The next morning, shortly before dawn, Canis and Cepheid met Columbus and the rest of his party in front of their inn. They walked up on a small commotion that no one had anticipated; the girl, who was only about ten, was refusing to get on her horse. After what had happened before, she was terrified of the horse and of the road ahead; she was refusing to go any farther.
“No, I won’t go; nothing could make me take that journey. I just want to go home,” she was saying with tears in every word.
“You could be a great healer,” said the woman with them. “You have to go to the school or else you will be nothing more than a farmer’s wife.”
“I don’t care.” The girl continued her protests until Canis dismounted and approached the two. The boys were already mounted, but they didn’t look too pleased about the journey ahead either, though their young male egos weren’t letting them say so.
Columbus and Wayne watched Canis approach. It wasn’t their custom to interfere with the healers except to protect them, but it looked as though Canis had every intention of doing so. They were curious to see what he would do.
Canis didn’t interrupt with anything but his too-close presence. Eventually, the woman broke off her argument with the girl to look at him in askance.
Canis turned to the girl and said, “Will you walk with me for a moment?”
The girl was surprised that this tall stranger with the glowing eyes was speaking to her. “Who are you?” she asked.
“My name is Canis. We have joined your party in order to help ensure your protection. May we speak privately?”
The girl looked at the other men and received a slight nod from Columbus, so she stepped away to follow him.
During his search for a gift for Cepheid the day before, he had discovered a modest shrine to the Mother, so he headed there now. As they walked, he said, “Will you tell me what has happened to change your mind about going to the school?”
She hesitated; he was a stranger and he was so different. “We were attacked by bandits two days from here. My horse threw me. When one of the bandits tried to catch my horse, it dodged almost on top of me. I have never been so frightened in my life. I thought I could go, but I can’t. I never want anything to do with them again, and if I have to cross a bandit-ridden countryside to reach the school, then I don’t want to go. Nothing is important enough for that.”
They reached their destination and Canis turned to her. “Being a healer is very important. No one can take that away from you, but being licensed is the law in this country, and you cannot become licensed unless you go to the school. Come, lets ask the Mother for guidance and strength.” He opened the door and went inside where he went around and lit the candles standing in each corner of the room.
When he was finished, he turned to see the girl standing just inside the door, watching him. He offered his hand to her, and after a moment’s hesitation, she took it. He led her up to the modest statue and they knelt on the rug at its base.
Canis closed his eyes and said, “You have set hard tasks before our feet, and we have tried to do your will. Lend us strength that we might continue to follow the path you have laid out before us.”
A breath of cold air brushed Canis’s face and he opened his eyes. He was standing on the peak of a tall mountain surrounded by many other white-capped mountains. In front of him was the Mother in her flowing blue and white robes that draped from her head all the way to her feet in many delicate folds ruffling softly in the wind. She reached up a fine boned hand and touched the brooch at his throat, then plucked at the black material of his cloak. “You’ve done well; I’m proud of you.” She reached up and touched the stone between his brows. “You already have my blessing and you will have all the strength you need to face what you must, but ultimately this will have another resting place before you stand in your final place.” She cupped his cheek. “Lead on my fine young wolf-warrior.”
Canis opened his eyes again. He was still kneeling by the side of the girl. He saw that once again she had tears running down her cheeks. She too opened her eyes, then with a sigh, she brushed her tears away and rose to her feet. Without a word, they went back to the others.
She quailed when it came time for her to mount her horse, but she did it anyway with Canis’s helping hand, though she gripped the saddle with white knuckles.
Moments after they were in motion, the woman rode up beside Canis. “What did you say to her?”
Canis turned his luminous eyes on her; it was still dark enough to make it seem like they glowed from beneath the shadows of his brows. “I said very little to her, Healer. We had a small discussion with the Mother.”
“Very well,” she said, “but in the future, you would do well not to interfere.”
“I will interfere wherever I see fit, Healer, and you will not waste my time questioning it,” said Canis.
The woman’s reaction was just short of a huff as she pulled back to rejoin the younger people of their party.
It was full light by the time they cleared the outer edge of the city where the Wulfen joined them. The horses noticed them first and began to dance and snort their unease before Canis could warn the Wulfen off. “Stay clear of these horses; they do not know you. We will make your introductions in camp tonight,” said Canis.
Wayne, the only person close enough to hear him, looked around to see who Canis was speaking to. “Who are you talking to?” he asked, but then he knew the answer to his question almost before it was out of his mouth. He saw first one, then another of the giant wolves fade from his range of view. He never did see all of them; he counted.
Columbus’s party had twelve packhorses and each of the men and boys were forced to lead a train of four of them. The bulk of their load was water, which said much to Canis about the country they were about to enter. Snow still covered the countryside, but it was little more than a white shadow among the grass and covered the grass only where the wind could not scour it out of some depression in the ground. Though it was still midwinter, it had not snowed for more than a month.
Columbus, with his four packhorses, led the way and Wayne brought up the rear with four more. Cepheid rode with the women, leading Star. Canis ranged wide, with the Wulfen ranging even wider.
