.’
‘If we meet him again I’ll have plenty to say to him!’ she growled. ‘If he knew what I was, why did he force me into that battle?’
‘He knew you were his best chance of staying alive,’ Jim suggested. ‘He probably didn’t realise you’ve not had years of practice at becoming physically strong in one alternative form.’
She nodded slowly; he made sense. Single form shape-shifters used to be common until the current King’s father began serious persecution of them. Apparently one of the King’s enemies had used an animus assassin to murder the King’s young wife. The assassin had never been identified. The King had become unhinged with grief. In revenge he’d had anyone animus working in his palaces rounded up and taken away. He’d set up a special squad to seek them out. They’d become known as the inquisitors. They had gone from strength to overzealous strength, stirring up hatred and encouraging the king to outlaw animus from living free in his city. Then they’d been outlawed in the kingdom, which had then spread as other leaders tried to curry favour with the king by following suit. The dual nature of animus people was slated as untrustworthy and they were regarded as unclean in that they chose to identify with animals rather than people. Complete families had been murdered and many specialist capabilities were now extinct. However there was still plenty of open unpopulated space on this continent and it was far enough away from the King’s influence and hunters to be an attractive place to flee to. The shape-shifters here would nevertheless have to hide their identities from the law just like those she knew back home. Many would have had no option but to seek protection from powerful "ordinaries" who could provide false papers and other identity documents. But all too often they simply enslaved them and their families, making use of their gifts. Lord Dirk’s possessive attitude and casual brutal demands now made sense. She might have looked like a horse but she did not have a horse’s passive or timid nature; she’d loved being a dragon. She had no intention of falling in to servitude or of allowing anyone blackmail leverage over her. She glanced at Jim, suddenly realising that he had already been treated as her emotional weakness. That wolf man was bound to report that they were still together. She’d now returned twi
ce to rescue him. Yet he was not entirely defenceless and his wizard ability meant most would be cautious around him.
‘What are you thinking?’ Jim asked aware of her regard.
‘Now they know we are still together you are no longer safe,’ she said shortly.
‘Ah,’ he fell silent for a few minutes thinking through the ramifications of that. ‘Did you manage to see what’s ahead of us while we were flying?’
‘Yes and it doesn’t look too good,’ she said with a sigh of annoyance. ‘There’s a walled city not far in front of us in the foothills of some serious mountains. I think we’ve been driven within easy reach of a whole fresh garrison of trouble.’
‘Which force does it belong to though?’ Jim wondered, ‘Prince Casper or the wolf man’s employers?’
‘Doesn’t really matter does it?’ Amelie asked him sourly, ‘they all want to catch us.’
‘A country at war is going to be very watchful of its borders and highly suspicious of anyone travelling secretively, as we found out the hard way! I think our best bet is to go directly and openly into that city and lie low for a little while.’
‘Let the trail go cold? Well I could do with some time to recuperate,’ she assented wearily. ‘Should I be a horse again?’
‘We’d be separated immediately then,’ he said unhappily. Can you change your appearance as a person?’
‘Probably; what do you suggest?’
‘Put back your hood,’ he instructed. Long raven black glossy hair fell halfway down her back in dramatic contrast to her pale skin. Bright blue eyes watched him directly and he had to tear his gaze from hers. Her face had the fine, elegant bone structure of an aristocrat. Her body was whip thin and as tall as a man’s but she moved with a feminine grace. There was little point in attempting a disguise as a man.
‘Well?’ She prompted when he seemed to have been staring at her overlong.
‘Sorry, I just realised I’ve never really seen you in daylight.’ She arched a brow at him. ‘Ok, let’s see what blonde hair looks like.’ He gaped at the sight of the wave of colour sweeping from root to tip. She’d turned it curly too.
‘Your eyebrows too.’ He couldn’t resist touching her hair; it changed her appearance greatly. ‘Well anyone could have done this with bleach, although not as natural looking. Can you reduce your height a little?’
‘How’s this?’ she asked. Now she had to look up to meet his eyes. She looked down at herself, following his gaze and suddenly realised that reducing her height had made her body redistribute her normal mass; she was no longer as skinny. ‘I look more like a regular woman now?’
‘You’re beautiful,’ he said softly then added more briskly, ‘we’ll have to find you a proper dress, what you have on is a little thin for a woman with curves.’
She grinned at him, wrapped her cloak about her again and purposely took his arm. She was surprised that the changes she’d asked of her body hadn’t demanded an instant payment of food. She was hungry but not with the usual desperation. Evidently because she hadn’t completely reconfigured herself, the cost to her body wasn’t so great.
Mid morning three days later, they arrived within sight of the town gates. The road was busy so they slipped in behind a wagon laden with timber. Jim had taken the precaution of darkening his hair with some handy plant dyes, but they hadn’t the time or facilities to do much else. He was very glad they’d changed their appearances. As they passed the pair of guards at the gate, he spotted a "wanted" notice with their descriptions on it, offering a reward for information about them.
