Wolfsbane Winter

by Jane Fletcher

  “I only have your word on who you are and why you’re here.”

  “How dare you accuse me of lying.” Alana reached up and clasped the silver pendant at her throat. Her eyes closed while the fury slowly left her face. At last she opened them again and met Deryn’s gaze. “So what are you going to do?” Her voice was calm and resigned, a half shade from despair.

  “Do?”

  “Are you going to tell people in Neupor about me?”

  “What if I do?”

  “Then I couldn’t stay here. I wouldn’t be safe. So, if you are going to tell people, I’d rather you did it while the weather is still good enough for me to travel.”

  Some folk, with less justification than Deryn, might try to hurt Alana if they knew the truth. That was undeniable, and at the thought, Deryn felt her anger ebb. But did she care what happened to any of the demon-spawn? She stood and went to the doorway. Outside, Tia was grazing on a patch of grass.

  “Last night, when you started acting odd, at first I was confused. I thought you were having a fit. Then you neighed and ran off. If it had just been the running off, I’d have gone after you. But the neighing? There’s a limit to how weird I’ll put up with. I let you go. But I was”—Deryn bit her lip, searching for a word she could admit to—“upset. And you’d put me in mind of Tia. I thought I’d check her before I went back to the festival. Which is how I found the fire.”

  Deryn recalled walking back along the path, battling with hurt and rejection, thinking that if she could not hold Alana, she wanted to hold someone or something she could care about. Then there had been the horror when she saw the flames lapping the side of the stable. It was a barrage of remembered emotion. How much of it was Alana now reading? Did she know how much Deryn had wanted her? The desolation after she had run off? The pathetic joke where an Iron Wolf needed to hug her horse for comfort?

  Deryn stamped down on the memories and turned back to face Alana. “If it hadn’t been for you, Tia would have burned to death. I owe you. I’ll keep my mouth shut, and we can call it quits.”

  “Thank you.” Alana’s eyes again met hers.

  Deryn caught her breath. I almost became her lover.

  Alana was still sitting in her chair, hands clasped in her lap. She was demon-spawn, and she was alone and vulnerable. The last of Deryn’s anger slipped away. Alana’s lips were just as kissable as before. I can’t still want her, can I? Dammit. Is Nevin right? Anything with a pulse? Before she could give in to the urge to wrap Alana in her arms, Deryn turned on her heel and left.

  Neupor Marshal’s Station, northern Galvonia

  Early winter, diciembre 2, afternoon

  Was there any sadder state for an Iron Wolf to be reduced to than playing solitaire? Apart from anything else, it brought to mind all the tired old jokes about playing with yourself, and giving yourself a good hand. None of which Deryn found in the slightest bit funny. She muttered a string of obscenities, prompted by frustration, irritation, and plain out-and-out boredom. As ever, the universe was indifferent to her swearing. Nothing changed. Deryn scowled as she dealt the top row of cards out on the table.

  The light in the room dimmed. Deryn looked up to see an adolescent boy standing in the doorway.

  “Do you want something?”

  “Is Sergeant Nevin here?”

  Before replying, Deryn made a show of leaning to the side and peering under the table—the only possible hiding place in the room. “No.”

  “Sorry. That was a bit of a stupid question.” At least the lad realized it.

  Deryn relented and smiled at him. “Finding the sergeant under the table isn’t as rare as you might think.”

  “Do you know where he is?”

  “He went to get something. He’ll be back soon. Why don’t you sit down and wait for him?”

  “Thanks.” The boy slid onto the bench facing Deryn. His face was vaguely familiar.

  “I’ve met you before, haven’t I?”

  “I’m one of Eldora’s sons, Shaw.”

  “Right.”

  “Mom’s sent me with a message.”

  “What is it? Or does it have to wait for the sergeant?”

  “Not really. One of our neighbors has gone missing.”

  Alana. Deryn looked down and rubbed her forehead, trying to act indifferent. I don’t care if anything has happened to her. I never want to see her again so it doesn’t matter. Yet Deryn was lying to herself, and she knew it. “Who?”