That night Canis had the horses tied to a long picket line with his three spread out among them, then he called the Wulfen in. They were used to this ritual, they worked their way slowly toward each horse and didn’t move on until the creature had gotten a good nose full and had settled. Canis and Wayne helped keep the animals quiet for this, and Canis’s horses helped by being unconcerned. When they were finished, they sauntered into camp and won a few exclamations from the rest of their party who had been unaware of these members; they’d paid no attention to the happenings by the horses.
Rrusharr especially liked the squeal she won from the woman. As far as she was concerned, anyone who tried to dominate her companion deserved a little more personal attention. A good deal of Rrusharr’s evening was spent staring at her. It served to make her very uncomfortable, but she couldn’t complain since Rrusharr did nothing but stare, though she went out of her way to ensure that she was laying wherever she needed to be in order to keep the healer in good view.
The puppies, a little better than half the bulk of their elders now, hit it off with the boys right away and were soon playing either tug-of-war or keep-away with most anything that won a laugh. The girl wasn’t quite so sure and hung back from the rough play.
Cepheid came up to her with Nnarr at her side. Dainty white Nnarr was smaller than the rest of the adult Wulfen, she was still young, but she was also much finer boned, therefore, she wasn’t quite as intimidating as the larger, heavier gray or black Wulfen. “Hello, what’s your name? My name is Cepheid. This is Nnarr; she is my companion. We have been companions ever since I can remember.”
The girl studied Cepheid while she talked, then tentatively reached a hand out to explore Nnarr’s face. “My name is Shania. I’ve never seen
a…she’s not a coyote; what is she?”
“Nnarr is…a wolf; you’ve never seen a wolf before?” said Cepheid.
“I’ve seen coyotes before, but not close. They’re so frightening; I wouldn’t want to see one up close. These are all so much bigger than a coyote, I’m glad they’re not mean. They’re not mean, are they?”
“No,” said Cepheid, “they’re not mean, but that doesn’t mean they’re not dangerous. They perform a very important part in seeing to our safety.” She guided Shania’s hand to a spot under Nnarr’s chin. “She really likes to be scratched right in here.” She showed her and Shania giggled as Nnarr moaned her pleasure and stretched out for more of the same.
With the ice broken, Shania helped Cepheid fix supper and quickly discovered that she was a much better campfire cook than the others had been. Canis joined them for supper and greeted Shania. When he had finished eating, he rose and disappeared into the dark.
“Where is he going?” asked Shania.
“He guards us,” Cepheid said. “It’s what he does best.”
Trials of the Trail
Ggrrawrr discovered the bandits just as they were settling in for their third night out on the Empty Plains. Too close to be there for any other reason, he alerted Canis and then watched as they dismounted and started crawling toward their new fire under cover of the rapidly waning light. Canis and the others began to converge on his position, but daylight was gone before they met.
With a warning from Nnarr, Cepheid was able to alert Columbus and Wayne, and the three of them stood together, sheltering the others between them and the picket line, their campfire in front of them. Very wide Rranggrr also remained behind; she watched for the sneaky approach that might come from another direction.
As the sounds of the clash reached their ears, the men started to go help. “Stay here,” said Cepheid. She too had her sword drawn and her bow was close at hand. It occurred to her then that the walking sticks the men always kept close must be more than simple walking sticks. Both Columbus and Wayne seemed intent on using them.
“We can’t leave him out there alone,” said Wayne.
“He is not alone, and just now, everyone he meets is an enemy,” said Cepheid. “In this dark, it is best to keep it that way. It can be the same for us here if we stay together.”
Wayne grumbled. The screams of panicked horses and those of the panicked and dying men were not easy to listen to, out there in the black of the night, beyond the light of the fire.
A short time later Cepheid gave a soft gasp, and by the light of their campfire, Wayne could see her chin tremble. “You are the one who said we should wait here,” he said, thinking she was going to start crying because of what they were hearing – because of who was out there all alone. “Be strong,” he added.
She didn’t say anything; she only spared him a brief glance. How could he know that Nnarr had been wounded in her shoulder and was now handicapped? How could he know that Nnarr still chose to fight, even though she couldn’t put any weight on her injured leg?
Moments later, she was relieved to hear, “I return. I cannot help here.” The white Wulfi hobbled slowly into the firelight and lay down between them and the fight. She would still fight if their attackers ventured this close.
By the light of the fire, Neola, the healer, could easily see the blood on the white wolf’s shoulder and stepped forward.
“Not yet,” said Cepheid. “We will tend our wounded when the fight is over.”
Neola hesitated, but when Cepheid glared at her, then Columbus waved her back, she returned to the others who were clustered near the picket line. The children were clutching each other in fear.
Twenty eternal minutes later, both Nnarr and Cepheid relaxed then a moment after that, Canis called out, “We’re coming in.” He managed about three more steps into the firelight before he stopped swaying.
Wayne caught him in time to prevent him from falling all the way to the frozen ground.
“I think…I need…a thicker hide,” he said as he closed his eyes and allowed Wayne to lay him out flat.
Cepheid was there with their bedroll so he would not be lying on the frozen ground.