‘Well, someone wants to know where we are,’ he muttered. There was a commotion behind them; a blonde man on a black horse had just been arrested. They hastened away from the gate, dodging the curious bystanders moving to see what the fuss was about. They walked purposefully and arm in arm, up the broadest street as though they both belonged there and had a destination. Jim was slightly surprised that her grip on his arm altered from a decorous hooking of arms to her pressing against his side, clinging closely. He glanced at her; she’d become very nervous. Hardly surprising he supposed, the sudden press of strangers all around them was overwhelming, particularly after the weeks of being alone together in the wilderness. The noise too was overpowering. They came out of the street into a broad open square. Four large trees grew in each quarter giving welcome pools of shade. Jim immediately steered Amelie to the nearest tree and they gratefully sat on the low wall surrounding the tree trunk, which had doubtless been designed as seating. From there they simply sat, soaking up the sights and smells.
‘I haven’t been to a town since I was small,’ Amelie said quietly. ‘Papa was taking my older sisters and once I heard they were going I badgered them to allow me to go with them. Trudy was the eldest and grown by then, already sixteen. Papa had arranged a good marriage for her and we were going to introduce her to them. She wasn’t like me she didn’t have the wild side. They seemed nice enough so Trudy stayed for the afternoon to get better acquainted while we went into town. Something must have made papa anxious because when we returned for her, he insisted she should not come home with us but ask to stay with them for a few days. He also bade her not contact us if she possibly could. That he would contact her when he thought it was safe. It never did become safe. I heard she did marry soon after, which of course gave her a new name and identity.’
‘Mother left soon after with my other sister. Papa said mother was too well known; it was best she go into hiding. I’m not sure why she had to go into hiding; she was a wizard after all. I stayed with papa. Soldiers came to us only a few months later; we ran and ran but papa was killed defending my escape. Papa had told me what to do and who to go to if the inquisition should come and so I did. I lived with my uncle’s family for five years before they caught up with me and I was taken.’
Jim put his arm around her bowed shoulders and she hid her face in his shirt for a few moments. She took a deep breath getting control of her emotions quickly; they were not in a safe place. ‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured. ‘I don’t know why I told you that.’
‘I’m glad you did,’ he said. ‘With memories like that, it’s no wonder you’d be reminded of them when you find yourself in a similar feeling place.’
She nodded and moved apart from him. ‘Do you have any money?’
‘Some,’ he responded and dug out a small purse from an inner pocket. ‘Prince Casper gave me these for your warning and my scouting.’ He looked at them more closely. ‘I haven’t had a chance to see what he gave me. Mm, they seem to be gold.’
‘I hope they’re normal currency and acceptable round here,’ she said anxiously.
‘Yes. Let’s go and have a look at the stalls, get a look at prices and the money changing hands before we show these. We could just as easily be arrested for having too much money as not enough.’
The market was amazing. So many different things were available, from bolts of cloth, to saucepans and furniture and food vendors selling all manner of hot pies, pasties and nibbles. Amelie’s stomach growled at the tantalising sights and smells. But it had become very quickly apparent that their coins were far too large a denomination for any of the smaller vendors to be able to change. So they passed by without showing their money. Amelie’s keener senses detected the area the livestock was kept, on the far side of the square and they curiously headed there instead.
‘If we got ourselves some horses, we could travel more swiftly and save your strength,’ Jim said to her. He also hated being so dependent on someone else. He was accustomed to being fairly self sufficient when travelling. ‘The season is starting to turn too. It’d be nice to be able to carry some sort of tent so we can sleep out of the rain.’
‘Good idea,’ she agreed. The rain was coming more frequently as autumn progressed and it was increasingly accompanied by chilly winds. Winter would probably be harsh here at this altitude. They moved nearer to where the horse yards were located. They spotted someone haggling with a vendor and she
sharpened her hearing to discover what price would be settled on and how the process was handled. ‘30 Drachs, no tack,’ she whispered to Jim and they assessed the quality of the animal against what they would choose for themselves. She turned and listened to another vendor selling a much better quality horse, ‘50 for that one,’ she murmured. ‘Ah, do you think 50 silvers are worth half a gold?’
‘That’s what I’m assuming, but I haven’t seen anyone with golds to know for sure.’ Jim said uncomfortably. He sighed, ‘well, let’s go and have a proper look at the stock, we’re starting to look suspicious hanging around over here.’
‘Hi there,’ the vendor greeted them, ‘what can I help you with?’
‘Hi,’ Jim responded. ‘I need to replace my horse. A noble appropriated him a few days ago, telling me his had gone and broken its leg. Well, he seemed to think this would make it worth my while walking,’ and Jim showed the man the gold coin with the large One embossed on it. ‘Haven’t seen one of these before, have you?’
‘Well, not too often,’ the dealer admitted, but his eyes were shining and he couldn’t resist rubbing his hands.
‘He told me I could probably get a string of horses to replace mine with this.’ Jim added and the man nodded.
‘Certainly you could if you wanted nags.’
‘So, I thought I’d treat the wife and me to a nice pair of horses. To be outfitted with decent tack too. Silly thing is,’ Jim continued, as the man seemed to be warming to his story, ‘here I am with this big coin that I can’t spend easily! I have to buy something big to get enough change to buy us some dinner!’ Jim glanced at Amelie; she was having a look at some animals on the far side of the pens. He moved over to her directly and the man followed.
‘Look what I found,’ Amelie exclaimed in a girlish voice that made Jim pause for a moment to be sure she was not someone else!
Amelie: Wizards of White Haven Page 10