  “One of the dairy farmers who lives below us at the bottom of the valley.”

  Her surge of relief annoyed Deryn just as much as her initial reaction had. “How long has the farmer been—”

  The light dimmed again. Nevin had returned with his purchase, a bottle of wine. He snarled at the boy. “What do you want?”

  Shaw scrambled off the bench. “One of the dairymen in the valley has gone missing.”

  “Who?”

  “Alejo.”

  “Probably passed out somewhere, drunk.”

  There’s nothing like judging the world by your own standards, or is he a beer buddy of yours?

  Shaw shook his head. “Nobody has seen him for three days.”

  Even you don’t get that drunk.

  Nevin’s forehead wrinkled in a deep frown. “Did Alejo tell anyone where he was going?”

  Deryn could see that Nevin was trying very hard to think of a way to get out of doing anything, but he was clutching at straws. If the missing farmer had said where he was going, he would not count as missing when he went there.

  Shaw’s answer confirmed this. “No. Mom says you need to organize a search party to find him.”

  “Yeah? Well, I make the decisions here. Not your damned mom.”

  Nevin slumped onto the vacated bench and put the bottle on the table, scuffing Deryn’s cards aside as he did so. This last part was an act of petty spite. The table was quite big enough for the bottle and the card game. Its only rationale was that Nevin wanted to show he could claim the whole table as his own whenever he liked.

  “What decision are you going to make…sir?” Deryn made no attempt to downplay her contempt, turning the last word into an insult.

  “What?”

  “The lost dairyman. What are you going to do about him?”

  Nevin spat on the ground. “We’ll give it a couple of days. See if he shows up.”

  “On top of the three days he’s already been missing?”

  “I don’t need your fucking advice.” Nevin gave a sarcastic sneer. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d been so keen to start searching for lost people. You made a real fucking mess the last time. My sister never got her sheep back.”

  Deryn gathered her cards and stood. “Good point.”

  “What is?”

  “The marshal’s men don’t have the resources for this manhunt. We couldn’t even find the sheep.”

  “You couldn’t.” The emphasis Nevin put onto the first word turned it into an accusation.

  “You looked for them as well, didn’t you, sir?”

  “No. I mean yes. I mean…”

  Make your mind up. Do you want to confess to failure or laziness?

  Nevin settled for a scowl. “Do what the fuck you like.”

  I was going to. Deryn smiled at Shaw. “Come on.” At the doorway she added, “We’ll find Regan and tell her about Alejo.”

  The mayor liked organizing things—this had been obvious from the way she shouted orders to the firefighters—which made it rather a shame there was so little in Neupor for her to organize. Regan would surely make the most of this chance. She would call on every available person for the manhunt, and some of the people it was her right to call on were the marshal’s men. As a break from playing solitaire, Deryn had spent a couple of dull afternoons reading the marshal’s rule book. In coordinating a citizens’ posse, the mayor outranked the sergeant.

  “Hey. What the…”

  Deryn made no attempt to hide her grin as she strolled away, ignoring Nevin�
��s shout. She had seen that the mayor did not have a high opinion of the sergeant (who would?), but had not yet had the chance to gauge how Regan’s sense of humor ran. What chance she would order Nevin to personally check that Alejo had not accidentally buried himself in the farm’s dung heap?

  *

  Nevin muttered to himself for the entire ride from Neupor to Alejo’s farm. However, since he was muttering to himself, and not her, Deryn was unconcerned. It was a beautiful, crisp morning for a ride and she was not going to let him spoil it.

  Winter was on the way. The white-capped peaks of distant mountains were pristine perfection against the crystal blue sky. Although dawn was an hour past, the temperature was still freezing. The night had brought a heavy frost, coating leaves and branches in glittering rime. Snow might not fall that day, but it could not be far off. Steam formed in the horses’ breath and punctuated Nevin’s muttering.