He had no less than four deep slices along his left rib cage and two on his left shoulder that went to the bone, but in his defense, his blade was bloody to the hilt as was the clawed glove on that hand. Even the claws and teeth that decorated his braid were bloodied, though they didn’t discover that until the next morning.
Nnarr received a deep cut to her left shoulder and Ggrrawrr sported a not-so-deep cut along his right rib cage. All of the rest of them were plenty covered with blood, but none of it was their own.
As Cepheid helped Canis eat some stew, she had to ask, “Why do you go out there alone? I saw you, back in Omaha’s castle; that man couldn’t touch you. Twice now, you disappear into the dark to fight alone and you come back near dead. You know there are many men out there. I don’t understand.”
“I go alone because there is…there is carnage and death flooding my mind and I must kill. I am dangerous, Cepheid, dangerous to everyone and everything around me when I am like that. I don’t know how else to say it. Our people are very good hunters; I am more than just a hunter – I am a killer.”
Puzzled she tried to offer him another bite, but he shook his head. I cannot eat more. You must watch tonight.” He closed his eyes, frowning.
Cepheid too frowned, but did as she was told.
The next morning, Columbus and Wayne explored the killing field. It was uncomfortably close, only a few hundred yards from camp. All the horses had scattered, their tracks fanning out in as many directions as there were horses, deserting in their panic. They counted about thirty dead men all looking like so many broken and bloody dolls. No less than eight of them had died by the sword and some of those looked like they might have met with a cat. The claw marks they could attribute to Canis’s unique gloves, but the teeth marks didn’t look like they fit any animal. The rest had obviously met a Wulfi in the dark, and though their mouths gaped in surprise, they would never be able to tell of what had transpired in the darkness. Most of them had their throats ripped away. Some had their sword arm or shoulder savaged and torn.
“I’m sure glad they’re on our side,” said Wayne. “Do you suppose these are the same men that attacked us last time?”
“It’s likely,” replied Columbus. “Let’s get back to camp. There’s nothing we can do here.”
When they reached the camp, they found Canis up and around, though he was not moving too quickly. Cepheid was helping him into a clean shirt.
“You made this area much safer for a few years,” said Wayne. “I’ve seen worse, but not when I know that it was only one man and a handful of wolves that did the damage.”
“Are none of them left alive?” asked Neola.
“Only the horses and they are long gone,” replied Columbus.
“Do you want to look for their camp?” asked Canis. You might recover some of what you lost in the last attack.
“No,” said Columbus. “The only thing of value that might be left would be the horses and they are probably still running. It’ll be days before they settled down enough to think of some place they might consider home, and they might not even choose their camp to go to. It would be a waste of our time to look for them.”
Canis thought he could have those horses rounded up in a day, two at the most, but they weren’t his horses and he certainly didn’t need any more than what he already had.
Cepheid helped Canis put on the fur coat he had worn over the mountains – his injured arm rested in a sling and she laced his coat closed over it – then she and Wayne helped him into his saddle when they were packed and ready to leave.
That night, shortly after Neola had performed another healing on him, Columbus came up to Canis and Cepheid. “Since you seem to like getting close to the business end of a sword, I have something that might keep your hide more in one piece.” He held up what looke
d like a shirt except that it was made entirely of small black rings.
“What is this?” asked Canis as he felt its unique texture.
“It’s steel. It might even stop an arrow unless it’s one of those clubs you shoot. It will stop a sword slice, though perhaps not a stab. At any rate, it’s my way of saying thanks for last night. We wouldn’t have stood a chance against that many men without you and those wolves of yours. I wish I could give them something too, but I wouldn’t know what.”
“Thank you,” said Canis. He spread the unusual shirt out on his lap to put it on right then.
“You have my thanks as well,” said Cepheid. “I prefer that his hide be thicker too.”
Columbus smiled and helped Cepheid get Canis into the shirt. The metal rings extended to just short of his wrists where it buckled there as well as above the elbow. The rest of it extended down long enough to where he could sit on it – but only just. Columbus buckled Canis’s sword belt around his waist for him. “There, it fits you better than it fit me.”
Canis shrugged the metal shirt into place and winced as the move pulled at his scarcely mended wounds. “It’s comfortable and not all that heavy.”
Six days after the bandit attack, Canis called them to a halt early. “We camp here,” he said and walked away with their oilcloth under his arm. Only Cepheid suspected what was wrong. Rranggrr was panting heavily.
Cepheid didn’t help much with setting up their camp. After the fire was going, she turned the job of cooking over to Shania then went to find Canis. He was some distance away out of sight of the camp, sitting on a rock, watching over Rranggrr who now occupied the oilcloth.
“Are you all right?” asked Cepheid.
Canis looked up at her with hollow eyes and a pale face. “I am not made for this. Go back to the others and keep watch. Do not let on about this. They would not understand.”
“I knew this was going to happen soon so I got this for you.” She handed him something that looked like a blood cake. “It’s not the same thing we use at home, but the lady back at the city said that it worked really good against the sickening headaches. It might help you through this. Eat it.”
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