  “…Iron fucking Wolves…poxy mayor…stupid, fucking waste of fucking time…”

  Deryn grinned. Despite Nevin’s rank of sergeant, he had no real power over her. The worst he could do was write to Marshal Palemon in Oakan and recommend that she be dismissed or that her pay be docked. The risk was low, since her pay was mostly in the form of board and lodging. She could hardly be put on half rations all winter, and if Nevin had her kicked out then he would have to do all the work that Ross was incapable of. Furthermore, in Deryn’s brief meeting with the marshal, while they might not have got on well together, he had not struck her as enough of a fool to pay the slightest attention to anything Nevin said.

  The road emerged from a small stand of trees. A quarter mile ahead was a rickety hovel, held up by lean-tos. The humble structure did not merit the name of homestead, but from the group of people clustered in the enclosed yard, Deryn guessed it was Alejo’s farm.

  “You’re late,” Regan called once they were in hailing distance.

  Deryn tipped her head in Nevin’s direction. Not that she thought the mayor needed the hint to explain their poor punctuality. She reined Tia to a halt beside the gate to the yard. Several of the gathered faces she recognized, Eldora and her family among them. Deryn scanned the rest for anyone else she knew.

  Who am I trying to kid? She was looking for Alana. Deryn told herself she was only doing it in the hope that the demon-spawn healer was not there, but this was another failed attempt at self-deception. Her stomach did a flip and her pulse raced when she spotted Alana standing at the far side of the yard, some way detached from the rest of the assembled group.

  Deryn swung down from Tia’s back. Maybe she was still attracted, but there was no way she was going to give in to the temptation. If learning about Alana’s true nature had not put her off, it only showed how serious things might get. And I’m never going to get serious over anyone. Certainly not her. Deryn knew she should view it as a lucky escape. What did it matter if she was losing sleep?

  “Okay. Now we’re all here. Listen up.” Regan was in her element. “I’m going to divide you into pairs, and give you each an area to search. Eldora. Pick one of your kids and take East Sprig Woods. Sal. You and Connie check the fields to the south. Yanna…”

  Regan carried on, working her way through the assembled locals, until she reached Nevin.

  “Sergeant. I’m worried Alejo might have drowned in the marsh at the bottom of his field. I want you to take one of your officers and check it out.”

  Deryn ducked her head, while pinching her mouth, to hide her smile. She was sure the assignment was not random. Who better to spend the day up to his knees in cold mud? Annoying the mayor by turning up late had not been a clever move on Nevin’s part.

  Even though Deryn liked the mayor’s decision, she did not want to be the person roped in to help Nevin. “Is anyone going to check Voodoo Mountain?”

  Deryn’s question clearly caught Regan off balance. She paused, frowning. “That might be an idea. Um…Would anyone like to volunteer?”

  Most of the crowd found a sudden interest in the state of their shoes. The rest started looking for clouds. The reaction was exactly what Deryn had hoped.

  “I’ll do it. That’s why I mentioned it. I’ve got a score to settle up there.”

  “Great. Would someone be willing to go with Deryn?”

  “I will.”

  Deryn felt her stomach clench. The voice had belonged to Alana.

  “Right. So. Sergeant Nevin. You and Ross take the marsh. Deryn and Alana have Voodoo Mountain.” Regan smiled and continued telling people what to do. She was clearly having a wonderful time of it. She finished by waving a bugle in the air. “That’s it. When Alejo is found, I’ll signal with three blasts on this, to let everyone else know the search is over.”

  “Supposing we don’t find him?” someone on the other side of the crowd asked.

  “Let’s be positive. I’m sure we will. But if not, we’ll meet back here at dusk. Right. Off you go.”

  The crowd drifted away in their assigned pairs. While waiting for Alana to weave a path through and join her, Deryn leaned against the gatepost and tried to act nonchalant. She’s demon-spawn. Remember that. Incredibly attractive, fun-to-be-with demon-spawn. As a thought to firm up her resolve, Deryn had to admit it left a bit to be desired. She can get inside your head. She probably can read that you’ve been going crazy thinking about her and if she gave you one more kiss you’d dissolve quicker than a snowball in a furnace. She could snap her fingers and you’d be on your knees, and she knows it. Deryn tried to convince herself that this was a frightening thought.

  “Hi. Ready to go?” Alana appeared through the crowd.

  “Yeah. Sure.”

  Alana did not speak again until everyone was out of earshot. “Sorry about dumping myself on you like that, but I knew nobody else would put their hand up.”

  “It’s all right. It’s not like I feel any need to avoid you.” Like hell it isn’t.

  “Really? I’ve been avoiding you.” Alana carried on without a sideways glance.

  Deryn stopped as if she had walked into a wall. And if she doesn’t snap her fingers… Does that mean she’s no longer interested? Deryn pinched her forehead. Why was that thought so much more upsetting than all the rest? Shit. Shit. Shit. Deryn hurried to catch up.

  The Sprig River might warrant its name in spring, when it was swollen with meltwater, but in early autumn it could not count as anything more than a stream. Deryn and Alana crossed, hopping from stone to stone, without getting their feet wet. The forest covering Voodoo Mountain grew close on the other side. Deryn crouched to examine the prints between wood and water.

  “Can you tell anything?”

  Deryn pointed. “That’s a cow. And so is that. These are sheep.” She cast around. “Sheepdogs. At least three people. Otter. Chipmunk. Lots of chipmunk. Deer. And a few more chipmunks. All of it in the last day. Alejo’s footprints are gone, if they were ever here.” She stood. “Maybe in the forest we can find a spot that’s seen less traffic.”

  “How do we get into the forest? I can’t see any paths.”

  “There aren’t any proper ones. We’ll have to find one the deer have made.”

  “Supposing we can’t find any way into the forest?”

  “Then we rule out the idea that Alejo might be here. If we can’t get in, he couldn’t either.”

  However, it did not take long before Deryn found a clear trail. The ground around the entrance had been well trodden, with a mass of deer prints, and the occasional coyote thrown in. Unfortunately, the profusion of prints left no chance of spotting any sign of Alejo.

  Before following the path into the forest, Deryn took a last look back. On the other side of the stream, Nevin and Ross were ankle deep in sludge, probing with long poles. Ross looked like a little boy playing in mud puddles. Nevin looked totally pissed off. Deryn grinned at the sight and then slipped between the trees.

  It soon became clear they had found a deer highway that widened rapidly as more spiderweb-draped trails merged with their own
. The path was still not quite wide enough to walk side by side, but they no longer needed to duck under branches and shove through thickets.

  The awareness of Alana walking behind her made Deryn’s shoulder blades tingle. But she could handle it, she told herself. They were going to concentrate on the task at hand and keep conversations to the mundane. So why did she feel like a roasted snowball? It was not as if there was any risk of them kissing—was there?

  After a half mile, the deer trail reached a wide glade around a woodland pool.

  “Why would Alejo have come this far?” Alana asked.

  “Maybe one of his cows strayed and he was going after it.”

  “Okay. So why did his cow come this far?”

  “I don’t know. But the path here is the only one big enough for a cow. So if it was straying, it’s here or nowhere.”

  The pool in the middle of the clearing was clearly the goal for the deer. The water’s edge was pockmarked by their hooves. A patch of mud, close by the trees, was less heavily trampled, and this was where Deryn spotted the first clue that they were on the right track.

  “Here we go.” The broad print underlay the smaller deer marks.

  “A cow?”

  “A cow.”

  “Yea.” Alana gave a soft cheer.

  Another patch of mud, farther on, caught Deryn’s eyes. “More cow prints and…there”—she pointed—“see that? A heel. Someone was here.”

  “Alejo.”

  “I guess s—” Deryn pushed back a tuft of grass for a better look at a second partial footprint.

  “What is it?”

  Deryn chewed her lip, comparing the two prints. “That’s someone’s toe, but I don’t think it’s a match to the heel.”

  “What?”

  “We’ve got two different people.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Not totally. Maybe Alejo was wearing odd boots, but it’s where I’d put my money.”

  “Alejo can’t have had anyone with him. Nobody else is missing.”

  “The other possibility is…”

  “Is what?”

  “You mean you can’t read my mind?” Deryn mainly intended it as a joke, but the seeds of apprehension added an edge to her tone.